Duke of Marlborough Public House - Union Street, Maidstone, UK
N 51° 16.558 E 000° 31.427
31U E 327289 N 5683426
The Duke of Marlborough public house stands on the north west side of Union Street, opposite Church Street, in Maidstone.
Waymark Code: WMRBWW
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/06/2016
Views: 1
The pub sign hangs from the south east face of the pub and, although called the Duke of Marlborough, the sign shows the coat-of-arms of the father of the 1st Duke of Marlborough namely Sir Winston Churchill. The sign is in a square wooden frame with the crest occupying the upper two thirds. The lower part has the pub's name.
In an article about the Duke of Marlborough, Wikipedia tells us:
The original arms of Sir Winston Churchill (1620–1688), father of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, were simple and in use by his own father in 1619. The shield was Sable a lion rampant Argent, debruised by a bendlet Gules. The addition of a canton of Saint George rendered the distinguishing mark of the bendlet unnecessary.
The Churchill crest is blazoned as a lion couchant guardant Argent, supporting with its dexter forepaw a banner Gules, charged with a dexter hand appaumée of the first, staff Or.
In recognition of Sir Winston's services to King Charles I as Captain of the Horse, and his loyalty to King Charles II as a Member of Parliament, he was awarded an augmentation of honour to his arms around 1662. This rare mark of royal favour took the form of a canton of Saint George. At the same time, he was authorised to omit the bendlet, which had served the purpose of distinguishing this branch of the Churchill family from others which bore an undifferenced lion.
The crest of Sir Winston Churchill was incorporated into the 1st Duke of Marlborough's coat-of-arms as Wikipedia tells us:
Sir Winston's shield and crest were inherited by his son John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Minor modifications reflected the bearer's social rise: the helm was now shown in profile and had a closed grille to signify the bearer's rank as a peer, and there were now supporters placed on either side of the shield. They were the mythical Griffin (part lion, part eagle) and Wyvern (a dragon without hind legs). The supporters were derived from the arms of the family of the 1st Duke's mother, Drake of Ash (Argent, a wyvern gules; these arms can be seen on the monument in Musbury Church to Sir Bernard Drake, d.1586).
The motto was Fiel pero desdichado (Spanish for "Faithful but unfortunate"). The 1st Duke was also entitled to a coronet indicating his rank.
When the 1st Duke was made a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1705, two unusual features were added: the Imperial Eagle and a Princely Coronet. His estates in Germany, such as Mindelheim, were represented in his arms by additional quarterings.