Friday, 12 June 2026

Shropshire's Punning Heraldry - Wall

 Wall, of Faintree Hall, Shropshire. 

Arms: Per fesse Or and Azure, a fesse battely counter battely between three fleurs-di-lis all counterchanged. Crest: Out of a mural coronet Or a wolf's head Argent charged on the neck with a fesse embattled and counter embattled Gules.

(Granted July 9th 1594)


The arms of Wall, of Faintree Hall, Shropshire. 

The coat of arms and crest for the surname Wall is a textbook example of a canting arm (a heraldic pun or visual rebus). The central fesse is blazoned as "battelly counter-battelly" (also known as embattled, counter-embattled). In classical architecture and fortification, an embattled parapet or wall features alternating indentations and raised sections (crenelations). Visually and etymologically, this represents the stone wall of a castle, punning directly on the surname Wall. 

The crest sits atop a mural crown. As the name implies, a mural crown is styled to look like the top of a stone wall or a fortress. In stories, and probably also in fact, wolves were notorious for trying to breach the walls of sheepfolds, and were known as relentless jumpers of barriers. A wolf leaping over, attacking, or surmounting a wall is a classic heraldic play on the name.

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