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Lot Essay
This magnificent tray displays a tour de force of heraldic research. It was engraved for Charles Watkin John Buckworth, who inherited from his mother the surname and arms of Shakerley, and the elaborate quarterings of his adopted coat-of-arms traces her family lineage back to the 14th century.
The central coat of arms is composed of 22 quarterings, each representing a different coat of arms in the Shakerley ancestry. While a coat-of-arms was only conferred on the Shakerley family in 1610, this tray incorporates the coats-of-arms of ancestors, in the female line, all the way back to 1314.
The first quartering (as seen in the upper left corner of the shield) corresponds to the coat-of-arms in the border at the 12 o'clock position, and is of course the Shakerley arms. The second quartering, at the 12:30 position on the border, represents the first in a very long series of heiresses that brought land, money, and ancient coats-of-arms in to the family. This one represents the marriage of Henry de Shakerley to Ellen, heiress of Shuttesworth, living in 1314.
Nine quarterings derive from the advantageous marriage of Peter Shakerley (b.c. 1516) to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Legh, whose mother was co-heiress of Robert Grosvenor of Hulme near Allostock in Cheshire. The Legh arms are seen in the third quartering (1 o'clock on the border) and the Grosvenor arms appear in the 17th quarter (6:30 in the border). Two coats of arms to the left of the border (8:30-9 o'clock) represent Grosvenor marriages to heiresses of the Fesant and Pulford families in the 15th and the 17th centuries.
The Mainwaring coat just below these was brought in by the marriage of Peter Shakerley of Hulme (d. 1726) to Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir to Sir Thomas Mainwaring, 1st baronet. Because they had no issue, the estate passed to his half-brother, George Shakerley. Even though Elizabeth Mainwaring was not an ancestor of Charles Shakerley, the owner of this tray, her inheritance passed down to him and her distinguished family arms were incorporated into the impressive heraldic scheme so carefully researched and engraved for this tray.
The central coat of arms is composed of 22 quarterings, each representing a different coat of arms in the Shakerley ancestry. While a coat-of-arms was only conferred on the Shakerley family in 1610, this tray incorporates the coats-of-arms of ancestors, in the female line, all the way back to 1314.
The first quartering (as seen in the upper left corner of the shield) corresponds to the coat-of-arms in the border at the 12 o'clock position, and is of course the Shakerley arms. The second quartering, at the 12:30 position on the border, represents the first in a very long series of heiresses that brought land, money, and ancient coats-of-arms in to the family. This one represents the marriage of Henry de Shakerley to Ellen, heiress of Shuttesworth, living in 1314.
Nine quarterings derive from the advantageous marriage of Peter Shakerley (b.c. 1516) to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Legh, whose mother was co-heiress of Robert Grosvenor of Hulme near Allostock in Cheshire. The Legh arms are seen in the third quartering (1 o'clock on the border) and the Grosvenor arms appear in the 17th quarter (6:30 in the border). Two coats of arms to the left of the border (8:30-9 o'clock) represent Grosvenor marriages to heiresses of the Fesant and Pulford families in the 15th and the 17th centuries.
The Mainwaring coat just below these was brought in by the marriage of Peter Shakerley of Hulme (d. 1726) to Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir to Sir Thomas Mainwaring, 1st baronet. Because they had no issue, the estate passed to his half-brother, George Shakerley. Even though Elizabeth Mainwaring was not an ancestor of Charles Shakerley, the owner of this tray, her inheritance passed down to him and her distinguished family arms were incorporated into the impressive heraldic scheme so carefully researched and engraved for this tray.