Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Lethbridge

Lethbridge

Lethbridge, General, of Shrewsbury

Arms: Argent, on a base Vert a bridge embattled and thereon an eagle displayed [possibly Sable]… impaling Azure, a fess between three crescents 2 & 1 Argent.

The arms of General Lethbridge, of Shrewsbury.

The surname Lethbridge is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is primarily a locational name from the county of Devon in South West England. It typically refers to a person who lived near a specific bridge crossing, often interpreted as a "plank bridge" or an elevated waterway.Etymology and Meaning. 

The name is constructed from two Old English elements: Leth- / Lyd-: Derived from an old water-course element (like the river Lew in Devon) or Old English gelēat, which means an open water-course or canal. Bridge: Derived from the Old English brycg, meaning "bridge". Combined, it literally translates to "a bridge over an open water-course" or could poetically mean "ladder bridge" or "plank bridge" (from Old English læddre).

Unlike the arms of the Lethbridge Baronets, these arms have a base Vert rather than "over water"; ''Argent, over water proper, a bridge of five arches embattled gules and over the centre arch a turret in chief an eagle displayed sable charged on the breast with a bezant"