Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Cressett

 

Cressett

Another occupational pun, this time it is the crest which alludes to the surname.

Cressett of Upton Cressett & Cound. 

Arms: Azure, a cross within a bordure both engrailed Or.

Crest: A demi-lion rampant guardant Argent ducally crowned Or holding a beacon Argent fire Proper.

(Visitations and a monument at Cound and at Corely.)

The arms of Cressett of Upton Cressett & Cound.

The surname Cressett is primarily an English occupational or topographic name originating from the Old French word cresset, referring to a metal beacon or lantern used for light. It likely denoted a maker or user of these lamps, though some sources link it to a habitation near a "peak of a hill" (creste).

The place name Upton Cressett in Shropshire is a combination of an Anglo-Saxon locational name ("Upton") and a Norman family name ("Cressett").