MARK OF EDMUND TOWNSEND, LONDON, 1697

Details

A WILLIAM III SILVER TOBACCO-BOX
MARK OF EDMUND TOWNSEND, LONDON, 1697
Oval and with reeded borders and pull off cover, engraved with a coat-of-arms, marked on rim, inside and inside cover
3 ½ in. (9 cm.) wide
4 oz. 4 dwt. (130 gr.)
The arms in the first quarter are those borne by descendents of Ednyfed Fychan (c.1170-1246), seneschal [chief minister] to Llywelyn the Great and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn, quartering in the second quarter the arms attributed to Iarddur ap Cynddelw, in the third quarter an identified coat-of-arms possibly attributed to Urien Rheged as borne by the Rhys family and in the fourth quarter the arms of Salesbury

It is not possible to identify the exact individual for whom the arms were engraved, however, research points to the Williams family of baronets of Penrhyn and the Williams family of baronets Faenol both descendents of Ednyfed Fychan and William ap [son of] William (d.c.1559) of Cochwillan who married Lowri, daugher of Henry Fychan Salesbury, whose arms appear in the fourth quarter. The Williams family of Faenol, or Vaynol in its anglicised form, died out on the death of the 4th baronet in 1696, therefore it must be presumed the arms are for a member of the Williams family of Penrhyn. The absence of a baronet's badge in the engraving points to a junior branch of the family. It is possible they are for Edmund Williams (d.1714) of Eirianws, third son of Sir Griffith Williams 1st Bt., whose grandson eventually succeeded as the 8th baronet in 1745.