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possibly derived from Atwood - Broughton, Co Salop (Shropshire)

possibly derived from Attwood - Gloucestershire

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There is no such thing as one official Attwood or Atwood coat of arms. Coats of arms were granted to individuals, not surnames. The following has been taken from "The College of Arms" Web Site :

Q. Do coats of arms belong to surnames?

A. No. There is no such thing as a 'coat of arms for a surname'. Many people of the same surname will often be entitled to completely different coats of arms, and many of that surname will be entitled to no coat of arms. Coats of arms belong to individuals. For any person to have a right to a coat of arms they must either have had it granted to them or be descended in the legitimate male line from a person to whom arms were granted or confirmed in the past.

Description from Burke's Heraldry 1851	"English" interpretation -very kindly provided by Gill Smith -for more see "Glossary of Heraldic Terms"	My attempt at constructing the shield with advice from Gill Smith
Attwood. Gu. a Lion ramp. ar. within an orle of acorns or. Crest - A demi lady holding a balance and scales ppr.	Red background, silver/white rampant lion, with a line of gold acorns all around the edge. The crest (which goes on top of the helmet) is a half-lady (top half!) holding a set of gold scales in the manner of the statue of liberty.
Atwood (Bromfield, Essex). Ar. on a fesse raguly az. three fleur-de-lis or. crest - On a branch of a tree trunked, lying fessways or, a fleur-de-lis ar. betw. two sprigs vert.	Silver background, with a blue horizontal strip across the middle with 'raguly' edges [this is like battlements but with the segments leaning over, not at right angles. On the blue strip 3 gold/yellow fleur de lys, evenly spaced. The crest here is a tree branch with a bit of trunk attached, and on the branch a silver fleur de lys between two green'sprigs', i.e. tufts of leaves.
Attwood (Gloucestershire). Gu. a lion ramp. guard. ar. betw. eight acorns slipped or.	Red background, silver lion rampant with its head turned to face you, with 8 gold acorns ('slipped' means with their stalks visible but with a neatly cut end) roughly evenly arranged outside the lion.
Atwood (Broughton, Co Salop.) Gu. a lion ramp. double queued ar.	Red shield, silver/white lion rampant with two tails
Atwood. Gu. a lion ramp.ar. Crest - An antelope's head ppr.	Red shield, silver/white lion rampant, only one tail this time. Crest is an antelope's head in its natural colours and probably shown in profile.
Atwood. Gu. (another. sa.) the field replenished with acorns or, a lion ramp. ar.	Red (or black for the 'other') with gold acorns scattered over it, and the white/silver lion rampant
Atwood. Gu. a lion ramp. erm.	red shield, the lion ermine this time (i.e. white with black ermine tails - this is actaully very bizarre as ermine is of course made from winter stoat pelts, so you have a lion made of another kind of fur!
Atwood, Ar. a lion ramp. Gu.	a red lion rampant on a silver background
Atwood. Ar. a wolf saliant sa.	A silver/white background with a black wolf instead of the lion. Wolves are shown conventionally.
Attwood. Ar. a wolf saliant sa. Collared of the first within a bordure of the second.	Same as above except that the wolf is wearing a silver collar, and the shield has a black border.
Atwood. Ar. a wolf saliant sa. within a bordure engr. of the second, charged with an entoire of eight bezants.	Similar again, with the black wolf on a silver background, but this time the black border is 'engrailed', i.e. looks as if it's had bites taken out of it all round, and has 8 gold coins/gold circles on it, evenly spaced.
Atwood. Ar. a wolf saliant sa. betw, three tor-teaux, within a bordure of the second.	a silver shield (often shown as white) with a leaping black wolf (salient is in the same general position as a lion rampant, except that it has both back legs on the ground and both front paws reaching up) and three red 'roundels', one in each 'corner' of the shield, the whole lot in a black border
Atwood. Gyronny of eight pieces ar. and or, a wolf salaint sa.	If this blazon is to be believed the background is divided into alternating silver and gold pieces, which is very unusual in heraldry (you would normally have one of silver and gold alternating with one of red, blue, green or black), with the black leaping wolf on top.

For more the following sites may be of use:

	The right to arms
	Heraldry for Genealogists
	The College of Arms" Web Site
	Pimbley's Dictionary of Heraldry
	Cyndi's List - Heraldry
	"Glossary of Heraldic Terms" - site maintained by Gill Smith who has kindly provided the above interpretations and advised on "constructing" the shield shown above.

Picture: The Arms of Coulsdon and Purley Council

The Arms of Coulsdon and Purley -the crest above the helm is reputedly taken from the Arms of the Attwood Family who owned Saunderstead manor in the 14th Century ( for more see The Atwood Family Genealogy

Last updated 03/07/2008 10:39

This page is under development!

For more the following sites may be of use:

The right to arms