Search Menu

Willoughby of Parham — Henry Willoughby, 16th Baron in the recognized succession

Sponsored by William James Dalrymple West, Esq,. Lord of Watlington-West, Norfolk

← Armorial Registry

England; London, Middlesex and the English peerage

Willoughby of Parham — Henry Willoughby, 16th Baron in the recognized succession

Family / house
Willoughby of Matson; Willoughby of Soulbury; Willoughby of Rappahannock; Willoughby of Parham; Pidgeon; Gresswell
Family / cadet branch
Recognized senior male succession from the Matson–Virginia branch
Armiger / bearer
Henry Willoughby, 16th Baron Willoughby of Parham, de jure 13th Baron
Entity type
individual
Social rank / class
peer
Heraldic authority
House of Lords
Record basis
ancient_usage
Issued / first recorded
1696
Until / superseded
1775
Historical period
early Georgian England
Grant / record reference
House of Lords resolution of 20 March 1767; writ of summons issued in 1767 and seat taken on 25 April 1767.
Blazon
Or, fretty Azure. Crest: A Saracen's head affrontée couped at the shoulders Proper, ducally crowned Or. Supporters: Dexter, an ostrich Argent holding in the beak a horseshoe Or; sinister, a savage Proper wreathed about the temples and loins with ivy Proper. Motto: VERITÉ SANS PEUR.
Plain-English description
A gold shield with a blue lattice fret, accompanied in the full peerage achievement by the crowned Saracen's head, ostrich and savage supporters, and the motto 'Truth without fear.'
Tinctures
Or; Azure; Argent; Proper
Charges / ordinaries
fret; Saracen's head; ostrich; horseshoe; savage; ivy
Crest
A Saracen's head affrontée couped at the shoulders Proper, ducally crowned Or.
Motto
VERITÉ SANS PEUR
Exterior ornaments
Peerage achievement with supporters; the House of Lords recognition restored the title to the senior male line descended from Sir Ambrose.
Difference / variant
This is the culmination of the Matson cadet branch. Henry's recognition displaced the mistaken 1680 writ succession in legal theory, although the registry should retain both the de facto and de jure histories.
Source reference
House of Lords procedural study, 1714–1784

Genealogical context

Father
Henry Willoughby, de jure 12th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Mother
Elizabeth Pidgeon
Spouse(s)
Susannah Gresswell, daughter of Robert Gresswell of Middlesex
Children / next generation
Elizabeth Willoughby, later wife of John Halsey and Edward Angles

Documented depiction

Open depiction source

Notes / sources

Numbering is deliberately dual: '16th Baron' reflects the conventional succession after the de facto 1680 holders, while 'de jure 13th' reflects descent under the 1547 patent. The House of Lords recognition did not erase the historical existence of the 1680 writ succession.