Aldriche of Weightmore - No proof given

 Not only am I fascinated by heraldic puns, I am also attracted to the unusual, or the out of the ordinary. One such coat of arms that attracted my attention was that of Aldriche of Weightmore: "Respite given for proofe of the Armes, but none made."

The record of Robert Aldriche of Weightmore in the Staffordshire Visitations record that "Respite given for proofe of the Armes, but none made." A footnote however, records that he was Bailiff to Lord Paget, and died 16th March 1656, in his 81st year, having issue by Anne his wife five sons and two daughters. On his monument at Burton-on-Trent are these arms:- Argent, on a fesse Vert a bull passant Argent.

Burke's record these arms as belonging to Aldrich Cheam co Surrey. So, is there a genealogical connection between the Staffordshire family, who failed to provide proof of their right to arms, and the Cheam family whose arms were recorded by Burke.

The exact arms (Argent, on a fesse Vert a bull passant Argent) displayed on Robert Aldriche’s monument at Burton-on-Trent and registered by the Cheam family are identical because the Cheam/Oxford branch of the family actually descended directly from Robert Aldriche of Weightmore. The connection is traced through the 1664 Visitation of Staffordshire and Oxford university records:

According to the Visitation of Staffordshire (1664), Robert Aldriche of Weightmore (d. 1656) and his wife Anne Horobin had five sons. His eldest son was Henry Aldriche (who married Judith Fraunces). Henry moved away from Staffordshire to Westminster, London, where he served as a political and local official (and was associated with Elias Ashmole).Henry’s son, Robert’s grandson, was the famous Dr Henry Aldrich (1648–1710), Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, an architect, theologian, and composer.

When Dean Henry Aldrich died in 1710, he was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. His grand monumental inscription features the exact same arms: Argent, on a fess Vert a bull passant Argent. Because Dean Henry Aldrich was a celebrated figure in the south of England, his branch of the family became heavily tied to the gentry records of Surrey and London, including nearby Cheam. Sir Bernard Burke, compiling his General Armory centuries later, recorded the arms under "Aldrich of Cheam, co. Surrey" because that was the prominent, settled seat of the family's southern descendants by the 18th/19th century.

So why did the Staffordshire Visitations say "Respite given for proof"?

When the Heralds (specifically William Dugdale) visited Lichfield in July 1664, Robert’s second son, Jonah Aldriche, certified the family tree. Jonah claimed the right to bear these arms, but because his father Robert had been a land-agent/bailiff to Lord Paget rather than a traditional "gentleman", it seems that Jonah didn't have the official deed of grant or seal from London on hand to prove it. Because of this, it was noted that "Respite given... but none made," meaning they gave Jonah time to produce the evidence or pay the fees to the College of Arms, which he failed to do before they left the county.

Despite the failure of the Staffordshire branch to prove their arms in 1664, the family clearly kept using them. When Robert’s grandson rose to immense wealth and prestige as the Dean of Oxford, it was quite probable that the College of Arms fully recognised the family's right to them; which is why Burke formally records Robert’s ancestral arms under his descendant's Surrey location.