My great great grandfather Wentworth Cavenagh (1822–1895), born in Hythe, Kent, England, was the son of James Gordon Cavenagh (abt. 1766–1844), an Irish army surgeon. On a visit to Ireland Wentworth Cavenagh’s granddaughter—my grandmother Kathleen—bought a small dish decorated with the Cavenagh arms as a souvenir.
An alphabetical dictionary of coats of arms of families in Great Britain and Ireland describes the Cavenagh arms as:
Arg. two crescents and in chief a lion pass. gu.
J W Papworth and A W W Morant, “An alphabetical dictionary of coats of arms belonging to families in Great Britain and Ireland”, vol 2 (1874), p. 598.
Cavanagh, Ireland. Cavenagh. Kavanagh, Borris, co. Carlow. Cahir Mac Art Kavanagh, Baron of Ballyane 1554.
My grandmother’s dish has the standard, ‘undifferenced’, version of these arms.
Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh (1856 – 1935), a first cousin of my great grandmother Kathleen Cudmore née Cavenagh (1874–1951), was the son of Sir Orfeur Cavenagh (1820–1891). Interested in family history and heraldry, Odiarne Cavenagh spent much time in the Irish National Archives researching the history of the Cavenagh family.
One result of his research was the will of James Cavenagh, proved in Dublin in 1686. This James Cavenagh, my 7th great grandfather, sealed his will with these arms and crest: A lion passant in chief, 3 cinquefoils in base. [at the top, a lion walking on all fours, facing forward; below, three formalised flowers with five leaves]. Crest: on a wreath an animal’s head (perhaps a lion or a horse. The seal is not clear enough to judge).
Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh notes the arms showed that the testator claimed to belong to a cadet branch of the Cavenaghs descended from Gerald, Lord of Ferns, who died in 1431, and not from Donal Mor whose descendants bore “ gules a lion rampant argent” [red, with a white upright lion].
Several generations later Matthew Cavenagh (1738 – 1819), my fourth great grandfather, used three crescents rather than two.
ARMS Azure, a lion passant between 3 crescents argent. [a white lion between three white crescents on a blue background]
CREST Out of a crescent argent a garb or.
MOTTO Pax et copia, i.e. Peace and plenty. In Irish, siothchain agus fairsinge.
His bookplates are engraved with his arms, they are on his seal, and the crest is on some of his silver, notably on a cruet stand datable to 1765.
In heraldry, differencing or marks of cadency —adding or changing an element— may be required to prevent the confusion of an armiger’s arms with those used by his or her children or spouses. In the case of the Cavenaghs of Kildare, as documented by Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh, the differences from the original undifferenced or “plain coat” arms is that as well as an additional crescent, the tincture (colour) has been changed from gules (red) on argent (silver or white) to argent on azure (blue).
The arms borne by Matthew Cavenagh were confirmed to his great-grandson, Lieutenant-Colonel Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh, by the Ulster King of Arms, the heraldic authority for Northern Ireland up to 1943. (A grant of arms confers a new right, whereas a confirmation of arms confirms an existing right.)
Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh’s uncle was my great great grandfather Wentworth Cavenagh. In 1892 the family surname Cavenagh was changed to Cavenagh-Mainwaring, acknowledging the inheritance of the family estate at Whitmore by my great great grandmother, Ellen Jane Cavenagh nee Mainwaring (1845-1920), the wife of Wentworth Cavenagh. The London Gazette of 4 March 1892 recorded the change of name:
Whitehall, February 25, 1892.
THE Queen has been pleased to grant unto Wentworth Cavenagh, of Whitmore Hall, in the county of Stafford, Esquire, and unto Ellen Jane, his wife, eldest daughter of Gordon Mainwaring, and sister and coheir of Frederick Rowland Mainwaring, both late of Whitmore Hall aforesaid, Esquires, deceased, Her Royal licence and authority that they may, in compliance with a clause contained in a certain Deed of Indenture bearing date the 8th day of July, 1871, henceforth take and use the surname of Mainwaring in addition to and after that of Cavenagh, and that he the said Wentworth Cavenagh may bear the arms of Mainwaring quarterly with those of Cavenagh, and that such surname and arms may in like manner be taken, borne, and used by the issue of their marriage; such arms being first duly exemplified according to the laws of arms, and recorded in the College of Arms, otherwise the said Royal licence and permission to be void and of none effect:
And to command that the said Royal concession and declaration be recorded in Her Majesty's said College of Arms.
On the 10th of February 1893 the following arms were granted by Garter King of Arms to the Honourable Wentworth Cavenagh-Mainwaring, and the arms without the distinctions to be borne by the issue of his marriage with Ellen Jane, eldest daughter of Gordon Mainwaring, Esquire, and sister and coheir of Frederick Rowland Mainwaring, Esquire, both late of Whitmore Hall, co. Stafford: —
Quarterly, first and fourth: Argent, two bars gules, and for distinction a canton sable, for Mainwaring; second and third: per fesse azure and sable, a lion passant reguardant argent, between four crescents, three in chief and one in base, of the last, for Cavenagh. Crest of Mainwaring, out of a ducal coronet or, an asses head proper, the coronet charged for distinction with a cross crosslet sable. Crest of Cavenagh, upon a mount, between two trefoils slipped vert, a crescent azure, therefrom issuant a garb or.” Motto “ Devant si je puis.”
When Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh documented the Cavenagh-Mainwaring arms he was documenting the arms of his cousin, James Gordon Cavenagh-Mainwaring. The distinction of a canton sable, a small black square in the upper left of the first and fourth (Mainwaring) quarters was not included. Such a distinction is used by, for example, a groom who does not descend from the bride’s family but who adopts the bride’s last name: Wentworth Cavenagh was not descended from the Mainwarings. Wentworth Cavenagh’s children, however, were Mainwaring descendants and did not need to use the distinction.
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This post was created as part of Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. This week’s theme is “Achievement.”
In heraldry, an achievement is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled.
Related posts and further reading
- A is for arms: the arms of Sir Orfeur Cavenagh
- THE CAVENAGHS OF KILDARE by Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh
- 200th birthday of Wentworth Cavenagh 1822 – 1895
- W is for Wexford
- Cavenagh family index
Wikitree:
- James Cavanagh ( – 1686) my 7th great grandfather
- Matthew Cavenagh (1738 – 1819) my 4th great grandfather
- James Gordon Cavenagh (abt. 1766 – 1844) my 3rd great grandfather
- Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh (1856 – 1935) my 1st cousin 3 times removed, son of Sir Orfeur Cavenagh
- Wentworth Cavenagh (1822 – 1895) my great great grandfather
- James Gordon (Cavenagh) Cavenagh-Mainwaring (1865 – 1938), son of Wentworth ne Cavenagh and Ellen nee Mainwaring, my great grand uncle, the uncle of my grandmother Kathleen
- Gerald (Geralt) “King of Leinster, Lord of Ferns” (abt. 1375 – 1431)
- Donnell Mór Mac Turlough O’Brien (abt. 1137 – 1194)