Thursday, July 20, 2023

Is the Same True of Heraldic Stained Glass As It Is of Potato Chips?


(Or, since we're discussing English heraldic stained glass, potato "crisps".)

Anyway, in preparing to write this blog post, I was reminded of an old Lay's potato chips/crisps advertisement that dared: "Betcha can't eat just one!" And it made me wonder, in looking at today's heraldic window, if when it comes to creating coats of arms in stained glass, "Betcha can't make just one!"

Because this panel has three!


This stained glass window, was made in 1829 and designed by David Evans, and came to the Stained Glass Museum from the Church of St. Mary, Ellesmere, Shropshire, and has, as you can see, not one, not two, but three different coats of arms.

The topmost is Gules two lions passant or (Pedwardyn); that in the center is Or three piles in point gules on a canton argent a griffin segreant sable (Basset/Bassett); and the bottommost is Argent on a bend azure three stag’s heads cabossed or (Stanley).

I am not 100% certain of the identification of Pedwardyn for the topmost shield. I mean, it might be Bromeswike or Bromeswey (per Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials), but the family with the most-cited references to these arms are all variants of Pedwardyn (Patwarden, Pedwarden, Petwarden, Pedwardin). So it's likely Pedwardyn, but I can't swear to that without more research.

In any event, it's a lovely little window, made all the better for having three coats of arms on it.

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