Yorkshire Heraldry - Mitford

I have spent some time today researching the Visitations of Yorkshire (1563 and 1564) looking for possible examples of punning arms. Just occasionally I stumble across a coat of arms which, although not a punning coat, is a coat that "alludes" to something relating to the surname. 

Yes, I do realise that there are lots of coats of arms, especially those newly created, which have charges specifically chosen to represent aspects of the armiger's life, or family, but these coats are slightly different. I hope that the Mitford allusion will become almost self evident once explained.

The arms of Mitford (Yorkshire Visitations 1563/4)

Argent, on a fess between three moles passant Sable a mullet Or.

The choice of moles in the arms of the Mitford family is widely considered a canting (punning) coat, though it operates as an allusion to land ownership rather than a direct pun on the surname itself.

The historical coat of arms for the ancient Northumbrian family of Mitford (and their descendants, such as the Barons Redesdale and the famous Mitford sisters) is actually blazoned as: Argent, a fess between three moles Sable. The blazon recorded in the Yorkshire Visitation of 1563 and 1564 (Argent, on a fess between three moles passant Sable a mullet Or) represents a specific, cadenced branch of the family. The addition of the gold star (a mullet Or) placed on top of the central horizontal bar (on a fess) is a traditional mark of cadency used to denote a third son.

While many cants mimic the sound of the family name (like Shelley bearing whelk shells), the Mitford moles are a topographical cant representing their land ownership. In May 1369, Sir John de Mitford was granted the lands and tenements of the ville of Molesden (a township located in the ancient parish of Mitford, Northumberland). Shortly after acquiring Molesden, the family adopted three moles (traditionally referred to in old northern English as moldiwarps) into their arms to explicitly play on the name of their new estate.

Because the use of moles as a primary charge is exceptionally rare in British heraldry, this remains one of the most famous examples of an estate-based cant in English armory.