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Description
A frontal winged angel with dark hair and an open mouth, wearing a blue garment with a reddish neckline. The broad wings retain extensive painted feather decoration in red, ochre and darker tones. The angel holds a large shield in front of the body.
Heraldry
Blazon: Sable, a cross moline Argent [or Or].
(Note: A “cross moline” is a cross whose four arms split at the ends and curve outward in two directions, resembling the central iron anchoring plate of a millstone—known as a mill-rind or fer-de-moline.)
Plain English: Sable: A black background (field). A cross moline: A cross with split, curved ends on each arm. Argent [or Or]: Silver/white (or possibly gold/yellow where the original gilding or paint has aged to a muted off-white/cream).
Identification:
- Upton: The shield Sable, a cross moline Or (or Argent) is most traditionally borne by the Upton family (prominent landowners and merchants in Wiltshire and the West Country).
- Bek / Willoughby: A cross moline is also a well-known canting or quartered emblem associated with the medieval Bek (Bec) family and their descendants, the Willoughby family (who held significant property and influence across Wiltshire, appearing elsewhere in St. Thomas’s roof heraldry).
Condition
The figure and wings are well preserved structurally. Considerable colour survives on the garment and feathers, although the paint is chipped and abraded in numerous places. The face remains expressive and clearly modelled. The shield has suffered heavier surface loss, leaving only the broad form of the central charge visible.