A Complete Guide to HeraldryFox-Davies, Arthur Charles
History
A Complete Guide to Heraldry
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles
Heraldry -- Great Britain
The arms of a family whose name appears to have been variously spelled
Estwere, Estwrey, Estewer, Estower, and Esture, have: "Upon an argent field
a tree proper," variously described as an apple-tree, an ash-tree, and a
cherry-tree. The probabilities largely point to its being an ash-tree. "Or,
on a mount in base vert, a pear-tree fructed proper" is the coat of arms of
Pyrton or Peryton, and the arms granted in 1591 to Dr. Lopus, a physician
to Queen Elizabeth, were: "Or, a {264} pomegranate-tree eradicated vert,
fructed gold, supported by a hart rampant proper, crowned and attired of
the first."
_A Poplar Tree_ occurs in the arms of Gandolfi, but probably the prime
curiosity must be the coat of Abank, which Papworth gives as: "Argent, a
China-cokar tree vert." Its botanical identity remains a mystery.
_Trunks of Trees_ for some curious reason play a prominent part in
heraldry. The arms of Borough, of Chetwynd Park, granted in 1702, are:
"Argent, on a mount in base, in base the trunk of an oak-tree sprouting out
two branches proper, with the shield of Pallas hanging thereon or, fastened
by a belt gules," and the arms of Houldsworth (1868) of Gonaldston, co.
Notts, are: "Ermine, the trunk of a tree in bend raguly eradicated at the
base proper, between three foxes' heads, two in chief and one in base
erased gules."
But it is as a crest that this figure of the withered trunk sprouting again
is most often met with, it being assigned to no less than forty-three
families.
In England again, by one of those curious fads by which certain objects
were repeated over and over again in the wretched designs granted by the
late Sir Albert Woods, Garter, in spite of their unsuitability, tree-trunks
fesswise eradicated and sprouting are constantly met with either as the
basis of the crest or placed "in front of it" to help in providing the
differences and distinctions which he insisted upon in a new grant. An
example of such use of it will be found in the arms of the town of
Abergavenny.
_Stocks of Trees_ "couped and eradicated" are by no means uncommon. They
figure in the arms of the Borough of Woodstock: "Gules, the stump of a tree
couped and eradicated argent, and in chief three stags' heads caboshed of
the same, all within a bordure of the last charged with eight oak-leaves
vert." They also occur in the arms of Grove, of Shenston Park, co.
Stafford, and in the arms of Stubbs.
The arms matriculated in Lyon Register by Capt. Peter Winchester (_c._
1672-7) are: "Argent, a vine growing out of the base, leaved and fructed,
between two papingoes endorsed feeding upon the clusters all proper." The
vine also appears in the arms of Ruspoli, and the family of Archer-Houblon
bear for the latter name: "Argent, on a mount in base, three hop-poles
erect with hop-vines all proper."
The town of St. Ives (Cornwall) has no authorised arms, but those usually
attributed to the town are: "Argent, an ivy branch overspreading the whole
field vert."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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