A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Westlake family of England.
Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, London: Harrison & Sons, 1884
Blazon (the actual original written record)“Az. three bars wavy ar”
The Westlake arms were recorded in Cornwall, c. 1620.
Cornwall was a county apart, with its own language and its own tight-knit gentry. Tin and the sea made money there, and families who made it bought land, which is what brought arms with it.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
The body that granted and recorded arms in England in this period.
Reigning in England when the Westlake arms are first recorded.
English heraldry allowed arms to be shared by all legitimate descendants of the original owner. These symbols were treated as personal property that moved through the generations to all children. While the eldest son kept the original design, other family members could use the same shield without needing to change it or register their own unique versions.
The surname Westlake is a classic example of a locative name, meaning it was originally given to people based on the specific place where they lived. The name is derived from the Old English words "west" and "lacu," which together describe someone who resided near a stream or a body of water located to the west of a settlement. By the early 17th century, the family had established a strong presence in the rugged landscape of Cornwall. Records from 1620 show members of the Westlake family living in this southwestern region of England, where they were likely involved in the local agricultural or mining industries that defined the Cornish economy at the time. Because the surname describes a common geographical feature, it is possible that different families adopted the name independently as they lived near various western streams across the English countryside.
Old English words for western direction and a body of water.
