Cridland symbols, crests and coat of arms
Caution
The symbols on this page appear to belong to branches of the Cridland family which have died out; there is no documented link between these branches and any living ones. The webmaster is unaware of any symbols that we are officially entitled to use; that hasn't stopped this website being adorned with a portion of one!
Grant of Arms
On 19 June 1667, King Charles II granted arms, and a motto, to John and Henry Cridland of Spaxton in Somerset. Thanks to Peter Cridland of Hertfordshire, here's a sketch of the coat of arms, and here is the full grant of arms:
Grant of Arms to the Cridland Family in the reign of Charles II, 1667
To all and singular to whom these presents shall come Sir Edward Walker, Knight, Garter principal king of arms of English Men sends greeting.
It hath been an ancient custom and to this day continued that all estates and degrees of Men have been and are distinguished by each other by public marks or signs commonly called arms, such being outward demonstrations of the inward worth of the bearers achieved by their valour in time of war, or by their virtuous endeavours in time of peace. In which respect whereas John Cridland or Spaxton in the Country of Somerset, Esquire, son of Thomas Cridland and grandson of John Cridland of the same place, where that family hath for many years lived in good esteem and repute is a person who hath always been faithful to his Majesty and to his royal father King Charles 1st of ever blessed memory and is at the present a Sergeant Major in a regiment of foot under command of Colonel George Stawell, so he may justly merit to have such arms assigned to him as may be lawfully borne by him and his posterity. For ever know ye, therefore, that the said Sir Edward Walker, Knight, Garter principal king of arms by the power and authority annexed to my office by the statutes of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and confirmed unto me by letters patent under the great seal of England, do by these presents give grant and assign unto the said John Cridland, and Francis and Henry Cridland songs of Francis Cridland of Elworthy in the said County of Somerset and nephews to the said John Cridland, & to every one of them, and to the heirs and descendants of their bodyes respectively for ever the coat of arms and crest hereafter mentioned, vizt.Ermine on a Cheife Embattled gules, three roses argent seeded or and for their crest upon a helmet proper mantles gules double argent and wreath of their colors a gryphon head Erased argent with a chaplet gules as in the margin hereof is more lively depicted, the which arms and crest they the said John Francis and Henry Cridland and the heirs and descendants of their & either of their bodies respectively and lawfully begotten, for ever (bearing their due and proper differences) may and shall at all times and on all occasions use, bear or set forth in shield, coat, armour, pennon, seal or otherwise according to the laws and practises of arms without let or interruption of any person or persons whomsoever.
In witness whereof I have hereunto this day subscribed my name and addixed the seal of my office the First day of June in the 19th Yeare of the Reigne of Our Sovereigne Lord Charles the Second by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France & Ireland Defender of the Faith &c Annoque Dni 1667
Motto: SUAVITER ET FORTITER
"This draft is based on a previous one held by my father Leonard Edwin Cridland from c 1925. In 1999 it was corrected by C.E.A.Cheesman Esq, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of the College of Arms London EC4V 4BT. He had located the record of the original text, reference R23/284, for his corrections and also referred to a pencil note on it quoting 'The original Patent (1843) now in possn. of John Cridland Esq of Spring Grove House Miverton co Somerset'.Basil Humphrey Cridland, 27 February 2000"
J. Stephen Cridland says that he has a 3-sided agate signet, one surface with the initials JRC (presumably one of the many John Richard Cridlands) & another with a version of the crest. His drawing of the crest is also above. He says that it seems to be a hybrid of two of those shown here, and fits well with a description given to him by the College of Arms, below. He also points out that it is most unlike the General Armory of England's version.
(Signet rings are always a mirror image of the original, so the webmaster has made a mirror image of Stephen's drawing to accurately reflect the crest's original nature.)
Peter Cridland's family also has a shield, which he has photographed (above). A portion of the shield has been used as graphical elements of this website.
Can you please tell me what the "tree" with 3 dots above it signifies? This is an ermine spot, a 'mark of dignity'. It's meant to represent the tail of the ermine (a short-tailed weasel). A number of ermine coats would be sewn together to form clothing. Usually, the black-tipped tail would be left on, resulting in a white coat with black spots at regular intervals. This pattern was imitated in heraldry - and the standard form of ermine has settled down to be three dots in a triangle, with a kind of tail extending downward and flaring out.
Another variant of the coat of arms, pictured above, comes from Michael Cridland of Cardiff, who says that 'this is how the Cridland coat of arms actually looks like, according to the General Armory of England'. While Burkes' General Armory of England is a recognised source of family symbols, it only contains descriptions, and not actual pictures as displayed right. It's similar to John and Henry Cridland's coat of arms, while it does not contain the griffin's head, nor the family motto - and we haven't any description of this version of the shield. We suspect it's not actually right. But it's nice to see another version.
Signet ring
The owner of this site has a design on his signet ring which has been passed down at least two generations. It is of a griffin's head, facing left, with its mouth open, showing its tongue, and a Latin inscription underneath saying "Suaviter et Fortiter" - "Smoothly and Strongly" (or "Midly and Firmly" depending on the translation you wish to use). The image to the left is a mirror-photograph of the ring (since the symbol is always applied in reverse to a signet ring). The coat of arms shows this griffin at the top.
Tartan
Are we entitled to wear this tartan? Our section of the family is. This is the Ancient Rose Tartan, which is able to be worn by those members of the Rose clan. A member of the Rose clan, Sarah Jane, married into the Cridland family, marrying a shoe-maker called Francis Cridland in Bristol.
Direct descendants (of which there are precious few) may therefore wear this tartan.
Find out more about the seat of the clan, Kilvarock Castle - where you can see the tartan and the pin, which says 'constant and true'.
Should any family members have other family symbols, particularly ones that can be scanned and presented here, the webmaster would be grateful to hear from you.