Page:The Ancestor Number 1.djvu/147

 THE ANCESTOR window of the dining-room, or ' great parlour/ ^ was enriched with painted glass, containing the arms of many persons con- nected with the family.' Upwards of twenty shields more or less perfect, and a number of fragments, somehow found their way into the church of Angersleigh near Taunton, a place with which the Lytes never had any connexion, and were recovered thence more than thirty years ago. They are now in my possession. Considering their history, they may be said to be in good preservation. The original number must, how- ever, have been considerably larger. Of the shields now reproduced, five are in roundels and twelve in rectangular panels. The former may be thus de- scribed : — - 1. A roundel 9 J inches in diameter, exclusive of an outer border of conventional foliage. Gules a chevron between three swans argent^ impaling azure three horses' heads or, with bridles. The shield is that of John Lyte, who married Edith daughter of John Horsey of Martin, co. Wilts, in 152 1. It is now reproduced in colour. 2. A similar roundel. Azure three horses' heads or^ with bridles, impaling gules three bars ermine. The shield is that of John Horsey of Martin (the father of Edith Lyte), who married, as his first wife, Isabel daughter of Thomas Hussey of Shapwick, co. Dorset. 3. A roundel inches in diameter. Gules a chevron be- tween three swans argent^ impaling gules three infants' heads. The shield is that of a Lyte who married a Fauntleroy. Ac- cording to the pedigree by Thomas Lyte mentioned above, John Lyte who lived in the later part of the fifteenth century married a Fauntleroy of Marsh, but no authority is given. It is certain that, in or before 1474, he married Joan daughter and heiress of John Ilberd. 4. A roundel of like size. Gules a chevron between three swans argent^ impaling azure a dolphin argent between three mullets gules. The shield is that of a Lyte who married a Fitz James. According to the pedigree, Thomas Lyte who lived in the middle of the fifteenth century married a Fitz James of Redlinch, but no authority is given. His wife's Christian name is known to have been Joan. The dexter half of this shield differs from most of those representing the Lyte arms, in that the leads do not follow the lower edges of the swans' necks. Nobody conversant with the rules of modern heraldry