Note 70 — SIZERGH HALL, WESTMORLAND.

“Sir William Stirkland in the reign of King John or Henry III. married Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Ralph D’Aincourt and his wife Helen.”

“This piece of sculpture is one of the earliest instances of the quartering of arms, and is a curious example of the preference given to the heiress with whom the family had become allied, the arms of D’Aincourt being placed first—a circumstance which often occurred at that early period of heraldic art. The quartered coat was not in use before the time of Edward III.”