The Heraldry of Godinton House, near Ashford. Part I: Introduction, Ward Family Heraldry and some Miscellanea

The Heraldry of Godinton House, NEAR ASHFORD. Part I: Introduction, Ward Family Heraldry and Some Miscellanea

philip l.a. newill

Godinton House is a property of great antiquity some two miles to the north-west of Ashford in Kent.¹ The property has undergone many additions and modifications over the centuries but would once have been a typical Kentish hall house, dating from c.1400, possibly with earlier origins. The Great Hall remains, although after various improvements; and the solar with storage room underneath (now the Needlework Room and Parlour, respectively) survive in truncated form due to construction of the east front in the early 1630s. The rooms at the lower end of the hall were demolished in the eighteenth century to make way for a dining room on the site of that seen today.² Other enlargements include creation of the south front also in the eighteenth century and more recently a range designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, added to the western side of the house at the end of the nineteenth century.³ Notable features of the interior include the grand staircase dating from 1628; stained glass by Thomas Willement in 1826;⁴ interior designs by Blomfield; and work in the medieval part of the house by Liberty & Co. of London in 1925.⁵ In addition, Blomfield designed the formal gardens in 1896⁶ which were created in the following years.⁷

In terms of ownership, the Toke family had the longest reign (over four hundred years) to be followed by the Dodd family, the Ward family, Alan Wyndham Green and most recently the Godinton House Preservation Trust. Thomas Toke is thought to have inherited Godinton from the Goldwell family via Joan, his wife,⁸ in the mid fifteenth century. The estate passed down through many generations of Tokes until it was sold to the Dodd family in 1895 by Col John Leslie Toke.⁹ George Ashley Dodd (son of George Dodd, MP for Maidstone) purchased the house and owned it until his death in September 1917.¹⁰ George Ashley Dodd’s widow sold Godinton to Lillie Bruce Ward in 1917. Lillie, wife of Robert Bruce Ward, was the daughter of Edward Partington, first Baron Doverdale, a wealthy industrialist, and it was Lillie who purchased Godinton and presided over the changes to the interior. In particular, it was Lillie who commissioned the piercing of the Great Hall east wall and refurbishment of the Parlour by Liberty and Co. of London in 1925. Upon the demise of Lillie in 1951,¹¹ Godinton passed to her grandson Alan Wyndham Green, who managed the estate until his death in 1996.¹² Alan never married and consequently had no children, so he set up the Godinton House Preservation Trust to maintain the house for future generations of the visiting public.

The Ward Family

The known male line of the Ward family (Fig. 1) originated in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, with Michael Ward and his wife Margaret. Their only son Thomas married in 1647 as his second wife Amy Shaw, daughter of the Alderman of Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1679 their son Michael, also of Newcastle-under-Lyme married Hannah Roades, daughter of the Vicar of Leek, Staffordshire. The involvement of religion with the Ward family is emphasised with their son, Rev. Michael Ward, Rector of Blithfield and of Leigh, Staffordshire, who in 1714 married secondly Sarah Spateman, daughter of the Rector of Yoxhall, Staffordshire; and their son the Rev. Francis Ward of Stramshall, Staffordshire, Rector of Stanford, Nottinghamshire, who married Margaret Bill in 1754. Their eldest son, John, also of Stramshall, married in 1784 Hannah Hawkes, daughter and heiress of Samuel Hawkes of Ogbourne St Andrew, Wiltshire. The fifth son of the above, Rev. Charles Ward was Rector of Maulden, Bedfordshire, and married in 1825 Susannah Foster, daughter of the Prebendary of Wells. In turn, their son, Rev. Charles Bruce Ward, Vicar of St James’s, Glossop, Derbyshire, married Hannah Maria Blagg in 1863 and had ten sons (including Robert Bruce Ward, later of Godinton) and a daughter who died in childhood. Robert Bruce Ward became a J.P. for Worcestershire and married the Hon. Lillie Jane Partington, a daughter of the first Baron Doverdale and J.P. for Kent, in 1897.¹³ They had two children: Edward Bruce and Geraldine Amy Beatrice. Edward married three times, but had no children, while Geraldine married Capt. Graham Harry Wyndham Green in 1920 and had an only son, Alan Wyndham Green. Geraldine died prematurely in 1937, while Alan was still a teenager and he was then raised at Godinton by his grandparents. Robert died in 1943 and when Lillie died in 1951 she left Godinton to Alan, not to Edward, probably because it had become Alan’s home and Edward had been successful as a businessman, with a house of his own elsewhere.

Five marriages not on the main male line should also be mentioned (Fig. 1). Firstly, Thomas, an elder brother of Rev. Francis Ward, married Hannah Gill in 1765. Their nephew Thomas, a solicitor, and younger brother of John Ward, married in 1798 Martha Merriman. The Rev. John Ward, Rector of Wath near Ripon and elder brother of Rev. Charles, married as his first wife Ann, daughter and heiress of Samuel Merriman in 1823. Two other marriages in this generation are for sisters of Rev. Charles. Margaret Ward married in 1807 Rev. John Goodenough, later Rector of Bow Brickhill, and nephew of Rt Rev. Samuel Goodenough, Bishop of Carlisle; and Lydia Ward married Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Gordon in 1812.

The Ward family tree found in the literature is complicated and lengthy due to several generations having a large number of members, so the pedigree given here (Fig. 1) is only a minimal excerpt in order to explain the heraldry clearly.

The Heraldry

The Ward family left their mark on Godinton in the form of minor structural alterations as well as some interior decoration, including a quantity of heraldic items. At the time Lillie Bruce Ward acquired Godinton, the heraldry in the house was probably just that left by the Toke family and certainly no Dodd-related heraldry is present today. Only some rooms possess Ward-related heraldry and each is dealt with here separately in the order encountered during the usual tour of the house.

The Great Hall

Very little Ward family heraldry exists in the Great Hall, perhaps due to the abundance of Toke heraldry already present when the Wards acquired Godinton. (Part II of this article will examine the Toke Family heraldry.) Careful inspection reveals that within the brackets of the four wall-mounted electric lamps (two on the chimney breast and two on the pierced east wall opposite) are the coats and crests of the families of Ward, Partington, Hawkes and Foster. Each lamp bracket contains two shields back-to-back, held perpendicularly to the wall, decorated on the north facing side with a family crest and on the south face with the corresponding arms. The pierced east wall bears two lamps; that to the left (north) features the Ward crest (a wolf’s head erased Or gorged with a collar Azure charged with an escallop of the first between two bezants) and arms (Azure, a cross patonce Or within a bordure of the last charged with eight hurts), while the bracket to the right (south) displays the Partington crest (out of the battlements of a tower a goat’s head proper, charged on the neck with a mullet of six points between two escallops Sable) and arms (Sable, on a bend nebuly between four mullets of six points, two in chief and as many in base Argent, three Cornish choughs proper). Similarly, on the brackets above the fireplace on the west wall are, to the left (south), the Hawkes arms (Or, three bendlets Azure, on a chief ermine, two crosses patty Gules) and crest (on a chapeau proper an owl with wings expanded Argent); and to the right (north), the Foster arms (ermine, on a chevron Vert between three bugles stringed Sable an escallop Or) and crest (an arm embowed in armour Argent garnished Or holding in the hand proper a broken tilting spear proper). The Ward, Partington and Hawkes coats, and crests,¹⁴ found on the lamp brackets are in agreement with the literature, along with the coat of Foster.¹⁵ The crest of Foster of Draycot Foliot, Wiltshire, does not appear in the literature used above, but an almost identical one for Foster of Brickhill, Bedfordshire (an arm in armour embowed, holding in the hand the head of a broken tilting-spear proper) does.¹⁶

The positioning of these four coats and crests may be significant. It may be said that at Godinton the order of decreasing importance of the four families represented is: Ward, Partington, Hawkes, Foster. These four families are represented on the arms of marriage for Robert and Lillie: Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington. In this context Ward represents Robert, a male and therefore takes priority; Partington represents Robert’s wife Lillie; Hawkes is for Hannah, an heiress who married into the Ward family; and Foster is for Hannah, an heiress who married into the Hawkes family and was grandmother to Hannah aforementioned. The Ward and Partington families are represented at the ‘upper’ end of the hall, i.e. that adjoining the Parlour (seemingly the heraldic focus for the Ward family (see the next section)). These two families may be considered more important than the Hawkes and Foster families, which could explain the residence of their arms upon this wall, while Hawkes and Foster are relegated to the ‘lower’ end. The four families are represented in the order previously mentioned in a clockwise manner starting in what may be thought of as the north-east corner.

A possible alternative interpretation relates to the heraldic display of marriages, in which the arms of the male are displayed to the left of those of the female, when the arms are on separate shields. On the east wall Ward is represented to the left of Partington; and on the west wall Hawkes is to the left of Foster. The Ward - Partington marriage is detailed above and the Hawkes - Foster marriage was between William Hawkes and Hannah Foster, sister and co-heiress of Hon. Sir Michael Foster, of Draycot Foliot, Wiltshire, Judge of the Court of King’s Bench. Given that the second of these two marriages has no real relevance to Godinton, the interpretation involving the clockwise arrangement of families in order of importance would seem the most likely.

The Parlour

The Parlour is the main focus of the Ward heraldry and is home to some fourteen coats of arms displayed at the top of the panelling on the south wall (see Fig. 2). Twelve of these coats represent marriages, while two represent families. The layout of this group of fourteen shields has been carefully planned and the twelve marriage coats are divided into three groups separated by the two family coats (5 and 9). Coat 5 is for Ward (quarterly of four, 1 & 4: Ward; 2: Hawkes; 3: Foster) and coat 9 is for Partington. Once again, the Ward coat is to the left of the Partington arms and this is probably a reference to the Ward - Partington marriage, since the Ward arms with quarterings (5) would be correct for Robert and the Partington arms (9) correct for Lillie.

The twelve impaled coats represent marriages but are not displayed in a simple left-to-right series. The central and right-hand groups of coats (6 - 8 and 10 - 14) together represent marriages of the Ward male line for eight generations, while the four coats to the left are for various Ward siblings. The earliest marriage in the male line is represented by coat 14 (Ward impaling Argent, a chevron between ten crosses crosslet fitchy Gules (Shaw)), for Thomas Ward and his second wife Amy Shaw in 1647. The series continues right-to-left with 13 (Ward impaling Argent, three trefoils slipped Sable a chief Gules (Roades)), for the marriage of Michael Ward and Hannah Roades in 1679. Next is 12 (Ward impaling ermine, on a fess Gules between two bars gemelles Sable three griffins’ heads erased Or (Spateman)) for Rev. Michael Ward and his second wife Sarah Spateman, married in 1714. Coat 11 (Ward impaling ermine, two battle-axes in saltire proper on a chief Azure between two pelicans’ heads erased Argent vulning themselves a pale Or charged with a rose Gules (Bill)) is for Rev. Francis Ward and Margaret Bill in 1754. Finally in this group is 10 (Ward impaling per fess, in chief: Hawkes; in base: Foster), for the marriage of John Ward to Hannah Hawkes in 1784. The display of arms on the sinister side of coat 10 is not strictly quarterly, since it is divided per fess, with the Hawkes arms in the upper half and the Foster arms in the lower. Hannah Hawkes is known to have been an heraldic heiress and her grandmother, Hannah Foster, was sister and co-heiress of Hon. Sir Michael Foster, so it seems most likely that the right-hand side is used as an alternative to quartering, perhaps to ensure clarity which could otherwise be lost. It is important however, to avoid confusion with a method of displaying first and second wives in an identical manner, proposed by Gerard Leigh.¹⁷

The group of three coats in the centre of the series (6 - 8) are in order from left to right and complete the male line. Coat 6 (Ward impaling per chevron embattled Or and Vert, three eagles displayed counterchanged (Foster (2)) represents the marriage of Rev. Charles Ward and Susannah Foster in 1825. Next (7) (Ward impaling Argent, two bendlets engrailed Gules (Blagg)) is for Rev. Charles Bruce Ward and Hannah Maria Blagg in 1863. Finally, coat (8) (Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington) represents the marriage of Robert Bruce Ward and Lillie Jane Partington in 1897.

The four coats on the left of the series (1 - 4) do not appear to be in strict chronological order and one has two possible interpretations, adding to the confusion. Proceeding from left to right, the first two coats represent the marriages of female Wards, while the others are for males. Firstly 1 (Or, a chevron Gules between three gouttes de sang (Goodenough) impaling Ward) represents the marriage of Rev. John Joseph Goodenough and Margaret Ward in 1807. Next 2 (quarterly of four, 1 & 4: Azure, a lion rampant Argent between three boars’ heads couped Or langued Gules; 2 & 3: Azure, three boars’ heads couped Or langued Gules within a bordure engrailed Argent, ((Gordon (quartering Gordon)) impaling (quarterly of four, 1 & 4: Ward; 2: Hawkes; 3: Foster)) is for Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Alexander Gordon and Lydia Ward (sister of Margaret) in 1812. The quarterly Ward coat is used here, probably for aesthetic reasons, balancing the coat of Gordon (quartering Gordon). Coat 3 (Ward impaling Argent, on a chevron cotised Sable between three Cornish choughs proper as many crescents of the first (Merriman)) has a degree of ambiguity associated with it, since there were two Ward - Merriman marriages, one between Thomas Ward and Martha Merriman in 1798 and another between Rev. John Ward and Ann Merriman in 1823. Finally, coat 4 (Ward impaling per pale Or and Argent, a chief indented Sable (Gill)) is for the marriage of Thomas Ward and Hannah Gill in 1765. From the heraldry of coat 3 alone there is no way of knowing which of the two Ward - Merriman marriages is represented. However, when taken in context with the other three coats in this group and the family tree (Fig. 1), it would seem probable that the represented marriage is that of Thomas Ward and Martha Merriman. The male line of the Ward family is clearly represented here and in a similar manner, some marriages of siblings of the male line for three consecutive generations are also represented.

The coats displayed on the panelling are generally in good agreement with the literature, however, there are two notable exceptions. The coat of Roades of Staffordshire (on coat 13), is reported as having two trefoils slipped Sable, but is seen in the parlour with three. The second deviation from the literature is seen on the arms of Shaw (on coat 14). The coat of Shaw is reported as having ten crosses crosslet Gules, but is seen in the Parlour with ten crosses crosslet fitchy Gules.

A point concerning the heraldry of these fourteen coats is the lack of cadency marks, particularly on the Ward arms. Cadency marks are used to differentiate family branches descended from two or more brothers, the first brother bearing a label on his coat, the second a crescent, the third a mullet and so on.¹⁸ Francis Ward was the fifth of five brothers, hence an annulet would be anticipated on his arms, but it is absent. Robert Bruce Ward was the third of several brothers and would (theoretically) have possessed a mullet for difference upon his arms, however this is also absent. The system of cadency marks is of limited use in situations such as this, when a number of consecutive generations have several brothers each, since theoretically, several cadency marks would be required for the more recent generations, which clearly would be rather impractical.

An observation of interest is that certain regions of the coats on the panelling are a yellow-brown colour, when from the heraldic literature these regions are either Argent (silver or white) or ermine. The problem may be due to discolouration, since Argent is usually represented by white, and ermine is white with black markings.¹⁹ Inspection of the parlour wall coats reveal that it is not the wood that has been painted, but a very thin material, probably paper. The cause of the apparent discolouration is almost certainly due to the use of poor quality paper, which originally had been decorated as required, leaving any unpainted areas white. A similar problem occurred in the Chinese Room, where the decorated cream wallpaper, also commissioned by the Ward family, has discoloured, taking on a brownish colouration. Given that the heraldic display on the parlour panelling was installed by the Ward family, probably around the same time, it would seem highly likely that the paper used is similar and will also have undergone discolouration. A further point of interest is the presence of white paint on coat 3, which has clearly not discoloured. Had this paint been used in the regions that are now discoloured, it is probable that the coats would look today as originally intended.

The fireplace on the east wall contains a fireback bearing the arms of Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington. The fireback is one of several, appears to be made of cast iron and has little indication of the tinctures. Around the corner from the fireplace, on the panelling adjacent to the stairwell is a lamp bracket painted with the coat of Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington, in colour, yet another reference to the Ward - Partington marriage.

A pair of well-used seat cushions bear the heraldic achievements of Ward and of Partington. The first has the coat of Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster), above it the Ward crest and below it the French motto garde la croix (guard the cross). Similarly the other has the arms and crest of Partington, and the Latin motto fortiter et recte (boldly and rightly).¹³ These cushions currently reside upon chairs against the panelling bearing the aforementioned fourteen coats of arms.

The Library Corridor

In the corridor outside the two Libraries is a leaded window of four compartments looking out onto the courtyard. Each compartment contains an heraldic achievement, including mottoes and supporters where appropriate. The design on the far left is contained within an oval cartouche and includes the Hawkes arms and crest. It is unfortunate that the field and the bendlets have had their tinctures transposed, resulting in the arms: Azure, three bendlets Or on a chief ermine two crosses patty Gules. This is the only example at Godinton of the Hawkes arms deviating from the literature. To the right are the arms, crest and motto of the Ward family. Further to the right are the arms, coronet, crest, motto and supporters (on either side a sacred ibis proper) of the Partington family. The achievement on the far right is contained within an oval cartouche in a similar manner to the first. Within the cartouche are the arms and crest of the Foster family. A minor point is that here the bugle horn strings are not Sable as per the literature, but instead Gules. The crest here differs slightly from that in the Great Hall, as the tilting spear in the glass is Or.

The four families represented here are the same four whose arms and crests are displayed on the lamp brackets in the Great Hall. The arrangement of the four achievements in the window was carefully planned, with the two most important coats (Ward and Partington) in the centre, Ward being on the left and Partington on the right, yet another reference to the Ward - Partington marriage. Similarly, the two less important families are arranged with Hawkes to the far left and Foster to the far right (a male Hawkes once married a female Foster). Symmetry is evident in this arrangement as the achievements for Hawkes and Foster are displayed within oval cartouches; and almost by accident both Ward and Partington each have a motto.

The Chinese Room

The only Ward related heraldry in this room is that seen on the fireback, an identical piece to the one seen in the Parlour. The arms are those of Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington, are unpainted and show little indication of the tinctures.

Outside

Ward family heraldry is not restricted to the interior of the house, as there are a number of heraldic items on the exterior and in the grounds. The more modern of the two porches on the north side of the house features a large impaled coat representing the marriage of Robert Bruce Ward and Lillie Partington in 1897, with the number 1937 underneath. The arms are the same as those found on the firebacks in the Chinese Room and the Parlour, consisting of the arms of Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington. These arms are painted, but plain, not in the heraldic colours.

Upon the ironwork over the gates adjoining the North Lodge are two crests above the letters BW, for Bruce Ward. The left crest is the wolf’s head of the Ward family, while that on the right is the goat’s head of Partington. The ironwork does not appear to show any tinctures, but the animal heads and charges are otherwise in agreement with the literature. The Ward crest is to the left of that for Partington, so this is probably another reference to the Ward - Partington marriage.

Another Branch of the Ward Family?

The Wards of Godinton were not the only gentry family of that name in Kent. The Warde family of Squerryes Court near Westerham are of interest since their arms (Azure, a cross patonce Or) and crest (a wolf’s head erased Or), are very similar to those used by the Wards (or Bruce Wards) of Godinton. The guidebook suggests a similar coat, but with a cross flory.²⁰ The similarities suggest that these two families may have had a common ancestor and that the bordure Or charged with eight hurts seen at Godinton was for difference, i.e. denoting a junior branch. Similarly, the collar on the wolf’s head crest seen at Godinton may also be for difference.

Miscellanea

Some notable heraldic items seen at Godinton have no link to the Ward or Toke families. On the Great Hall chimney breast, just below the electric lamps are two carved wooden shields on ornately carved wooden mountings. On the left is a shield bearing a cross raguly which without tinctures cannot be identified with any certainty, as this item is probably not in its original context. The shield on the right features an unusual and distinctive charge: a double staple interlaced. This is identical to a badge associated with the Neville family,²¹ and is also seen on the right external spandrel of the front door of Peirce House in nearby Charing.²²

A carved panel, which may have been on the Landing since the creation of the staircase in 1628, appears in a photograph published in 1903.²³ This panel, later used over the Parlour fireplace by Liberty & Co. in 1925, features two animal heads towards the top. To the left is the head of a lion wearing a coronet and to the right the head of a unicorn (but now without the horn) gorged around the neck with a coronet and chained. These two heads are probably representative of the royal supporters used since the reign of James I in the early seventeenth century.²⁴

Five of the posts associated with the 1628 Grand Staircase feature carved heraldic beasts and monsters, each supporting a shield from behind. At the foot of the stairs (when facing up the staircase) are a greyhound to the left and a griffin to the right, probably in reflection of the two coats of the Toke family. To the right of these is a lion as part of a post supporting the landing. Half way up the staircase are a unicorn gorged around the neck with a coronet and chained; and a dragon similarly chained but with a loop of chain around the neck instead of a coronet. Two areas of damage are quite obvious; the griffin is missing its left wing, and the unicorn its horn. The simplest interpretation of the last three carved figures is that they represented nations within Britain. The lion would have been for England, although here without the crown; the unicorn for Scotland; and the dragon for Wales. As mentioned earlier, the crowned lion and the unicorn gorged and chained are supporters accompanying the royal arms, used from the early seventeenth century.

Within the windows on the Grand Staircase is the figure of a kneeling knight in coloured glass. He is wearing a red surcoat bearing a white wyvern with its tail looped, the arms of the Brent family of Charing (Gules, a wyvern displayed the tail nowed Argent). The figure may date to around 1500,²⁵ but the geometric glass surrounding it is probably by Thomas Willement, known to have worked in the Great Hall and Porch in 1826. The pelvic region of the knight appears to have been lost at some point, so now his legs seem to join directly onto his abdomen.

Above the figure are two decorated quarries. That to the left features a monogram within a circle of rays, while that to the right features a rose en soleil (a rose within a circle of rays), a badge of Edward IV. It would be tempting to associate the knight with the two quarries, however there is no evidence to suggest that these have a common origin. If Willement was responsible for this window then it is possible that the knight and the quarries were brought to Godinton by him. Certainly the knight was not mentioned by Hasted writing in 1798,²⁶ nor was it mentioned by Neale in 1826.²⁷ However, the notes of Rev. Harry Russell taken in around 1903 do mention both the knight and the quarries.²⁸ These written sources support the notion that Willement returned to Godinton after his 1826 work, although there is no conclusive evidence for this.

In the semicircular window over the door in the Library Corridor leading to the Chinese Room are various pieces of decorated glass and borders of plain stained glass. Two coats of arms in enamelled glass are seen in this window, towards the corners. To the left (when facing the Chinese Room) is a coat (Gules, a saltire Or cotised Argent between four fleurs-de-lis of the third) and above it a wreath and helm, but the crest has been cut off. To the right a similar coat (Gules, a saltire cotised between four fleurs-de-lis Or) without any other achievement. The first coat is that of Farre of Great Bursted, Essex,²⁹ while the second is of Farre, and appears unfinished, as the field between the saltire and the cotises has been left uncoloured. This window may also be the work of Thomas Willement, as the main pieces of glass are clearly re-used and contained within borders of stained glass. Neither of these coats was mentioned in Russell’s notes.

Conclusion

From the heraldic items installed during the Ward occupation of Godinton it is apparent that the three main displays were carefully designed. The display in the Parlour is the largest and most complicated. This display emphasises the marriage of Robert [Bruce] Ward and Lillie Partington, placing their coat of marriage in the centre. A design of this type was clearly not meant to be extended with their male descendents’ marriages. The two other, smaller, displays involve the achievements of the Ward, Partington, Hawkes and Foster families, prioritising the first two of these. The gates by the North Lodge show the crests of Ward and Partington and the letters BW, suggesting the keenness of Robert for his family to be known as Bruce Ward rather than by the more common name of Ward.

The miscellaneous items described here are varied in date and in material. The carved beasts and monsters seen on the Grand Staircase were carved in 1628 and represent the Toke family and the nations of Britain. The glass in the adjacent windows was probably installed by Thomas Willement in the 1820s or 1830s.

acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Godinton House Preservation Trust for access to the heraldry and the archive; Dr V.J. Newill for information regarding the Toke family and for reading and commenting upon the draft text; and Prof. Nigel Morgan for providing a copy of C.R. Councer’s notes.

endnotes

1 Newman, J., West Kent and the Weald, Penguin Books Ltd, 1969.

2 Report by The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, August 1988, file no. 40164.

3 Country Life, 11 May 1907, pp. 666-673.

4 Willement, T., A Concise Account of the Principal Works in Stained Glass that have been Executed by Thomas Willement of London, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, 1840.

5 Liberty & Co., London, refurbishment plans, 1924-1925, Godinton House archive.

6 Blomfield, R., plan of proposed formal gardens, 1896, Godinton House archive.

7 Country Life, 1 August 1903, Blomfield, R., letter to the editor.

8 Hasted, E., The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, second edition, vol. VII, 1798, p. 506.

9 Country Life, 3 October 1903, Toke, J.L., letter to the editor.

10 Plaque in Great Chart church dedicated to George Ashley Dodd.

11 Burke’s Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, eighteenth edition, Burke’s Peerage Ltd, London, 1965-1972.

12 Programme for Alan Wyndham Green’s Funeral service, 15 February 1996, Godinton House archive.

13 Burke’s Genealogical and Heraldic History. However the marriage date of 1897 is only found in Debrett’s Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage, A.G.M. Hesilrige (ed.), Dean & Son Ltd, London, 1935.

14 Burke, J. and Burke, J.B., A General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland, Edward Churton, London, 1842.

15 Papworth, J.W., An alphabetical dictionary of coats of arms belonging to families in Great Britain and Ireland forming an extensive ordinary of British armorials, T. Richards, London, 1874.

16 Burke, B., The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Harrison, London, 1884.

17 Woodcock, T. and Robinson, J.M., The Oxford Guide to Heraldry, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1988, p. 121.

18 Woodcock, T. and Robinson, J.M., op. cit., pp. 66-67.

19 Fearn, J., Discovering Heraldry, Shire Publications Ltd, 1986, p. 14.

20 Wells, A., Squerryes Court guidebook, Squerryes Estate, 2008, p. 14.

21 Woodcock, T. and Robinson, J.M., op. cit., p. 109.

22 Winzar, P., Archaeologia Cantiana, cxi (1993), 153.

23 Country Life, 18 July 1903, pp. 90-98.

24 Brooke-Little, J.P., Royal Heraldry Beasts and Badges of Britain, Pilgrim Press Ltd., 1994.

25 Councer, C.R., list of heraldic glass at Godinton, undated, Godinton House archive. The late Mr Councer, a leading specialist on stained glass, catalogued the heraldic glass at Godinton in preparation for the forthcoming Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi volume for Kent on which he collaborated with Prof. Nigel Morgan.

26 Hasted, E., op. cit., volume VII, 1798, p. 498.

27 Neale, J.P., Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales and Scotland, Sherwood & Co., London, 1826.

28 Godinton - Coats of Arms, notes made from a list by Rev. H. W. Russell, late vicar of Hothfield, typed list, undated; and a facsimile of the original handwritten list, also undated; both Godinton House archive.

29 The Visitation of Essex, 1634 in The Visitations of Essex in 1552, 1558, 1570, 1612, and 1634, part I, The Publications of the Harleian Society Volume XIII, for the year MDCCCLXXVIII, Metcalfe, W.C. (ed.), Harleian Society, London, 1878.

		Thomas Ward m. Amy Shaw
		Michael Ward m. Hannah Roades
		Rev. Michael Ward m.2 Sarah Spateman
Thomas Ward m. Hannah Gill		Rev. Francis Ward m. Margaret Bill
		John Ward m. Hannah Hawkes		Thomas Ward m. Martha Merriman
Rev. John Ward m. Ann Merriman		Rev. Charles Ward m.1 Susannah Foster		Margaret Ward m. Rev. John Joseph Goodenough		Lydia Ward m. Sir James Alexander Gordon
		Rev. Charles Bruce Ward m. Hannah Maria Blagg
		Robert Bruce Ward m. Lillie Jane Partington

Fig. 1 The marriages of selected Ward family members.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
A	B	C	D	W				P					

Fig. 2 Schematic representation of the fourteen coats in the Parlour. Key:

 = Ward impaling Shaw (24 August 1647).

 = Ward impaling Roades (11 February 1679).

 = Ward impaling Spateman (10 January 1714).

 = Ward impaling Bill (23 December 1754).

 = Ward impaling Hawkes (quartering Foster) (14 January 1784).

 = Ward impaling Foster (2) (15 August 1825).

 = Ward impaling Blagg (22 January 1863).

 = Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster) impaling Partington (20 April 1897)).

A = Goodenough impaling Ward (18 May 1807).

B = Gordon (quartering Gordon) impaling Ward (quartering Hawkes and Foster)

(27 August 1812).

C = Ward impaling Merriman (17 December 1798 (Martha) or 9 January 1823 (Ann)).

D = Ward impaling Gill (19 May 1765).

P = Partington.

W = Ward quartering Hawkes and Foster.

The dates in brackets are those of marriage.