On 10^th October 1602, Sir Thomas Coventry (1547-1606) had the arms of the Coventry family confirmed by William Camden (1551-1623), Clarenceux King of Arms. This confirmation was based upon the principle that the family had established a right to them due to their long usage, rather than a creation and assignment of new arms. The crest features a ‘sable a fesse ermine between three gold crescents with eagle supporters, and a scarlet cockerel on a wheat sheaf perched upon the helmet’.¹

The Coventry family motto – Candide et Constanter – translates as 'with candor and constancy’ or ‘frankly and firmly’. This is somewhat appropriate when considering the legal background of the family.