The Doubtful arms of Staffordshire - Weston and an elaborate fabrication

The final one of our five notes on the "Doubtful arms of Staffordshire" is that of  *Sir Symond Weston, of Lichfield.

Ermine, on a chief Azure five bezants, a martlet Gules for difference.

* An evident interpolation, for Sir Simon was not a knight in 1583, and his father, James Weston, was then living. The latter made his will in 1589, and therein names his son James, then under twenty-four years of age, and his son and heir Simon. It may be here mentioned that the elaborate pedigree of Weston printed in Harwood’s “Erdeswick” was fabricated in 1632 for Richard, Lord Weston, then Lord Treasurer of England. (Vide Mr. Chester-Waters’s “Memoirs of the Chesters of Chicheley.”) It should be added that Sir Simon does not appear in the lists of doubtful coats given in Lord Hatherton’s MS. and in the Harl, MSS. 1077, 1173.

There is no crest recorded alongside that specific blazon in the primary visitation entry for Sir Symond (Simon) Weston of Lichfield. In The "Visitacion of Staffordschire" made by Robert Glover, 1583, the entry records only the shield (arms): Ermine, on a chief Azure five bezants, a martlet Gules for difference. Genealogical notes on the 1583 Visitation point out that this entry is a later interpolation. Sir Simon Weston (c. 1565–1637) was not knighted until August 1599, and his father James Weston was still alive at the time of the 1583 visitation.

While no crest is attached to Sir Simon's interpolated Visitation entry, broader heraldic armories (such as Burke's General Armory and later 17th-century grants) record crests for the closely related Weston of Lichfield and Weston of Rugeley branches, which used either the bezant coat or the older Staffordshire eagle coat. For the Weston family of Lichfield bearing Ermine, on a chief Azure five bezants (the arms confirmed/granted in 1632 to Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, who claimed descent from the Staffordshire Westons), the recorded crest is typically an eagle rising reguardant Sable (sometimes blazoned as an eagle's head erased Or, beaked Gules). For Sir Simon's direct cousin Sir James Weston (1573–1634), Baron of the Exchequer and also of Lichfield, the family bore Or, an eagle displayed reguardant Sable with the crest: An eagle's head Or, beaked Gules, a crescent for difference.

The Controvercy:

The 1632 pedigree controversy centres on a lavish vellum genealogy commissioned by Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, which claimed his Essex family descended from the ancient Staffordshire Westons of Lichfield and Rugeley, and through them, from the noble Neville Earls of Westmorland.

Compiled by herald Henry Lilly (Rouge Croix) and certified by Sir William Segar (Garter King of Arms) around 1632/1633, the manuscript (now British Library Add. MS 18667) became famous in Victorian genealogy as a textbook example of an "elaborate fabrication". Later archival evidence, however, has largely vindicated the Staffordshire connection.

The Claims of the 1632 Pedigree

As Lord High Treasurer to King Charles I and newly created Earl of Portland, Richard Weston sought an illustrious ancestry to match his political rise. The certified pedigree asserted that his grandfather, Justice Richard Weston of Skreens in Essex (d. 1572), was the second son of John Weston of Lichfield, making Justice Weston the brother of James Weston (Sir Simon Weston's father) and Robert Weston, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

John Weston of Lichfield had married Lady Cecily Neville, sister of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, giving Portland direct noble blood. Through the Lichfield line, Portland descended from the medieval lords of Weston-under-Lizard in Staffordshire, tracing back to the Norman Conquest.

"An Elaborate Fabrication"

In 1878, genealogist Robert E. C. Waters published Genealogical Memoirs of the Extinct Family of Chester of Chicheley, launching a scathing critique that shaped standard reference works like the Dictionary of National Biography for over a century. Waters argued that Portland's grandfather had no connection to Staffordshire at all. Instead, he claimed the Judge descended from a minor Essex family, William Weston of Prested Hall in Feering, and that Henry Lilly had simply grafted the Essex upstart onto the prominent Lichfield family because they shared a surname.

Critics pointed to the suspicious entry for Sir Simon Weston in the 1583 Visitation of Staffordshire as retroactive tampering designed to harmonize Lichfield records with Portland's new pedigree. Waters dismissed the marriage of John Weston of Lichfield to Lady Cecily Neville as a complete invention to manufacture a Plantagenet/Neville connection.

Modern Reassessment & Evidence

Subsequent research into Tudor and Stuart records has overturned much of Waters's dismissal. Long before the 1632 pedigree was drafted, John Weston of Lichfield, Justice Richard Weston of Essex (on his 1572 tomb), Lord Chancellor Robert Weston, and Sir Simon Weston all bore the exact same distinctive arms (Ermine, on a chief azure five bezants). In 1625, seven years before the pedigree was commissioned, Richard Weston explicitly referred to Sir Simon Weston of Lichfield in correspondence as his "uncle" (a common 17th-century term for an older cousin or kinsman), proving the two branches actively recognized their blood relationship.

While the direct Staffordshire kinship between the Essex Westons and Sir Simon Weston of Lichfield is now accepted by historians, the exact parentage of Cecily Neville remains debated, as primary Neville family records do not independently confirm a daughter marrying into Lichfield.

Sir Simon Weston (d. 20 February 1637) was buried in St. Mary's Church in Lichfield Market Square, where a large mural monument commemorating him and his immediate family was erected on the north side of the chancel.

Because St. Mary's underwent major demolitions and rebuildings in the 18th and 19th centuries, the surviving antiquarian records, most notably Sir William Dugdale’s 17th-century Church Notes and Stebbing Shaw’s History and Antiquities of Staffordshire, provide the primary evidence for the monument's original text and heraldry.

The Weston Mural Monument (St. Mary's, Lichfield), originally positioned on the north wall of the chancel, memorialised three generations of the Lichfield branch: Sir Simon's father James Weston, Esq. (Registrar of the Diocese and MP for Lichfield), Sir Simon Weston himself, and Sir Simon's daughter Elizabeth (Weston) Ridgeway, wife of Robert Ridgeway, 2nd Earl of Londonderry.

Antiquarian accounts of the monument note that its sculpted shields prominently displayed the Weston bezant coat (Ermine, on a chief Azure five bezants) quartering Neville (Gules, a saltire Argent). This public display in Lichfield served as a visible assertion of the family's descent from John Weston of Lichfield and his wife Cecilia Neville, the exact lineage later contested in the 1632 Earl of Portland pedigree controversy.

The medieval fabric of St. Mary's in the Market Square was pulled down and rebuilt in 1717 - 1721, and altered again during Victorian restorations in 1842 -1843 and 1868 -1870. Many early modern chancel monuments were displaced, lost, or heavily restored during these rebuildings, meaning the antiquarian transcripts remain vital for verifying the exact 17th-century blazons.

The Doubtful arms of Staffordshire - Bowes

 Sir John Bowes, of Elford.

Arms: Ermine, three bows strung in pale Gules, in the dexter chief a fleur-de-lis (for difference).

In the 1583 Visitation of Staffordshire (conducted by Robert Glover as deputy to Norroy King of Arms), the entry specifically records the family line and arms of Sir John Bowes, of Elford: Ermine, three bows strung in pale Gules, in the dexter chief a fleur-de-lis(for cadency). These arms are recorded amongst the "Doubtful arms of Staffordshire".

The three bows are "punning" or canting arms (a visual play on the surname Bowes). The fleur-de-lis in the upper-left (dexter chief) corner is a heraldic mark of cadency. Because the Staffordshire branch descended from a younger son of the northern Bowes family (specifically a sixth son, according to heraldic tradition), the fleur-de-lis was used as a cadency mark to distinguish the Elford line from the senior branch at Streatlam Castle in County Durham.

Although recorded in the earlier Visitations under the "Doubtful arms of Staffordshire, the later Visitations of Staffordshire (1614 & 1663–64), compiled by Sir Richard St. George and William Dugdale, document Sir John's descendants (his son Richard and grandson John) and verify the family's quartered arms, showing the Bowes coat quartered with the arms of Huddleston (Argent, on a chevron Sable three escallops Or), acquired through Sir John's first marriage to the Elford heiress Anne Huddleston.

The Bowes family originally migrated from Northern England (Durham/Northumberland). Local Staffordshire histories record that the manor of Elford passed via the female lines of the Stanley, Staunton, Huddlestone, and Smythe families until it finally came into the possession of Sir John Bowes. Sir John married Anne Hodleston, daughter of Sir Richard Huddlestone, bringing the Elford property firmly into the Bowes family line, where it remained for generations.

Sir John Bowes of Elford was the father (or closely related elder brother, depending on the generation recorded in the pedigree charts) of the prominent Elizabethan diplomat Sir Jerome Bowes (d. 1616), who served as Queen Elizabeth I's ambassador to Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia. The Elford branch eventually connected back to the main aristocratic tree of the Bowes family. By the 18th century, the manor passed through marriage to Henry Bowes Howard, who became the Earl of Berkshire and Suffolk, and rebuilt Elford Hall.

Elford Parish Registers, held by the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service, record the burial of Sir John Bowes on 1 February 1607/8 (following his death on 29 January). They also contain the baptismal records of his children and the burial of his daughter Elizabeth (buried 18 December 1580).

St. Peter’s Church in Elford houses significant tombs and effigies of the Stanley, Smythe, Huddleston, and Bowes families who successively held the Manor of Elford.

According to historical surveys (including The History of Parliament biography of his younger brother, the courtier and ambassador Sir Jerome Bowes), numerous records of the family's property transactions were preserved at Elford Hall. These deeds detail how Sir John acquired the manor through his marriage to Anne Huddleston and consolidated lands across Staffordshire, Leicestershire, and County Durham.

Records of Sir John's will, Inquisitions Post Mortem (IPMs), and land disputes are catalogued at The National Archives (Kew) and the Staffordshire Record Office (within the Paget/Howard of Elford estate collections, as the estate passed via marriage from the Bowes family to the Howards, Earls of Suffolk and Berkshire, in 1683).

The Manor of Elford is a historic pre-conquest estate in the Lichfield district of Staffordshire, situated on the banks of the River Tame about 5 miles north of Tamworth. The manor originally belonged to Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia, before the Norman Conquest. In the 1086 Domesday Book, it was recorded as Elleford (or Eleford), consisting of villagers, smallholders, and working watermills.

Over the centuries, the manor passed through several prominent families, including the Ardernes (12th–15th centuries), the Stanleys, Stauntons, Huddlestones, Smythes, and later the Bowes and Bowes-Howard families through to 1877.

The main manorial seat, Elford Hall, dated largely from the late 18th century and stood adjacent to the historic St. Peter’s Church. In 1936, the estate was handed over to Birmingham Corporation by Francis Paget. After falling into disrepair, the hall was demolished in 1964. An earlier medieval iteration of the manor is recorded at a wet moated site in Elford Park (referenced in the Staffordshire Historic Environment Record). A major surviving remnant of the estate is the 12-foot-high walled garden. It was restored by local volunteers starting in 2009 and now features a rose garden, orchards, a riverside walk, and community spaces managed via the Elford Hall Garden Project.

The Church of St. Peter’s remains a focal point of the village, housing notable medieval and Tudor tombs of the Arderne and Stanley families.

Historical layouts of the estate can be explored via archived records such as the Map of the Manor of Elford in 1719 on Staffordshire Past Track.

Doubtful arms of Staffordshire - Skeffington

John Skevington, of Fysherwyke.

Argent, three bull's heads erased Sable.

Historical records for John Skevington (Skeffington) of Fisherwick (historically spelled Fysherwyke or Fisherwicke), matching the coat of arms "Argent, three bull's heads erased Sable," reveal a prominent Staffordshire gentleman embedded in Tudor and Elizabethan gentry records. The primary historical touchpoints for this specific individual include the Heraldic Visitations of Staffordshire (1583).

Conducted by Robert Glover (Somerset Herald), this survey was designed to regulate and record legitimate coats of arms. In the editorial prefaces analysing Robert Glover's 1583 journey, the family of Skeffington (Skevington) is recorded as a notable omission or defaulter who initially failed to appear or register properly under Glover's strict summons. While John Skevington was a recognized local landowner, his arms faced explicit scepticism during the herald's tour and were recorded under Doubtful Staffordshire Arms.

When Glover (the Somerset Herald) went through Staffordshire, he flagged specific coats of arms that were disallowed or "respited" for lack of sufficient proof. It meant the family was claiming the arms, but could not produce ancient deeds, seals, or explicit grants at that exact moment to satisfy the rigorous standards of the College of Arms. In historical transcripts (such as Harleian MS 1570 and Lord Hatherton's MS), John Skevington’s entry sits directly in this compromised list, recorded as: "John Skevington, of Fysherwyke: Argent, three bull's heads erased Sable."

John Skeffington was part of the foundational line that established the Skeffingtons in Staffordshire. He was a direct descendant (grandson) of Sir John Skeffington, a wealthy merchant of the Staple who served as Alderman and Sheriff of London in 1521, and who originally purchased the manor of Fisherwick. John and Alice's eldest son, Sir William Skeffington, inherited Fisherwick and served as High Sheriff of Staffordshire at the end of Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1601) and again under King James I (1623). He was eventually created the 1st Baronet of Fisherwick by King Charles I in 1627. Through this direct line, via his marriage to Elizabeth Dering, Sir William's descendants inherited the estate and eventually married into the Clotworthy family, directly establishing John Skeffington as an ancestor to the Viscounts Massereene.

Land and property registries from the late 16th century credit John Skevington with expanding his family's footprint in Staffordshire. He is recorded as having built the "large, magnificent" Elizabethan-style manor house at Fisherwick Park, which stood for two centuries before being demolished and rebuilt by the Marquess of Donegal in the late 18th century.

The entry in Burke's General Armory for this family records: Skeffington (Fisherwick, co. Stafford, bart., extinct 1816; descended from Thomas Skeffington, third son of Sir Wiliam Skeffington, Knt., of Skeffington, Lord Deputy of Ireland temp. Henry VIII. The fifth bart. became Earl of Massereene). Same Arms (Argent, three bull's heads erased Sable armed Or). Crest: A mermaid with comb and mirror all Proper.

Could it be that the crest which makes reference to the family estate in a subtle pun?

The family estate is Fysherwyke (modernly Fisherwick in Staffordshire). The crest features a mermaid, an explicitly half-fish mythical creature. The presence of a mermaid is a direct, witty visual pun on the "Fisher" element of "Fisher-wyke."

The Doubtful arms of Staffordshire - Aderley

Continuing of Doubtful theme, the second entry in Glover's Visitations of Staffordshire under the Doubtful arms of Staffordshire is Raufe Aderley, of Coton:

Argent, on a bend Azure three lozenges Or, each charged with a pheon Gules.

References to Raufe Aderley (or Ralph Adderley) of Coton, alongside this specific coat of arms (Argent, on a bend Azure three lozenges Or, each charged with a pheon Gules), feature in several prominent historical and heraldic volumes:

The primary source for this exact entry is The Visitation of Staffordshire made by Robert Glover, Somerset Herald, in 1583, where he is recorded amongst the "Doubtful arms of Staffordshire". A detailed pedigree of his family and brothers (including John, Humfrey, and George) is recorded within the same text, tracing their line back to the Adderleys of Blackhagh (Blackwood/Blackhalgh). In this pedigree, Raulf is recorded as Raulf Adderley, of Cotton in the County of Stafford, Esq, Justice of the Peace; now living in anno 1583. He is married to Phelice, daughter of Henry Milwarde in Com. Derby; second wife.

The specific blazon is documented across historical texts detailing British gentry and their coats of arms:

The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales by Sir Bernard Burke (1884): Under the entry for Adderley (Coton Hall, co. Stafford), the arms are explicitly catalogued. (Note: Some printed variations or transcriptions in the same text omit the Or and blazon the lozenges simply as "of the field", but the core design remains tied to Coton Hall).

Warwickshire Arms and Lineages by F.W. Kittermaster (1866): This text notes that the branch of the family expanding into Warwickshire (such as Sir Charles Adderley, Equerry to King Charles I) descended directly from “Ralph Adderley, of Coton, Co. Stafford, High Sheriff of the County (temp. Eliz.)”. It explicitly cites the original Heraldic Visitations and Dugdale's antiquarian records.

Collections for a History of Staffordshire (William Salt Archaeological Society): The genealogical files track the administrative presence of the family at Coton, identifying Ralph Adderley as an influential justice and landowner who initially purchased the Coton estate in 1558.

The Burke's General Armory entry in full with the additional entry for Adderley of Blakehagh (This coat confirmed by the Deputies of Camden, Clarenceux):

Adderley (originally of Blakehagh, co. Stafford, and subsequently of Weddington, co. Warwick, Coton, co. Stafford, and Hams Hall, co. Warwick, confirmed by the Deputies of Camden, Clarenceux, to HUMPHREY ADDERLEY, of Weddington, co. Warwick, son of HUMPHREY ADDERLEY, of the same, fourth son of THOMAS ADDERLEY, of Blakehagh, co. Stafford, and fourth in descent from HENRY ADDERLEY.) Argent, on a bend Azure three mascles of the field. Crest: On a chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a stork Argent.

Adderley (Coton Hall, co. Stafford). Ar. on a bend az. three lozenges of the field each charged with a pheon gu. Visit. of Stafford, 1583. (This differs from the actual Visitations entry in that the lozenges are "of the field" whereas in the Visitations they are Or).

Adderley of Blakehagh (This coat confirmed by the Deputies of Camden, Clarenceux.)

The Doubtful arms of Staffordshire - Brettayne

 The Doubtful arms of Staffordshire.

The following entry appears in Glover's Visitations of Staffordshire, Edited by H. Sydney Glazebrook, Esq. 

"The Doubtful arms of Staffordshire.

[The ensuing list does not appear in the Stukeley MS. nor in the (presumed) Original, but it is given in Lord Hatherton's MS. and several other copies of the Visitation. It no doubt contains those coats which were disallowed or "respited" by Glover. I here print it from the Harl. MS. 1570, where, as the Harleian Catalogue has it, the arms are "hastily tricked within printed escocheons." It is there headed, "Here beginneth the doubtfull Armes of Staffordshire."]"

The first entry in the list is that of John Brettayne, of Serescott, and Tamworth. Azure, a bend between six mullets Or.

The arms blazoned as Azure, a bend between six mullets Or (a blue shield featuring a diagonal gold band between six gold stars), are recorded in Harleian MS 1570. In this manuscript, the arms are described as being "hastily tricked [sketched] within printed escocheons".

This record is directly tied to the 1583 Heraldic Visitation of Staffordshire, conducted by Robert Glover (Somerset Herald) on behalf of William Flower (Norroy King of Arms). During these official visitations, heralds reviewed the rights of local gentry to bear coats of arms. John Brettayne's entry was compiled in an appendix of coats that were disallowed or "respited" for further proof. This means that at the time of the 1583 visitation, the heralds either disliked the authenticity or pedigree of the claim, or marked it as requiring more documentation/evidence of ancestral usage before it could be officially confirmed in the College of Arms.

Looking into where this coat might have originated, a coat of arms matching Azure, a bend between six mullets Or is historically associated with the Breton family (also recorded as Bretun or Britton) in English heraldry. The arms of Sire Robert Breton are blazoned in early rolls of arms (such as the Battle of Boroughbridge roll from 1322 and the Surrey Roll) as bearing Azure, a bend between six mullets of six points Or. Breton of Barwell (Leicestershire) are recorded in historical pedigrees (such as in Nichols' History and Antiquities of Leicestershire) with arms: Azure, on a bend between six mullets of six points, pierced Or, a mullet (with a crest of a lion's jamb erased). And of course, Burke's General Armory lists variations of the Breton family arms featuring a bend between six mullets, sometimes with slight differences such as pierced mullets or additional charges.

The only record of the arms of John Brettayne of Serescott and Tamworth is preserved in the heraldic collections of Staffordshire, specifically categorized under what early heralds called "The Doubtful Arms of Staffordshire". Syerscote (historically recorded as Serescott or Sirescote) is a historic manor and hamlet located in Staffordshire, near Tamworth. It appeared in the 1086 Domesday Book as a small settlement. Tamworth is the historic market town bordering Staffordshire and Warwickshire.

The arms of Henry Dagge, Esq.

 A recent conversation on Social media drew my attention to the arms of Henry Dagge, Esq.

They are historically recorded at the Foundling Hospital in London, preserved today in the parish archives of St. Pancras, and documented in historical architectural surveys. These arms were painted by the celebrated 18th-century glass-painter William Peckitt in 1766 into one of the chapel windows at the Foundling Hospital to commemorate Henry Dagge’s appointment as a Governor of the institution.

The arms (Argent, a chevron Sable between five nuns, three in chief and two in base, proper) form a classic example of canting arms. The surname Dagges (or Dagg) sounds phonetically or rhythmically close to "dags", which in Middle English and dialect referred to dangling shreds, tags, or the ornamental, jagged-cut edges of medieval clothing (dagges or dagging), or alternatively relates to daggers (dagg / dague).

In Middle English, the word dagge was borrowed from the Old French dague but evolved to specifically mean "a shred, tag, or strip (as of cloth or leather)" or "ornamental points or incisions on the edges of a garment." During the 14th and 15th centuries, "dagging" was a highly popular fashion trend where the hems and sleeves of tunics, gowns, and hoods were deliberately slit or slashed into decorative, jagged shapes (resembling leaves, tongues, or battlements). As a surname, it would have been given as a nickname to someone who wore or manufactured these fashionable, jaggedly-cut garments.

The five nuns in their black-and-white habits (Sable on Argent) with hanging coifs/veils visually mirror the dangling, notched, or dark-trimmed strips (dagges) of fabric or hoods characteristic of medieval dagged apparel, and create a witty, visual play on the word itself. The crest of a demi-nun holding a book proper further anchors the motif.

His coat of arms is historically preserved and documented in 18th-century local topographies and armorial collections:

• The Foundling Hospital Chapel Windows: Henry Dagge became a Governor of the Foundling Hospital in 1766. His arms were famously painted by the York glass artist William Peckitt on the chapel windows of the hospital along with other notable governors.

• Daniel Lysons' The Environs of London (1795): His arms are formally cataloged under the parish of St. Pancras, where Lysons details the stained-glass heraldry of the Foundling Hospital.

I enjoyed emblazoning them (and adding them to my ever growing collection of punning arms) but I have to say that had I been the herald designing these arms, if the armiger had insisted upon five devout ladies (surely there must have been a reason for such) I would have avoided a chevron and either had no ordinary at all or chosen a fesse which would have avoided the nun in centre chief being squeezed in. Although I freely admit that his arms in The Chapel at Ashlyns School, Berkhamsted, have the ladies squeezed in a bit better - I tend to attempt to fill whatever space is available!

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.

Ashenhurst of Ashenhurst - a Staffordshire Pun

Ashenhurst of Ashenhurst.

Arms: Or, a cockatrice, the tail nowed and terminating in a serpent's head Sable, the comb, wattles, and head gules, in the beak a sprig vert.

Crest: A cockatrice as in the arms.

The family took its name from Ashenhurst Hall, located near Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands, where they were established for centuries as prominent local gentry. In the late 16th century, Ralph Ashenhurst married the heiress of Beard Hall in Derbyshire*. This union significantly expanded the family's wealth, landholdings, and influence across county lines. However, the Ashenhursts achieved their greatest historical notoriety during the 1640s and 1650s as staunch Parliamentarians (Roundheads) fighting against King Charles I.

Randle Ashenhurst and his brother Edward both served as high-ranking Colonels for the Parliamentary forces. Edward notably seized the estate of Walton Grange, in the market town of Stone, during the conflict. Randle’s son, Captain (later Colonel) John Ashenhurst, became a dominant military figure in Staffordshire. In 1644, he successfully led the siege and capture of Biddulph Hall, a heavily fortified Royalist stronghold.

Following the Royalist defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, Colonel John Ashenhurst was commissioned to hunt down the fleeing King Charles II. Leading a troop of cavalry, Ashenhurst famously searched Boscobel House and nearly captured the King, who famously escaped by hiding in a nearby oak tree (the Royal Oak).

The return of the monarchy (the Restoration) in 1660 brought an end to the family's golden era in Staffordshire. Because of their prominent anti-Royalist stance, the family's fortunes waned. Following Randle Ashenhurst’s death in 1666, his son John was forced to sell Ashenhurst Hall in 1667, ending centuries of family ownership. Facing political ruin, John Ashenhurst was reportedly transported to Barbados in 1669. Other branches of the family eventually migrated to Ireland, and by the late 18th century, descendants had crossed the Atlantic to settle in Virginia and the wider United States.

The arms of the Ashenhurst family, of Ashenhurst Hall, are quite fascinating in their own right and there is a canting (punning) heraldic device found in these arms, though it relies on visual wordplay and older dialect pronunciations rather than a straightforward phonetic pun.

In old English folklore and dialect, the cockatrice was sometimes conflated or associated with the basilisk, which was born from a "cock's egg" hatched in a dunghill or among ashes.

A "hurst" is an archaic word for a grove, wooded hill, or thicket. The sprig vert (green sprig/branch) held in the cockatrice's beak directly symbolises a piece of vegetation or a grove, visually representing the -hurst part of the name.

Combining a creature linked to ashes with a green branch creates a living rebus for Ashen-hurst (an ash tree grove or a wooded hill of ash).

The legend of the cockatrice and the basilisk represents one of the most famous conflations in European and English folklore.

The two mythical beasts became inextricably linked in English culture during the late 14th century. When John Trevisa translated Bartholomeus Anglicus's encyclopedia de proprietatibus rerum in 1397, he translated the Latin word basiliscus as "cockatrice". From that point onward, especially through the Elizabethan era, the terms were used interchangeably in literature, dialect, and heraldry.

According to widespread folk tradition, a cockatrice or basilisk was born from a highly unusual, small, yolkless egg (historically called a "cock's egg," "fart egg," or "witch egg") supposedly laid by an elderly rooster. In standard English folklore, the egg had to be incubated by a toad or a serpent. To generate the proper heat for incubation, legends and old husbandry texts frequently specified that the egg was hatched within a dunghill, a pile of warm ashes, or compost, which provided the natural, fermenting warmth needed to bring the monster to life.

*The armorial bearings of the Beard family of Beard Hall, Derbyshire, are also a classic example of canting arms, heraldic designs that act as a visual pun on the bearer's surname.

According to the Visitations of Derbyshire (recorded by William Flower, Norroy King of Arms), the coat of arms of the Beard family of Beard Hall is: Argent, three men's faces bearded Sable within a bordure Azure (or alternatively recorded as three men's heads, couped and bearded, Proper, within a border Azure).

The arms of Beard of Beard Hall.

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

 It's that time of year again so I make no apologies for reminding my reader that my talk featuring the armorial bearings of the Gunpowder Plotters is available for all to see. 

In this talk, we explore the heraldry, or coats of arms, used by the Gunpowder Plotters and link that heraldry to their lives and their part in the Plot. We explore their lives, their motives and their deaths. 

The Beaumont Earls of Chester

Recent study of William Flower’s The Visitation of Yorkshire (1563–1564) has certainly thrown up some unexpected curiosities. 

The appearance of an entry linking "Beaumont" as the "Earls of Chester" on Page 18 of William Flower’s The Visitation of Yorkshire (1563–1564) was certainly a surprise. The error, and I do believe that it is an error, is not mentioned in the foreword. I believe that it is due to a highly specific, late-medieval genealogical error regarding the maternal ancestry of the Barons Dacre of the North.

Page 18 of this specific visitation outlines the pedigree for "Dacre of the North." Within that lineage, the early Tudor heralds appear to have mistakenly recorded an early ancestor as marrying a daughter of the "Beaumont Earls of Chester." It seems to me that the Heralds conflated two separate entities.

The entry appears to be a historical error born from the conflation of two powerful Anglo-Norman magnates who lived during the 12th century:

The Real Earls of Chester: The early Earls of Chester were from the d'Avranches and Meschin families (such as Ranulf de Meschin and Ranulf de Blondeville). They were never Beaumonts.

The Beaumont Earls: The House of Beaumont famously held the Earldom of Leicester (alongside the Earldom of Warwick).

Because both the Earls of Chester and the Beaumont Earls of Leicester were top-tier Anglo-Norman barons who frequently intermarried, fought, and held vast, overlapping estates across the Midlands and the North of England, later Tudor heralds drafting the Dacre lineage seem to have confused the two titles into a single blended identity.

When William Flower conducted his tour of Yorkshire in 1563, he relied heavily on family rolls, oral traditions, and older, unverified manuscripts supplied by the families themselves to construct deep medieval roots. Many families sought to anchor their lineage to prestigious Conquest-era or Magna Carta-era barons.

Over centuries, accurate names often blurred: a real marriage to a daughter of a Beaumont (Earl of Leicester) or a Meschin (Earl of Chester) was misremembered or mistranscribed as a "Beaumont Earl of Chester." Rather than correcting the error, the heralds appear to have recorded it as presented, cementing a fictional title into the official pages of Yorkshire's genealogical history. Incredible!

At the end of the pedigree there is an heraldic note which provides a quarterly blazon:

Beaumont, Azure, a lion rampant Or. 

Bearing in mind that my present avenue of research is to find canting arms, Beaumont means Beautiful mountain - what a missed opportunity!

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.

Powys Arms Wetley Rocks

Many moons ago, I wrote to the then licencee of The Powys Arms, Wetley Rocks, pointing out that the coat of arms on their pub sign was not the arms of the Powys, Lords of the Manor of Wetley Rocks, but, most incorrectly, the coat of arms of Powys County Council! My efforts to persuade them to correct the mistake did resulted in the removel of the old, faded, incorrect pub sign but, sadly, it was replaced with a sign that was not the arms of Powys but was simply a sign with the words The Powys Arms written upon it. Perhaps this was cheaper, or easier, than painting the actual, correct arms. 

The former, now replaced Inn sign at the Powys Arms, Wetley Rocks showing the coat of arms of Powys County Council (Wales). Which has absolutely nothing  to do with the arms of Powys of Westwood, Lords of the Manor of Wetley Rocks.

It saddens me that an incresing number of pubs with "Arms" names are forgetting that their name origins stem, litterally, from coats of Arms with local histories, and are replacing their signs with just words. The Powys Arms are a prime example. 

Today, a repost appeared on the Facebook page of the Staffordshire Sentinel/Leek Post and Times reposrting that, after a facelift, the pub has re-opend under the management of Julie, a new publican. Whilst I realise that the loss of true armorial pub signs is likely a result of tightening budgets, I can't help but wonder if Julie might be open to a suggestion that reinstating the proper Powys Arms on the pub sign might restore some link to the pubs past.

Tony Consadine - a sad farewell

 Tony Consadine, from Lancaster, passed away last Wednesday the 23rd September 2026. 

Many from the Heraldry world will remember Tony, he was Heraldist to the Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society, a long time member of the Cheshire Heraldry Society, member of Yorkshire Heraldry Society, Member of The Heraldry Society, and a good friend in heraldry. 

He contributed many an article to the publications of the Yorkshire Heraldry Society and was always ready to lend a hand during the meetings of the Cheshire Heraldry Society.

Tony had been poorly for quite some time and after a valiant struggle, passed away last Wednesday the 23rd September 2026. He was a loving father of a son and two daughters, and a much loved brother to George, as well as a much loved granddad.

May he rest in peace.

Aspects of Heraldry

 It's that time of year again and my copy of Aspects of Heraldry, The Journal of The Yorkshire Heraldry Society, has just dropped through my letter box. 

Edited (and with a great many illustrations and articles) by David Waterton-Anderson, this is always a pleasure to receive. This edition has a wide variety of articles produced by David (Armorial Cloth Badge, Heraldry at Orton Hall, and Markenfield Hall) and other contributors including Analeigh Sbrana (Keeping it in the family), Michael A. Linton (Shifting Barony: Vesci), Donald M. Hallowes (Whitkirk Church) Geoffrey Collier (Haldenby Arms) and yours trully (Canting Arms & Making it Fit).

If you are not yet a member of The Yorkshire Heraldry Society, I commend it to you; you don't particularly have to live in Yorkshire as the magazine alone is worth the membership fee. The Society has an active schedule of visits and holds an annual lecture day.

David can be contacted at yorksheraldrysoc@gmail.com

A Grant of arms to an Office Holder

Today, the Court of the Lord Lyon published photographs of the Lord Lyon presenting the Letters Patent of  a new grant of arms to the non-hereditary office of Keeper of Inchmahome.

I am always pleased to see how successive Lords Lyon strive to keep heraldry relevant and to the fore. Scotland, in my humble opinion has a head start in this as, unlike its fellow nation of the UK England, it has a thriving Clan system of which heraldry is of great importance. 

Here are the Letters Patent (it is a pity that there is a grammatical error in the execution of the document which appears to have gone unnoticed). 

This image is possibly too small to see but I checked with a magnifying glass. There is a surplus "the".

"John Alexander Stewart of Inchmahome disponed to the the Trustees of the said Society in trust for the use and behoof of the said Society".

Lyon Office has been notified.

Nevertheless, congratulations to the Stewart Society and the present Keeper of Inchmahome, may you gain much joy from the use of the arms of your Office.

New arms for an anniversary - HSS

Congratulations to the Heraldry Society of Scotland whose newly granted supporters commemorating the forthcoming Golden Jubilee, were unveiled at their AGM yesterday. I always liked the crest character which, by accident or design, had always been depicted in the image of one of its original founding members, Charles John Burnett, Ross Herald of Arms Extraordinary, but time moves on and it seems that he has now been replaced by a likeness of the recently deceased Mark Dennis, who was appointed as Ormond Pursuivant of Arms in 2009 and later elevated to Ross Herald of Arms Extraordinary in 2017, a role he held until his retirement from active court duties in 2020. Life moves on. A well deserved tribute to a man whom I though should have been successful in his application to become Lord Lyon.

The Original "Burnet" arms of the HSS

The new "supported" "Dennis" arms of the HSS.

I must admit that when I first saw the newly granted supporters they brought to mind one of the supporters from the completely unauthorised arms adopted many years ago by the late former Chairman of the HSS Romilly Squire who referred to these arms as his "foreign" arms to be use outwith the borders of Scotland.

The "foreign" arms of the late Romilly Squire (artist, himself).

New arms for a extinct family (attributed) - decided.

After some deliberation I have decided to go with the chevron and thistles coat for the arms to be attributed to a fictional family surnamed Touchnor.

Arms: Per chevron Or and Vert, a chevron per chevron between three thistles all counterchanged.

Crest: A porcupine Proper.

Motto: Noli Tangere.

This achievement is presented as an heraldic pun, canting arms or arme parlante; a visual pun on a person's or family's surname using the symbols and charges depicted on their coat of arms.

To play on the surname of "Touchnor" (soundalike: "Touch-no"), this design centres around the idea of avoiding contact or keeping a secure boundary. I have made the "barrier" a chevron per chevron counterchanged and the charges are thistles: A thistle is a prickly, wild herbaceous plant characterized by sharp, needle-like prickles or spines covering its leaves and stem. These sharp bits are a natural defence mechanism designed to protect the plant from being eaten by grazing animals. Thistles litterally say "Touch me not". or "Touch no". 

The crest of a porcupine visually enforces the concept of "do not touch."

The Latin motto Noli Tangere (often written as noli me tangere) literally means "do not touch me." or, "Touch not", a play on the name Touchnor.

Please note, these arms have been designed for a fictional character in a book.

International Rabbit Day 2026

 Today is International Rabbit Day so here are the canting arms of  Conisbie.

Conisbie, alias Coningsby, of Nene Solers (Co. Salop) and Morton Bagott (Co. Warwick)

Arms: Gules, three conies sejant two and one Argent. 

Crest: A coney sejant Argent,

(Visitations 1623 and Edmonson)

This one is quite obvious as a cony (or coney) is the traditional heraldic term for a rabbit, frequently used in British heraldry. Representing fertility and a gentle nature, it often appears in canting arms (puns on surnames) and is commonly depicted as brown, sitting (sejant), or running (courant). Here, it is Argent.

Why do we need a Doncaster East and Axholme Coat of Arms?

Ten out of ten for enthusiasm but I'm not hopeful that the result will be anything but a right pig's ear of a design; it usually is whenever the general public are asked to design a coat of arms or a flag (witness the wonderful flag that Telford has been blessed with). 

And let's just set aside the fact that the College of Arms is strongly under the impression that it is in control of the granting of new armorial bearings and may have an opinion on the actions of Members of Parliament straying into its territory.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1720987406699632

For reference, this is the new Telford flag. 

Talk - Suffolk Heraldry Society

 I shall be giving an online Zoom talk to members and friends of the Suffolk Heraldry Society on Thursday 18 February 2027 at 7.30pm.

I look forard to seeing you there.