Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham, Surrey, ceiling of Library. "The cieling was painted by Clermont, from Mr. Walpole's defign drawn out by Mr. Bentley. In the middle is the fhield of Walpole furrounded with the quarters borne by the family." (A description of the villa of Horace Walpole, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole earl of Orford, at Strawberry-hill, near Twickenham. With an inventory of the furniture, pictures, curiosities, &c by Walpole, Horace, 1717-1797, publication date 1774, p.43[1]) Arms of Walpole (with a mullet for difference of a third son) surrounded by 14 quarterings, clockwise from top:

• 1: Argent, on a chevron azure between three crosses patée fitchée sable a crescent between two escallops or (Birkhead/Birket (of Richmond House, Twickenham, Surrey)). (sometimes shown as roses not escallops). Sir John Shorter (c.1625-1688), Lord Mayor of London, married Isabel Birkhead/Birket, a sister of Edward Birkhead (d.1662) of Richmond House, Twickenham, Serjeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons in 1648, a Quaker Magistrate and the principal landowner in the parish of Twickenham. Quartered by Walpole. See pedigree of Walpole in A Pedigree of Walpole to Explain the Portraits and Coats of Arms at Strawberry Hill, Anno 1776 with a drawing of these arms labelled "Birkhead" [2]. Sometimes shown with chevron azure). The land on which Strawberry Hill House was built by Horace Walpole had earlier been acquired by Edward Birkhead.
• 2: Shorter (modern/ancient/augmented?). w:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (1676-1745), married Catherine Shorter, a daughter and co-heiress of John Shorter of Bybrook in Ashford, Kent. w:Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Baron Conway (1679-1731/2) married (as his third wife) Charlotte Shorter, a daughter of Sir John Shorter (born 1660), of Bybrook, in Kent, a wealthy merchant (the son of Sir John Shorter (1625–1688), Lord Mayor of London), by his wife Elizabeth Philipps (born c. 1664), a daughter of Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet. By Charlotte Shorter he was the father of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (1718–1794). Charlotte's sister Catherine Shorter was the wife of Sir Robert Walpole, the first prime minister of Great Britain.
• 3: Shorter (modern/ancient/augmented?)
• 4: Argent, a saltire azure between four griffin's heads erased gules (Aylwarde/Alwarde of Suffolk / Aubery/Awbre of Suffolk, an heiress of Burwell) (Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.36) (Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.II, London, 1874, p.1075 "Aylwarde/Alwarde of Suffolk / Aubery of Suffolk")
• 5: Or, a chevron ermine between three bur (oak) leaves erect vert/proper (shown here counter-ermine) (Burwell) (Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.151 "Burwell of Woodbridge, Suffolk"). (Quercus macrocarpa, the bur oak, commonly spelled burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America). Robert Walpole (d.1700) of Houghton, married Mary Burwell, daughter and heiress of Sir Geoffrey Burwell of Rougham, Suffolk ( Cokayne, G. E.; H. A. Doubleday & Lord Howard de Walden, eds. (1945). The Complete Peerage, or a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times (Oakham to Richmond). 10 (2nd ed.). London: The St. Catherine Press, p.81). His son was w:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford. The arms are similar to those of the Lent family Vert, a chevron ermine between three leaves argent (Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.I, London, 1874, p.453, and Burke, 1884, p.601)
• 6: Argent, a fess between three crosses crosslet fitchée gules (Crane of Chilton, Suffolk, baronets) (Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.II, London, 1874, p.744; Burke, 1844, p.239)
• 7: Argent, on a fess engrailed between three escutcheons gules as many mullets of the field pierced sable ("Bacon of Hesset, Norfolk (sic, should be "Hessett, Suffolk"); the heiress married Bacon of Friston" (Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.II, London, 1874, p.818; Burke, 1884, p.38))
• 8: Vert, a saltire or (Hunt of Hermyngtoft (now "Horningtoft"), Norfolk; of Little Bradley, Suffolk; of Hunt's Hall, Essex) (Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.II, London, 1874, p.1060) ("of Hermyngtoft, Norfolk", per Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.520).
• 9: Azure, a chevron between three crosses couped or (Calybut/Calbot/Calibut/ of Norfolk) (Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, pp.160 "Calibut", crosses, 161 "Calybut", crosses couped) (Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.I, London, 1874, p.412). John Walpole (d.1588) of Houghton married Katherine Calybut (d.1612), a daughter and co-heiress of William Calybut of Coxford/Coxford Abbey, Norfolk.
• 10: Gules, a saltire engrailed argent (Kerdeston/Kerdiston, heiress of Robsart). Kerdison of Kerdison (modern spelling)/Kerdeson/Cardeston, in the parish of Reepham, Norfolk. In 1339 William de Kerdiston obtained a license to crenellate his manor house, at Claxton Castle, Norfolk. Reepham Church contains the crossed-legged effigy of Sir Roger de Kerdeston 1337 and a brass to sir William de Kerdiston 1391 and his wife. William de Kerdeston, who was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk, in the 25th and 26th Edward I. He married Margaret daughter of Gilbert de Gant, Baron of Folkingham, in Lincolnshire, and was survived by his son Roger de Kerdeston, in 1332 he was summoned to parliament as a Baron. Roger's son William, the second Baron, had a license to fortify his principal residence at Claxton in 1339, fought at Crecy in 1346 and in 1359 was one of the Council of the King's Son Thomas of Woodstock, who was left in charge of the kingdom in his father's absence. William died in 1361 and it is his tomb in the chancel of St. Mary's church at Reepham, I think, not only because the armour fits the period, but because his father and grandfather, according to Blomefield, were both buried at Langley Abbey. His son William, by his second wife, was born out of wedlock, and although he obtained possession of Kerdiston and Claxton, was never summoned to Parliament. He and his wife Cecily, daughter of John Brewes of Stinton, are commemorated by the brass in the chancel of St. Mary's. (History Kerdiston, Norfolk and Claxton Castle, Reepham's Three Churches, by M.J. Sayer 2nd Edition 1977 [3]). The descent of Robsart from Kerdeston is shown on a pedigree chart in Cokayne, G. E.; H. A. Doubleday & Lord Howard de Walden, eds. (1929). The Complete Peerage, or a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times (Husee to Lincolnshire). 7 (2nd ed.). London: The St. Catherine Press, p.199, "Baron Kerdeston".
• 11: Vert, a lion rampant or vulned in the shoulder (Robsart). Edward Walpole (1484-1559) of Houghton (2nd son of Thomas Walpole (d.1513) of Houghton by his wife Joan Cobbe) married Lucy Robsart (d.1560), a daughter of Sir Terry (Thierry) Robsart of Syderstone Hall (anciently Sedisterne, etc) in Norfolk (by his wife Elizabeth Kerdeston, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Kerdeston (d.1446) (Claxton, the lost Castle by J. Wentworth Day[4])), and heiress of her grandfather Sir John Robsart (Dashwood, G. H., ed. (1878). The Visitation of Norfolk in the year 1563, taken by William Harvey, Clarenceux King of Arms: Volume 1. Norwich, p.451[5]) (See File:St Martins church in Houghton - heraldic glass (geograph 1937896).jpg St Martin's church in Houghton - heraldic glass. See Farrer, Edmund, Church Heraldry of Norfolk, Vol 1 (1885), p.288[6] Walpole quartering Robsart impaling (unknown). "Shield in the East Window of the South Aisle. XIX. Quarterly: — 1 and 4, Walpole; 2 and 3, Vert, a lion rampant or, vulned in the shoulder, Robsart;). Sir Lewis de Robessart (c.1390-1430), KG, also known as Sir Louis Robessart or Robesart or Robersart or Robsart, was a knight in the service of King Henry V. He fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He acquired the title of Baron Bourchier by right of his wife Elizabeth Bourchier, 4th Baroness Bourchier, and died in battle against the French during the Hundred Years' War. In 1415 he was given the manor of Mapelhurst in Kent and an annuity. For his service, the king later granted him the manor of Postedhalle in Norfolk, one of the properties forfeited by the disgraced Sir John Oldcastle. In 1417 he obtained "letters of denization", entitling him to settle in England and acquire property there. By 1422 he had purchased the manors of Redenhall, Aldeburgh, Denton, Mendham and Pulham. Lewis and his elder brother Jean were the grandsons of Sir Thierry de Robessart, seigneur de d’Escaillon, whose family originated from Hainault, where Lewis was born. Later Sir John Robessart (d.1450) was a Knight of the Garter.
• 12: Or, a chief indented sable arms of Skerett/Skerit (Burke, Sir Bernard, The General Armory, London, 1884, p.931 "Skerett/Skerit of Peter Tavy, near Tavistock and of Buckland Monachorum, Devon"). The second wife of w:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (1676-1745) was Maria Skerrett (1702-1738) who died in childbirth three months after the marriage. Prior to the death of his first wife Walpole took on a mistress, Maria Skerittt (d.1739), a fashionable socialite of wit and beauty, with an independent fortune of £30,000, the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Skerittt (d.1738) (aliter Skerret, Skeritt, etc), a wealthy Irish merchant living in Dover Street, Mayfair, London. They had been living together openly in Richmond Park and Houghton Hall since before 1728, and married at some time before March 1738. She died on 4 June 1739 following a miscarriage. Walpole considered her "indispensable to his happiness", and her loss plunged him into a "deplorable and comfortless condition", which led to a severe illness. She was thus the step-mother of the builder of Strawberry Hill House. Also the arms of the mediaeval family of Harsick/Harsk).

• 13: Gules, a bend argent debruised by a fess or, FitzOsbern, attributed (pre-heraldic) arms of w:William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil (c. 1011-1071), one of the great magnates of early Norman England whose chief residence was Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, one of many castles he built in England. (Burke, 1884, p.356 as: Gules, a bend argent surmounted by a fess vert, here with fess ""or). Text from: A description of the villa of Horace Walpole, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole earl of Orford, at Strawberry-hill, near Twickenham. With an inventory of the furniture, pictures, curiosities, &c by Walpole, Horace, 1717-1797, publication date 1774, p.43 [7] states regarding the library ceiling: In the middle is the shield of Walpole furrounded with the quarters borne by the family. At each end in a round is a knight on horfeback, in the manner of ancient feals, that next to the window bears the arms of FitzOsbert (sic, should be w:William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford), the other of Robsart.
• 14: Or, a fess between two chevrons chequy gules and argent (not listed in Papworth, John Woody, Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.II, London, 1874, pp.738-9)

Genealogy

• Thomas Walpole (d.1513) of Houghton married Joan Cobbe, a daughter of William Cobbe of sandringham in Norfolk. Earliest Walpole given in the Heraldic Visitation of Norfolk.
  • Edward Walpole (1484-1559) of Houghton (2nd son of Thomas Walpole (d.1513) of Houghton by his wife Joan Cobbe) married Lucy Robsart (d.1560), a daughter of Sir Terry (Thierry) Robsart of Syderstone Hall (anciently Sedisterne, etc) in Norfolk (by his wife Elizabeth Kerdeston, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Kerdeston), and heiress of her grandfather Sir John Robsart.
    • John Walpole (d.1588) of Houghton married Katherine Calybut (d.1612), a daughter and co-heiress of William Calybut of Coxford, Norfolk.
      • Calybut Walpole (1562-1646) of Houghton, 2nd son, who married Elizabeth Bacon (d.1625), a daughter and co-heiress of Edmund Bacon of Hessett in Suffolk
        • Robert Walpole of Houghton, who married Susan Barkham, a daughter of Sir Edward Barkham of South Acre, Lord Mayor of London in 1621.
        • Edward Walpole (1621-1668) of Houghton, who married Susan Crane, a daughter of Sir w:Robert Crane, 1st Baronet of Chilton, Suffolk
          • • Robert Walpole (1650-1700) of Houghton, married Mary Burwell, daughter and heiress of Sir Geoffrey Burwell of Rougham, Suffolk ( Cokayne, G. E.; H. A. Doubleday & Lord Howard de Walden, eds. (1945). The Complete Peerage, or a history of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times (Oakham to Richmond). 10 (2nd ed.). London: The St. Catherine Press, p.81). See in St Mary's Church, Rougham, Suffolk, mural monument to Edmund Burwell (1574-1652) who married Mary Pitman (1585-1643), a daughter and co-heiress of Jeffrey Pitman (d.1627) Sheriff of Suffolk in 1625 (who was buried at Woodbridge, Suffolk, where survives his triple-tiered mural monument with kneeling effigies). File:St Mary's church Rougham Suffolk (265103630).jpg
              • w:Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (1676-1745), who married firstly Catherine Shorter, a daughter and co-heiress of John Shorter of Bybrook in Ashford, Kent. Secondly he married Maria Skerritt, with whom he had co-habited (1723–1738) during the lifetime of his first wife, from whom he had become estranged.
                • Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717-1797), youngest son, by father's first wife, who built Strawberry Hill House. Died unmarried and without issue.