The Fitzwilliam arms
Viscount Fitzwilliam arms as given in
[
The present peerages,
Joseph Edmondson, 1785].
Viscount Fitzwilliam arms as given in
[Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, 1789].
These are the new Viscount Fitzwilliam arms?
-
The Viscount Fitzwilliam arms above
do not look like the stone arms at Merrion Castle.
-
They do look similar to the
Earl Fitzwilliam arms.
-
But
[Wilkinson, 1925]
says the Viscount Fitzwilliam arms
should be quite different to the Earl Fitzwilliam arms.
-
The solution to this seems to be that
[Ball, vol.2, 1903]
says that
Fitzwilliam of Merrion
(created Viscounts in 1629)
ceased to use their own arms
in the 17th century
and adopted the arms of
Fitzwilliam of England
(created Barons in 1620, Earls in 1716)
since they considered them to be related
(even thought this is not proved).
-
This suggests that the stone arms at Merrion Castle are the old Fitzwilliam of Merrion arms.
A medieval stone plaque, bearing the Fitzwilliam coat of arms,
survives
at the site of
Merrion Castle.
A medieval stone head
also survives.
Mount Merrion 300
says this is
a "Stone carving of Lord Fitzwilliam".
Both are believed to come from Merrion Castle.
These are mounted on the wall of one of the new buildings at the site.
As discussed above, these may be the
old Fitzwilliam of Merrion arms.
The building at
St.Mary's, Merrion
in whose S wall (visible) the stone plaque and stone head are mounted.
This building is
near the road, on the NE side of the St.Mary's
"campus".
Photo 2000.
See
street view.
The head and plaque.
Photo 2012.
See full size
and other shot.
See 2000 photo.
The plaque.
Photo 2000.
See 2012 photo.
The plaque at an angle.
Photo 2012.
See full size
and other angle.
The head and plaque.
From Mount Merrion 300.
Used with permission.
Arms of the Earls Fitzwilliam.
From
here.
Arms of
Fitzwilliam College,
Cambridge.
From
here.
The college's coat of arms first came into use in the 1880s.
The
Fitzwilliam Viscounty
was extinct by this time,
so they asked the
Earl Fitzwilliam
for permission to use his arms, even though the Fitzwilliam Museum and nearby
Fitzwilliam St
are not linked to his family.
(To be fair, even the link of the college to the Viscounts
would be tenuous.)
The arms of
St.Therese's RC parish
at
Mount Merrion
are based on the Fitzwilliam arms.
The flowers reference
St Therese.
The church arms on the floor at the entrance to the church.
Photo from far side, rotated.
Photo 2012.
See
larger
and
original.
See
wider shot.
Photo from front.
Photo 2012.
See full size.
See also 2012 photo of
the arms on St.Therese's school
(and wider shot).
