Map showing the Sheldon's Brailes Estates - Bottom right, Coat of Arms

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Date:1580 - 1613 (c.)

Description:This coat of arms at the bottom left corner of the Brailes Map displays the arms of the Sheldon family quartered with the arms of families into which they had married. Clockwise from the top left are the Sheldon, the Ruding (great gradmother), Grove (great gradmother), Sheldon, Willington (wife), Heath (grandmother).

Map showing the Sheldon's Brailes Estates. c.1600. Believed to be a cartoon for a Sheldon Tapestry due to the unique cross hatching and 'stitched' appearance.[This view has been strongly challenged because woven tapesteries are not stitched.]


Description of the heraldry
Clockwise from the top left are the Sheldon arms - sable, a fess between three sheldrakes argent (black backgound, horizontal stripe between three sheldrakes (type of goose) silver);
Ruding - argent, a bend between two lions rampant sable, a wyvern volant in the bend of the field, (silver background, diagonal stripe between two black lions rearing-up, a winged, two-legged dragon with a barbed tail, volant = flying, in the stripe);
Grove - argent, a chevron between three pineapples pendant gules, (silver background, chevron between three hanging, gules = red, pineapples);
Heath - vert, on a chief argent, three cinquefoils azure, (green background with the upper 1/3 rd silver, three blue stars).
Willington - or, a saltire vair, (gold, with a saltire = cross of vair = bell or shield shaped patterns).
finishing with the Sheldon arms repeated at bottom right.

This map was almost certainly commissioned by Ralph Sheldon (1537-1613), the [son of the] founder of the tapestry worksop at Barcheston, as it bears his [family's] coat of arms. It can be dated to the period 1580 to 1613.

The map's unusual decorative finish indicates that it was intended for display rather than for practical use, although it appears to be accurate in detail. There is no terrier, written description, with the map, but demesne lands appear to be picked out with a red line. The points of compass are given in the maps' border: north is on the right. The hamlets of Upper and Lower Brailes are depicted just to the left of centre: the buildings are shown in elevation with red roofs (save the church, which has a blue roof), and roads are left uncoloured. Arable fields are depicted in a brown and cream chequer-work showing the strip pattern, meadows and open grazing land in green with little bushy trees to indicate hedges and woods, brooks in blue: rabbit warrens are carefully labelled. Winderton, which did not belong to the Sheldons, is not shown in detail (apart from the village itself). it is noticeable that the line of the roads and boundaries becomes much less accurate outside Brailes and Chelmscote manors.

Besides Ralph Sheldon's [family] arms, the decoration includes an elaborate cartouche with a strapwork surround containing a description of what the map shows, and a scale with a pair of dividers. The scale is 1 inch to 40 perches (1 inch to 660 feet, or 1:7,920).

The manor of Brailes was bought in 1547 by William Sheldon, and remained in the family until Henry James Sheldon died in 1901. The manor of Chelmscote (within the parish of Brailes) was held by Raplh Sheldon at the date the map was made, but the manor of Winderton (also part of Brailes parish) was held by Francis Throckmorton at this time.


Timeline

The timeline shows resources around this location over a number of years.

1550s
Bond in £1,000 from William Barnes to John Throckmorton
Bond in £1,000 from William Barnes to John Throckmorton

Bond in £1,000 from William Barnes to John Throckmorton for indemnifying him certain ...

1580s
Annuity to Ralph Sheldon
Annuity to Ralph Sheldon

Release from John Alderford to Ralph Sheldon of an annuity of £66 on Barcheston. [Date ...

1910s
Barcheston Manor. Postcard
Barcheston Manor. Postcard

Postcard of Barcheston Manor from the rear, near the River Stour.