WA LTH AMSTOW A RMO R I A L D ES C R I BED BY G EO RG E ED W A R D RO EBUC K W A LT H A MSTO W A NT IQ UA R I AN S O C I ETY 26 O FFI C I AL PUBL I C AT I O N NO . F ORE WO RD M On e of the principal features of the Walthamstow useum , and one wh ich most immediately impresses the visitor by reason of the c r brave display of ol ou and ornament , is the range of Armorial Bearings lining the friezes in each of the Exh ibition Rooms . It is the boast of our town that few other places in the Kingdom display such a wealth a \Valth am stow of loc l heraldic material , and may be congratulated not only upon the public spirit of residents who subscribed most of the n co - shields , but also upo the operation of the College of Arms in their preparation . These heraldic bearings of prominent Walthamstow people of bygone times connect the remote past with the present ; remind us of N P T orman , lantagenet and udor Lords of these parts and , stage by f k stage , bring into the mental panorama all the memorable ol down to ll ti n VVam e r s W m . V a e n s the days of the , Morris , and the of Rectory Manor . As specimens of exact heraldry these shields are interesting and c r appeal to lovers of ol ou and design , but their purpose is not primarily ca decorative . They stand as chapter headings of l o l history , and as such , l properly exp ained , they should convey to the casual observer an introduction to the story of Walthamstow ’ s history and development during the eight centuries separating us from the period of the Norman Conquest . The purpose of this pamphlet is to provide a brief commentary by the aid of which the visitor may acquaint himself as to the connection of ca . l these several families or individuals with the lo l story Obvious y , this appears to be attempting th e impossible in view of our serious c d limitation of space , because a pamphlet of like size to this oul well v w be de oted to each of the families , hilst the necessary connecting w d information oul make a book of great length . It is , however , realised that the exhibition of shields without some explanation woul d defeat the very end they are intended to serve , viz . , the unfolding of the story of our parish and its manors throughout eight centuries of time . The reader is reminded that heraldry is an exact art with a l anguage of its own , therefore the herald ic descriptions of the several armorials , wherever they occur in italics , cannot be given in any manner other than i h that offi c ally recognised . We are not at t e moment concerned to explain these details , but to visitors who are of a mind to enquire into such matters good books and inform ation may be obtained on application to the persons in charge . (the $bi elos ano thei r Etorg T is important to note , at the outset , that when the Normans possessed themselves of this part of E ssex , they found Waltham “ “ stow (then more properly called W i l oum e stou or the Welcome ” place ) divided into two sections , or manors as they were called . W il oum e stou W alth e of The greater section , , belonged to a Saxon E arl , , H e ch am who was not dispossessed , and the smaller part , (from which we get our Higham was held by a Freeman named Haldane . Within thirty years of the coming of the Normans we find the W i l cum e stou th e N Manor of in possession of a orman Knight , Ralph de Toni , whose father , of the same name , was Standard Bearer to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1 066 . The smaller Manor of H e h am N . O o had been given to another orman , Peter de Valognes ver fir e l ace the p to the right on entering the lower exhibition room , hang the shields of Toni and Valognes starting the series , and representing L the two principal manors of our district and their Norman ords . The ’ arms of Toni represent a lady s sleeve in red on a silver ground , whilst those of Valognes are wavy lines of red on a silver ground . E T o e sn T H Tonis came from y , on the Seine , above Les N Andelys in ormandy , and considered themselves to be R fir st of royal blood , descended from an uncle of ollo , N TON 1 Duke of ormandy . Ralph de I was William the ’ Conqueror s hereditary S tandard Bearer , and one of his H e Chief Barons . appears as a great landowner in Domesday Book Flamstead in Hertfordshire being the , R head of his barony . His son , alph , married Alice , alth e of - daughter of W , a great niece of the Conqueror , who brought the M anor of Walthamstow into the Toni family . It received R ’ the name of Walthamstow Toni , and remained in the hands of alph s con firm e d 2 . descendants for nearly 00 years His son , Roger , the gift of the little church at Walthamstow to the Priory of Holy Trinity , Aldgate . th e 1 . Robert , the last male heir of the Tonis , fought for E dward against k 0 H e 131 0 Cae r l ave r oc 13 0 . , Scots , at the siege of , died childless in and L m ai ' r i a e his sister , Al ice de eybourne came into inheritance and by her g VVal th am stow i i to Guy de Beauchamp , carried the Manor of Ton nto that great fam ily . 1 ' A 7 ma mw/t u . ge n t , a g les T H E Manor of H e ch am in much less time had passed into other families by the marriage of female descend 2 fir st YA L OGNES ants of the Lord , Peter de , follower of n William the Conqueror , who came from Valog es , in ti n N Co n ten . the , ormandy , and was Sheriff of Herts H 1 084 . e and E ssex , received vast grants of land in different parts of the country ; including the castle of s th e M H e ch am Benington in Hert , and anor of , or ’ W H e Higham , althamstow . built a castle at Orford , ff k B N near the S u ol coast , and founded inham Priory in orfolk , for the welfare of the souls of William the Conqueror and Matilda his 1 H e ch am queen , and for the good estate of Henry . The Manor of - - G u nn ora eventually passed to his great grand daughter , , wife of the M . famous Robert F itzwalter , leader of the agna Carta Barons She 1 2 2 0 d ied before , and the Valognes estates went to her cousins , the \Vi lli am r three daughters of de Valognes of Panmu e , Chamberlain of Of Scotland . these three , Lora , the eldest , married Henry de Balliol , S H e ch am also Chamberlain of cotland , and their sons became the lords of . Her sister , Isabel , married David Cumin , and for some time we read of h m n H e c a both as Higham Balliol and Higham Cumi , suggesting a division of heritage . VVa lth am sto w We have so far spoken of two Manors , Toni and h am H e c , but the building of a Church , and the settlement of certain it lands upon , was the beginning of a third , or Rectory Manor , whilst the marriages of the Valognes women , already referred to , probably accounted H e ch am for the division of and the commencement of a fourth Manor , VValth am sto w that of Salisbury Hall , or Sarum (the early history of which is as yet somewhat i n de fin i te) the original and larger section of H e ch am coming in time to b e known as Higham B e ns te de . BE F ORE leaving the story of these earlier Norman L Manor ords , mention must be made of our old Church - which still stands as a reminder of those far off days . VVa lth e o f L \Vil cun1 e stou E arl , the undisturbed ord of d at the ate of the Conquest , married Judith , the ’ Conqueror s niece . She survived him . Their daughter , Alice , married Ralph de Toni , and she i t was who caused our old Church to be handed over to the Prior H L TR N T 3 and Canons of O Y I I Y, Aldgate , as we have said , in whose possession it remained until the Dissolution of the M onasteries . The emblem of this religious house comes next in order . In the year 1 10 7 m N , the preaching of an Augustinian Canon , na ed orman , began to H e attract great attention in L ondon . became confessor to Queen M I . 1 108 atilda , wife of Henry , and in , with her assistance , founded the 2 - P a l - a ( Hi d ul cs y w vy a rge n t g .