Show me:
and
Clear all filters

  • 35 items
  • 25 items Explore
  • 89 items
  • 1 items
  • 3,438 items Explore
  • 97 items Explore
  • 280 items
  • 4 items
  • 220 items
  • 13,229 items Explore
  • 209 items Explore
  • 1,225 items Explore
  • 8,732 items Explore
  • 5,089 items Explore
  • 9 items Explore
  • 167 items Explore
  • 12,983 items Explore
  • 13,621 items Explore
  • 4,810 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 5 items
  • 149 items Explore
  • 2,007 items Explore
  • 4,759 items Explore
  • 15 items Explore
  • 422 items Explore
  • 252 items
  • 100 items Explore
  • 19,964 items Explore
  • 34 items Explore
  • 1,924 items Explore
  • 1,083 items Explore
  • 5 items
  • 2,073 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 456 items Explore
  • 917 items Explore
  • 1 items Explore
  • 5 items
  • 7 items
  • 20,274 items Explore
  • 800 items Explore
  • 19 items
  • 73 items Explore
  • 33 items
  • 793 items
  • 20 items
  • 4 items
  • 26 items
  • 61 items
  • 28 items
  • 319 items Explore
  • 6 items
  • 44 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 2 items
  • 2 items
  • 7 items
  • 1 items
  • 121 items Explore
  • 119 items
  • 1 items
  • 976 items Explore
  • 812 items
  • 95 items
  • 27 items
  • 107 items
  • 37,169 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 3,870 items Explore
  • 1,529 items Explore
  • 403 items
  • 125 items Explore
  • 10,413 items Explore
  • 9,684 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 1 items
  • 38 items
  • 3 items
  • 4 items
  • 6,778 items Explore
  • 7,359 items Explore
  • 4,583 items Explore
  • 1,893 items Explore
  • 1,194 items Explore
  • 22,723 items Explore
  • 3,663 items Explore
  • 17 items
  • 5 items
  • 334 items
  • 1 items
  • 1 items
  • 3,350 items Explore
  • 23 items Explore
  • 352 items Explore
  • 796 items Explore
  • 1,093 items Explore
  • 514 items Explore
  • 1,146 items Explore
  • 89 items
  • 125 items Explore
  • 6,955 items Explore
  • 76 items
  • 310 items
  • 4 items
  • 2 items
  • 63 items
  • 2 items
  • 2,909 items Explore
  • 1,582 items Explore
  • 203 items
  • 90 items
  • 22,137 items Explore
  • 1,322 items Explore
  • 138 items
  • 847 items Explore
  • 32 items
  • 1 items
  • 132 items Explore
  • 40 items
  • 20 items
  • 281 items
  • 313 items
  • 685 items Explore
  • 346 items Explore
  • 2,429 items
  • 2,545 items
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 1 items
  • 4,394 items Explore
  • 40,347 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 3,293 items Explore
  • 275 items Explore
  • 8,702 items Explore
  • 31 items
  • 25 items
  • 304 items Explore
  • 777 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 65 items
  • 161 items
  • 50 items
  • 52 items
  • 23,085 items Explore
  • 917 items
  • 66 items
  • 22,636 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 2,337 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 1,028 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 759 items
  • 499 items
  • 4 items
  • 3,309 items Explore
  • 179 items
  • 59 items
  • 454 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 21 items
  • 90 items Explore
  • 76 items
  • 281 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 6 items
  • 128 items
  • 295 items
  • 447 items
  • 284 items
  • 1 items
  • 906 items Explore
  • 271 items Explore
  • 11,294 items Explore
  • 755 items Explore
  • 6,035 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 8,298 items Explore
  • 27 items
  • 1 items
  • 5,965 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 3,725 items Explore
  • 9,182 items Explore
  • 7,884 items Explore
  • 185 items
  • 19 items
  • 144 items
  • 7 items
  • 853 items Explore
  • 19 items
  • 8 items
  • 1,096 items Explore
  • 269 items
  • 1 items
  • 2,053 items
  • 3,522 items Explore
  • 695 items Explore
  • 18 items
  • 134 items
  • 6,743 items Explore
  • 93 items
  • 18,936 items Explore
  • 3,136 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 1 items
  • 7 items
  • 10,982 items Explore
  • 37 items
  • 2 items
  • 21,540 items Explore
  • 38 items
  • 13,281 items Explore
  • 3,461 items Explore
  • 5,689 items Explore
  • 33 items
  • 49,695 items Explore
  • 646 items Explore
  • 417 items
  • 26,703 items Explore
  • 216 items
  • 3 items
  • 6 items
  • 1 items
  • 35 items
  • 27 items
  • 438 items Explore
  • 636 items
  • 204 items Explore
  • 13 items
  • 13,667 items Explore
  • 1,360 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 10,260 items
  • 9 items
  • 10 items
  • 14 items
  • 25 items
  • 1 items
  • 4,521 items Explore
  • 912 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 1 items
  • 314 items
  • 686 items Explore
  • 42 items
  • 4 items
  • 2,286 items Explore
  • 1,662 items Explore
  • 15 items
  • 1,876 items Explore
  • 150 items
  • 81 items
  • 766 items Explore
  • 3,083 items Explore
  • 44 items
  • 17 items
  • 12 items
  • 10,670 items Explore
  • 23,346 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 41 items
  • 1,374 items
  • 179 items Explore
  • 8 items
  • 84 items
  • 1 items
  • 13,570 items Explore
  • 3,582 items Explore
  • 2,904 items Explore
  • 4,798 items Explore
  • 22 items
  • 42 items
  • 6,910 items Explore
  • 4,841 items Explore
  • 256 items Explore
  • 2,300 items Explore
  • 2,975 items Explore
  • 2 items
  • 1,897 items Explore
  • 193 items
  • 223 items Explore
  • 466 items Explore
  • 6,118 items Explore
  • 8,729 items Explore
  • 1,860 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 1 items
  • 5,935 items Explore
  • 3,354 items Explore
  • 11,132 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 84 items
  • 11 items
  • 2,502 items Explore
  • 7 items
  • 24 items
  • 51 items
  • 6 items
  • 1 items
  • 4,257 items Explore
  • 611 items Explore
  • 70 items
  • 17 items
  • 154 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 95 items Explore
  • 460 items
  • 4 items
  • 996 items Explore
  • 3,553 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 5 items
  • 9,496 items Explore
  • 48 items Explore
  • 3 items
  • 7 items
  • 42 items
  • 3 items
  • 13,789 items Explore
  • 1,162 items Explore
  • 92 items
  • 10,561 items Explore
  • 1,920 items
  • 18 items
  • 7,880 items Explore
  • 21 items
  • 12,950 items Explore
  • 1,401 items Explore
  • 8 items
  • 6,169 items Explore
  • 14,874 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 1,667 items Explore
  • 181 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 15 items
  • 5,686 items Explore
  • 12,284 items Explore
  • 48 items
  • 25 items
  • 2 items
  • 3 items
  • 7,215 items Explore
  • 357 items Explore
  • 13 items
  • 4 items
  • 6 items
  • 103 items Explore
  • 7 items
  • 5 items
  • 485 items
  • 666 items Explore
  • 8,372 items Explore
  • 75 items
  • 7,347 items Explore
  • 5 items
  • 26 items
  • 4,606 items Explore
  • 428 items
  • 339 items Explore
  • 12,702 items Explore
  • 55 items
  • 20 items
  • 7 items
  • 4 items
  • 325 items Explore
  • 427 items
  • 458 items
  • 3,704 items Explore
  • 27 items
  • 1,238 items Explore
  • 2,503 items Explore
  • 733 items Explore
  • 36 items
  • 1,136 items Explore
  • 97 items Explore
  • 24 items
  • 228 items Explore
  • 79,970 items Explore
  • 3,135 items Explore
  • 2,874 items Explore
  • 25 items
  • 5,345 items Explore
  • 1,831 items Explore
  • 4 items
  • 17,513 items Explore
  • 4,930 items Explore
  • 1 items
  • 7 items
  • 631 items Explore
  • 85 items
  • 31 items
  • 1 items
  • 76 items
  • 29 items
  • 86 items
  • 3 items
  • 1,176 items Explore
  • 109 items
  • 805 items
  • 12,446 items Explore
  • 27 items
  • 13 items
  • 1,710 items Explore
  • 214 items
  • 17,037 items Explore
  • 85 items
  • 17 items
  • 1 items
  • 8 items
  • 324 items
  • 2 items
  • 626 items Explore
  • 1,597 items Explore
  • 8 items
  • 1,130 items Explore
  • 375 items
  • 2 items
  • 326 items

Select a time period

Or choose a specific year

Clear all filters

Helmet crest

Category

Wooden objects

Date

c. 1570

Materials

Wood, gilding and polychromy

Measurements

220 x 350 x 70 mm

Order this image

Collection

Godolphin, Cornwall

NT 169408

Caption

Carved wooden beasts like these were originally designed to sit on top of armoured helmets worn at ceremonial events and court contests. However, these dolphins were probably used on helmets prominently displayed at the funerals of members of the Godolphin family. The dolphin emblem was chosen as a pun on the family name and also alluded to the fact that they owned large stretches of the Cornish coast. The earliest crest is similar to those worn at court jousts in front of Queen Elizabeth I and appears to have belonged to Sir William Godolphin (c.1518–70), who served the Crown in various offices. As recognisable heraldic symbols, such crests could convey association with landed families across time. These emblems appeared in seal rings (used to seal correspondence), as well as on servant livery, horses and coaches, and were often carved or engraved onto architectural features.

Summary

Heraldic helmet crest in the form of a dolphin probably relating to Sir William Godolphin (c.1518-70). The carved wooden dolphin is complete and is painted and parcel-gilt. The mouth is open to reveal two fangs in the lower jaw, a set of front teeth and a tongue. The fins are gilded, while the body of the dolphin is black with carved scales.

Full description

This and a similar, slightly later version (NT 169409) are carved wooden representations of the dolphin which formed the crest of the Godolphins, a play on words typical of heraldry. They are likely to have been made as part of the funerary accoutrements of members of the family who had owned the eponymous Godolphin estate in Cornwall since the Norman period. The full, heraldic description of the crest of the Godolphin family is, according to Fairbairn’s Crests: ‘a dolphin, sable, finned or’. This means that the creature should be depicted as painted black with gold fins. Crests, to be placed on top of the helmet, developed from the late 12th century and rather than being a practical symbol of the knight’s identity on the battlefield, as is often suggested, they were much more likely to have been primarily an expression of ‘the peacock-popinjay vanity ingrained in human nature’, as it was put by the great authority on heraldry, Arthur Fox-Davies. In mediaeval and Tudor England they would have been most prominently displayed at court jousts or in processions, including those for funerals. From the late 16th century their use expanded from the nobility and knights to all those with heraldic bearings. By the 16th century the Godolphins were the most powerful family of the west of the county and the earlier crest is likely to relate to Sir William Godolphin (b. by 1518, d. 1570) who was in favour under Henry VIII, Edward VI and Elizabeth. He had begun as a protégé of Thomas Cromwell, survived his fall and went on to control the greatest tin mining interest in Cornwall. In 1544 he accompanied Henry VIII to France and put his mining experience to good effect as master of the mines during the successful siege of Boulogne. Though wounded during the conflict he was considered to have acted with valour and was rewarded with a knighthood and the bailiwick of the captured town. During Edward VI’s reign Godolphin played a critical part in the securing of Cornwall after the Pray Book or Western Rebellion and in 1553 he was returned to Parliament for the shire, for the second time. Having retreated from prominence under Mary he was again in favour during the reign of Elizabeth who leased him the Scilly Isles, of which he was already captain. It must have been Sir William, and not as is often stated, his father, also Sir William, who was buried at Breage, in which parish Godolphin House lies, on the 30th July 1570. As he was an armigerous knight of great significance there would have been a magnificent and colourful heraldic funeral orchestrated by the College of Arms, with standards, banners, an actual shield painted with his arms and, ahead of the coffin, borne by heralds, a sword and his helm or helmet topped by a wooden representation of the dolphin family crest. These then featured in the funeral service and would have ended by being placed on Sir William’s tomb in the Godolphin chapel. It was common practice for all or part of this paraphernalia to be set up on the wall of the church thereafter, supported by iron embrasures, and there are numerous examples surviving in situ throughout England. Strangely, for a family of the prominence of the Godolphins, no tombs survive in Breage church and they perhaps succumbed to Protestant zeal during the Commonwealth. There were, however, still three helms there in 1913 when H. R. Coulthard published his history of the parish and the crests at Godolphin today may well have come from them. Coulthard included a photograph of one helm, complete with its crest. The crests are reputed to have been bought at auction by Mrs Mary Schofield and were acquired by the National Trust with Godolphin House in 2007. They are displayed in the dining room.

Provenance

Formerly owned by Mrs Mary Schofield and believed to have been bought by her at auction. Acquired by the National Trust with Godolphin House in 2007.

Credit line

Godolphin House, the Schofield Collection (National Trust)

References

Goring 1982: J. J. Goring, ‘Godolphin, William I (by 1518-70), of Godolphin, Cornw.’, The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558 (London, 1982): 219-20 Coulthard 1913: Hugh Robert Coulthard, The Story of an Ancient Parish: Breage with Germoe., Camborne 1913, pp. 100-14 Fairbairn 1905: James Fairbairn, Fairbairn’s Crests of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland, London 1905, p. 206 Litten 2005: Julian Litten, ‘The Heraldic Funeral’, The Coat of Arms, third series vol. 1, pt 1, no. 209 (Spring 2005), 47-67. Fox-Davies 1985: A. C. Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry, London 1985, pp. 245-62

View more details