SHS Newsletter 2

This newsletter comes to you after about six months of Somerset Heraldry Society activity. We have had some very good talks and outings, some of which have been splendidly supported by the City of Bath Heraldry Society. Those who have attended have been very pleased with the talks and visits. Our membership numbers are encouraging, particularly for a new society, but we do need you to turn up and 'enjoy' with us.

The Autumn programme is set out elsewhere in the newsletter and as you can see it is both full and varied. We have tried to ensure that members from all parts of the County can get to the meetings (at least some of the time!)

I would also like to thank those members who have volunteered to serve on the Committee. We are few at present, so if anyone feels that they can join us, we will be pleased to welcome you.
Ron Gadd

In the last six months we have had a number of meetings. In January Anthony Wood showed us a selection of his work and talked about his work under the title "Life of an Heraldic Artist". This was greatly enjoyed and encouraged 12 people to become founder members of the Society. In February, we held our first formal meeting and elected our committee before enjoying a different take on heraldry, when our new Chairman, Ron Gadd, gave us an idiosyncratic view of the subject.

In March John Uncles led a workshop on the nuts and bolts of heraldry, including blazon. This was well received and very useful.

In May we visited Dunster, where Joan Jordan showed us Dunster Church and in particular the hatchments and memorials of the Luttrell family. The Luttrells have been at Dunster Castle sine 1404 and, although Dame Elizabeth Luttrell bought it in 1376, the vendor retained the use of the estate until her death, so it was Sir Hugh who first lived there. Joan and her husband gave us a very good tea after the visit; we all enjoyed both the exposition and the refreshment.

In June we visited Wells Cathedral, where we looked at the series of armorials of the bishops. In fact there are two series, one in the chapel in the Bishop's Palace and the other in the Choir of the Cathedral. As you might expect, they do not quite match. We also looked at other armorials in the Cathedral and enjoyed a good day out. We were fortunate that a number of members of the City of Bath Heraldry Society joined us for this visit, and we hope that we shall get together again many times in the future.

We visited the Bishop's Palace in the morning and the Cathedral in the afternoon. We came to the conclusion afterwards that we might have done better to organise a lunch for everyone, rather than going off in our different directions.

The next season starts on 6th September. Look at the back two pages for the programme until February 2004, which we hope meets with your approval.

Those who remember these arms will be please to know that they are those of Chichester, in fact of Edward Chichester, the fourth son of Sir John Chichester, Knight, of Raleigh, near Barnstaple. The solution is to be found in a letter written by Edward Chichester on 26th July 1586, from Flushing to his sister Urith, who had married John Trevelyan of Nettlecombe. The letter reports the death of his two brothers. He refers in the letter to his "syster Blewett". She was his sister Mary, wife of Richard Blewet or Bluet, of Holcombe Rogus. (Many replied correctly but non-member Nicholas Deas was the best informed. Thank you one and all.)

During the Wells visit, we saw the rather splendid rococo tomb of Bishop Creighton. This is interesting because Creighton was a Scot, and the arms of the chief of the Crichtons are Argent a lion rampant azure, whereas the bishop's arms are ermine a lion azure. The change from argent to ermine as a difference is well-known, eg the arms of FitzGerald, where the earl of Leinster's arms are Argent a saltire Gules, while the earl of Desmond's arms are Ermine a saltire Gules.

The Scottish Crichtons had two main branches, the Lords Crichton, Viscounts of Frendraught, and the junior Lords Crichton of Sanquhar. The Sanquhar arms are differenced by quartering the three gold water bougets on a blue field of the lordship of Sanquhar, presumably indicating a Ross ancestry. There were two Scottish Crichton bishops in the C17; George Crichton, Bishop of Dunkeld, who died in 1543/4 was later followed in this see by Bishop Robert Crichton, who is believed to have been his nephew.

Sir Andrew Luttrell = Elizabeth dau Hugh
b ca 1330 m 1359 Courtenay earl of Devon
b ca 1340 d 1395
bought Dunster
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Sir Hugh Luttrell = Catherine dau
b ca 1360 d 1428 Sir John Beaumont
b ca 1370 d 1435
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Sir John Luttrell = Margaret dau Sir John
b ca 1394 d 1430 Tuchet 4th Lord Audley
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Sir James Luttrell = Elizabeth dau Sir Philip
b ca 1426 d 1461 Courtenay of Powderham
b ca 1430 d 1493
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Sir Hugh Luttrell = Margaret dau Robert
b ca 1450 d 1521 Hill of Houndston
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Sir Andrew Luttrell = Margaret dau Sir Thomas
b ca 1480 d 1538 Wyndham of Felbrigg
b ca 1490 m 1514 d 1580
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John Luttrell Thomas Luttrell = Margaret
b ca 1520 b ca 1525 d&h
d 1551 d 1571 Chr Hadley

The arms of Bishop Creighton of Wells are the same as some recorded by Nisbet; he quotes this blazon from Pont's manuscript, in the Lyon Office, as that of Crichton of Innerneity, but he does not note how they descend. It seems likely to me that Robert Creighton was from this cadet of the family. In the DNB, it is said that his mother Margaret Stewart was connected to the earls of Atholl, his father being Thomas Creighton. He was born in 1593 and hailed from Dunkeld in Perthshire. Land was granted by George Crichton, Bishop of Dunkeld, a son of Crichton of Naughton, to Sir Robert Crichton of Elliock (near Sanquhar) at Cluny in Perthshire, whence he was after called Crichton of Cluny. Sir Robert of Cluny was Lord Advocate in 1581 and died in 1582.

His eldest son James was called the Admirable Crichton. He is apostrophised in Urquhart's Jewel and was a true renaissance man, poet, scholar, soldier, courtier. He was killed at the age of twenty-one by his pupil Vincenzo di Gonzaga, Prince of Mantua on 3rd July 1582 in an affray in a Mantuan street. Although I have not researched this sufficiently to establish where the parents of Bishop Robert Creighton fit in, it seems highly probable that the patronage of the bishop of Dunkeld would indicate that there was a strong family feeling and we might believe that Thomas Creighton was a fairly close relative.

Bishop Creighton of Wells was the first of a line of Somerset Creightons; all who went to Cambridge, his university, were clerics, and all were named Robert. His son born 1637 was precentor of Wells and a composer of music; his grandson born 1674 was a prebendary of Wells; his great-grandson born 1705 was also a prebendary of Wells. After that the trail goes cold.
Alex Maxwell Findlater

The Luttrell table carpet must have been one of the prize possessions of Dame Margaret Luttrell, for when she died in 1580, widow of Sir Andrew Luttrell of Dunster and East Quantoxhead, she left "her best and largest carpet", a magnificent example of heraldic tapestry, to her eldest daughter, Margaret. Sir Andrew Luttrell had been a servitor at the coronation of Anne Boleyn; Margaret was maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. She married Peter Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe in Devonshire in 1555.

The carpet passed into the possession of Lord Mount Edgcumbe of Cotehele House, Cornwall. After two centuries, it was acquired fromthere by Howard Carter, the famous Egyptologist. It was offered for sale at Christies on 13th July 1922 but was not sold. It was exhibited in 1927/8 in America in both the Pittsburgh and Chicago art galleries and was bought by Sir William Burrell on 18th December 1928.

It was used as a table carpet at Dunster Castle or East Quantoxhead and measures 18' 3" by 6'7". It is either of English or Flemish origin from the period 1520-30, but might possibly be after the death of Sir Andrew Luttrell in 1538. It is a mixture of wool, silk and metal and must have been woven to commemorate his marriage in 1514 with Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Wyndham of Felbrigg, Norfolk, there being no later arms included. (The Wyndhams of Felbrigg were the ancestors of the Somerset Wyndhams of Orchard Wyndham.)

The Luttrell carpet is possibly the earliest known surviving example of an English table carpet; the only similar one is the Lewknor table carpet of 1564, now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Though each employs a different vocabulary of design, they conform in general heraldic arrangement, both having three coats of arms in the central field of scrolling, flowering plants and twelve shields in the border.

What is strange about the Luttrell carpet is not the overall disposition of the heraldry but the erratic variations in design and detail. Whereas, for example, in the Lewknor the shields preserve a simplicity of shape and size and are placed at regular intervals along the border, in the Luttrell carpet the shields are of several different shapes and sizes and are irregularly placed.

Sir Henry Maxwell Lyte comments that, "It must have been made for the high table at Dunster or East Quantoxhead between 1514 and 1538, or at latest 1543". Unfortunately he does not give his reasoning. Mr. Julian Luttrell however says, "It is possible that the designer could have been the Flemish painter Hans Eworth who worked in England between 1545 and 1573. He was a designer of considerable reputation and it was to him that Queen Elizabeth entrusted the costumes and decor for the fetes to welcome the French ambassadors during the peace with France in 1572". One wonders whether Hans Eworth would have designed a tapestry, in which the shields were irregular both in shape and size and display repetitious arms, their positions in the border chosen with careless abandon, with no regard for symmetry.

It is however of interest that there was some contact between Hans Eworth and the Luttrell family for it was he who painted the famous allegorical picture of Sir John Luttrell the eldest son of Sir Andrew and Lady Margaret Luttrell, who died of the plague in 1551.

Maxwell Lyte comments, "The ground of the central portion is black, ornamented with an elaborate geometrical pattern of yellow circles, interlaced with floriated yellow quatrefoils and green squares. In the centre of each circle there is a blue floriated cross radiating from a stiff yellow sunflower: in the centres of the quatrefoils and squares, Tudor roses alternate with honeysuckles. The border has a running pattern of honeysuckles and sunflowers on a red ground. At intervals, white lilies, growing in the border, impinge upon the central part of the design. The heraldic adornments of the carpet are very interesting and beautiful. In the centre, surrounded by a wreath of lilies, honeysuckles and daisies, hanging from the neck of a white swan, is the shield of Luttrell impaling Wyndham, with the initials of Sir Andrew Luttrell below." Between these initials there is, indeed, a lover's knot.

The central shield impales Luttrell and Wyndham, Or a bend between six martlets Sable impaling Azure a chevron between three Lion's heads erased Or langued Gules, to honour the marriage of Sir Andrew and Margaret Wyndham in 1514.

Flanking the principal shield to the left, is the achievement of Sir Andrew Luttrell's parents, Sir Hugh Luttrell (d 1521) and his first wife Margaret
Hill. The shield, surrounded by lilies and daisies, shows the arms of Luttrell impaled with those of Hill, Or a bend between six martlets Sable, impaling Gules a saltire vair between four mullets Argent, with the initials "H" reversed and "M" standing for Hugh and Margaret.

The flanking shield on the right is the achievement of Sir Andrew's grandparents, Sir James and Elizabeth Courtenay of Powderham, Or a bend between six martlets Sable impaling Or three torteaux a label Azure of three points each charged with as many plates, with the initials of Sir James Luttrell, interlaced with a lover's knot surmounting the shield which itself is surrounded by a wreath of lilies and cherries issuing from a vase. Sir James Luttrell (c 1426-61), Sir Andrew's grandfather, married Elizabeth (d 1493), daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay of Powderham, who was his cousin and former guardian.

On these three principal shields gold and silver threads represent the armorial metals Or and Argent. Of these three shields, that in the centre is repeated twice in the border and that of Sir Hugh, Sir Andrew's father, flanking it on the left, three times, while the Powderham arms are repeated twice, as a coat of arms not impaled.

The border of the Luttrell carpet shows twelve shields placed at irregular intervals. They are of varying shapes and sizes; nine are repeats. They represent the arms of:

i) Luttrell impaling Beaumont, Sir Andrew's great-grand-parents, Sir Hugh and Catherine Beaumont
Or a bend between six martlets Sable impaling barry of six vair and Gules
Sir Hugh Luttrell, 1st Lord of Dunster Castle (c 1364-1428), the son of Sir Andrew of Chilton and Elizabeth Courtenay (d 1395) married Catherine Beaumont, the daughter of Sir John Beaumont of Devonshire. These arms are quite different from those of the Lords Beaumont.

ii) Wyndham impaling Scrope, quartering Tibetot, the parents of Margaret Wyndham
Azure a chevron between three lion's heads erased Or langued Gules impaling quarterly 1&4 Azure a bend Or, 2&3 Argent a saltire engrailed Gules
Sir Thomas Wyndham married Eleanor co-heiress of Sir Richard Scrope of Upsal, Yorks. He was descended from Roger, second Lord Scrope of
Bolton, who married Margaret co-heiress of Robert de Tibetot, third baron (d 1372) and his wife Margaret, daughter of William Lord Deincourt.

It is also of interest that Sir Andrew Luttrell (c 1313-90) son of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell of Irnham (Lincs.) (d 1345) married Beatrice Scrope, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Scrope, son of 1st Baron Scrope of Masham. Beatrice Scrope appears with her mother-in-law Agnes de Sutton and the equestrian figure of her father-in-law, Sir Geoffrey Luttrell of Irnham, in the famous Luttrell Psalter.

iii) Luttrell impaling Audley. Sir Andrew's great-grand-parents, Sir John and Margaret, dau of Lord Audley
Or a bend between six martlets Sable impaling Gules fretty Or.
Margaret Tuchet, daughter of Sir John Tuchet 4th Lord Audley married Sir John Luttrell (1394-1430), the son of Sir Hugh Luttrell (d 1428) and his wife Catherine Beaumont (d 1435).

iv) Luttrell impaling Hill; v) Luttrell impaling Wyndham; vi) Luttrell impaling Hill; vii) Luttrell impaling Wyndham; viii) Luttrell impaling Hill; ix) Luttrell impaling Audley; x) Courtenay of Powderham; xi) Beaumont; xii) Courtenay of Powderham.

The white swan above the central shield of Luttrell impaling Wyndham is collared and chained and is derived from the de Bohuns. Sir Hugh Luttrell, the first Luttrell Lord of Dunster (d 1428), the son of Sir Andrew Luttrell of Chilton and Elizabeth Courtenay was the first to adopt the swan supporters, to proclaim his ties with the de Bohun family and the House of Lancaster. Elizabeth Courtenay (d 1395), wife of Sir Andrew Luttrell of Chilton, was the widow of Sir John de Vere, son of the Earl of Oxford. She was the daughter of Hugh, 2nd earl of Devon and Margaret de Bohun (d 1390), herself the daughter of Elizabeth Plantagenet, daughter of King Edward I and Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford & Essex and Constable of England (1302-22) who died at the battle of Boroughbridge.

It was this Elizabeth Courtenay, widow of Sir Andrew Luttrell, who bought Dunster Castle from Lady Joan widow of John 2nd Lord Mohun in 1376. She therefore brought into the family not only the Swan supporters but also the family seat. It is curious that the undifferenced arms of the earls of Devon are not shown in her honour.
Joan Jordan

Lohengrin is the hero of the German version of the legend of the knight of the swan. The story is based on two common motives: the metamorphosis of human beings into swans and the curious wife whose question brings disaster. Lohengrin's guide (the swan) was originally the little brother who, in one version of "the Seven Swans," was compelled through the destruction of his golden chain to remain a swan. The swan played a part in classical mythology as the bird of Apollo, and in Scandinavian lore the swan maidens, who have the gift of prophecy constantly appear. The wife's inquisitiveness is "Cupid and Psyche" again, and bore in mediaeval times a similar mystical interpretation. The incidents of "Lohengrin" are localized on the Lower Rhine. By the Germans the tale was attached loosely to the Grail legend; in France it was adapted to glorify the family of Godfrey de Bouillon.

The German story appears at the end of Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, where Parzival's son, Loherangrin (i.e., Garin in Loherain, or Garin of Lorraine) is sent from the castle of the Grail to the help of the young duchess of Brabant. Guided by the swan he reaches Antwerp, and marries the lady on condition that she shall not ask his origin. On the breach of this condition years afterwards Loherangrin departs, leaving sword, horn and ring behind him. About 1290, a Bavarian disciple of Wolfram's developed the story into an epic of nearly 8,000 lines, incorporating episodes of Lohengrin's prowess in tournament, his wars with Henry I against the heathen, and incidentally providing a picture of noble life. The epic of Lohengrin is put by the anonymous writer into the mouth of Wolfram, who is made to relate it during the Contest of the Singers at the Wartburg, and the poem is thus linked to German tradition. Its connection with Parzival implies a mystic application. The consecrated wafer shared by Lohengrin and the swan is the means taken by the poet to give the tale the character of a Christian allegory. The story was followed in its main outlines by Wagner in his opera.

The French legend is attached to the house of Bouillon, and though William of Tyre refers to it about 1170 as fable, it was incorporated without question by later annalists. It forms part of the cycle of the chansons de geste dealing with the crusade, and relates how Helyas, knight of the swan, is guided by the swan to help the duchess of Bouillon and marries her daughter Ida or Beatrix in circumstances exactly parallel to the adventures of Lohengrin and Elsa of Brabant. Their daughter marries Eustache, count of Boulogne, and has three sons, the eldest of whom, Godfrey, is the future king of Jerusalem. But in French story Helyas is not the son of Parzival, but of the king of Lillefort, and the story of his birth, of himself, his five brothers and one sister is but the fairy-tale of "the Seven Swans" persecuted by the wicked grandmother. The house of Bouillon was not alone in claiming the knight as an ancestor, and the tradition probably originally belonged to the house of Cleves.

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THE ARMS OF ABARROW

The illustration is copied from one of a pair of framed pictures, inherited by my wife, which has written on the back of the frame "R a'Barrow painted Jany 12". He was my wife's great uncle Rufus, a solicitor in Lincolns Inn Fields. but I doubt if he painted them. They are very professionally produced and I imagine that he commissioned them, presumably in January 1912.

The arms are quite complex, Sable, two swords in saltire argent, hilted or, between four fleurs de lys of the second, within a bordure ermine. (Heralds' visitation 1623); Crest: a ferret argent, collared or, lined azure; (Collinson's History of Somerset) and may have started with just the swords, the fleurs de lys being added later upon a marriage, say, or vice versa. The ermine border and the gold collar on the ferret are intriguing as they are normally marks of nobility, although I have found no evidence of this. Collinson does not quote a source for his description of the crest and it seems possible that it was a stoat or ermine rather than a humble ferret, especially as it has a gold collar and this is more in keeping with the ermine border. As depicted it lacks a black tip to its tail, but otherwise looks very much like a stoat in its winter coat.

I have traced this family back to c 1500 with an Inquisition post mortem dated 5th August, 16 Henry VIII which states that Henry Abarrow died 7th May, 22 Henry VII seized of 520 acres of land …..at Stybbwood in the parish of North Barrow, plus smaller amounts at Thorne in Castle Cary and Fodington in Babcary, the first two held of the Lords of Castle Cary. Henry was the grandfather of John Abarrow who lived at Lotsam (Lottisham) Farm, Ditchet and is presumably he to whom the arms are attributed. Gerard's Particular History of Somerset states under North Barrow:

"Now divided into N & S which though it belonged to the Lords of Castle Cary yet gave the surname Barrow unto him that held it from whom descended those Barrows still remaining hereabouts as also that family of Barrows now knights in Hampshire"

Surprisingly I have found no mention in IPM's of their holding the Manor of North Barrow although Stybbwood probably amounted to about 75% of the parish, nor have I found any sign of Stybbwood on an 6 inch scale O.S map of 1885. In about 1487 William Hamner died seized of the manor, which was inherited by his son, which adds to the mystery. The last entries for Abarrows at North Barrow relate to the burials of Mary in 1763 and John in 1775 by which time the rest of the family had moved, first to Marston Magna and then to Horsington and Templecombe.

The other painting is of the arms of Sir William Abarrow of North Charford in Hampshire (1561-1627). This lacks the ermine border and has as its crest a demi female habited holding in her hands a quiver of arrows all proper. This is the family referred to by Gerard and I have traced them back to c 1348 when Walter atte Bergh or Abarrow bought the manor of North Charford from William Gerberd. His descendants held the manor until about 1630.
Gordon Sharp

From the Goodenough memorial in Wells Cathedral
Photographs by
Anthony Bruce

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THE SOMERSET HERALDRY SOCIETY
The Grammar House, The Hill, Langport, Somerset TA10 9PU
Tel & Fax 01458 250868 email alex@findlater.org.uk