Heraldry

The Woodford arms of three leopard's heads emerging dramatically from the centre of three fleur-de-lis, as described in the family's cartulary, have remained associated with branches of the family until almost the present day.  

They were certainly being used by the Revd Alexander John Woodforde of Locking, Somerset, on correspondence in the early years of the 20th Century, and by his father, George Augustus Woodforde..

Four variants of the arms are known, two being described as `Woodford Ancient' families of Ashby Folville in Leicestershire and of Leicester respectively, another associated with the Woodford family of Carleby in Lincolnshire and one relating to Woodforde of Ansford in Somerset.  These arms all bear the distinctive leopards' heads and fleur-de-lis described in the cartulary:

And of the armys that longe to the sayd manor.
That is to wytee he bereth sabull the felde and
Three fleaures de lice sylv (er) returnd into
Three lybberd heedys of goules.

Woodford of County Leics:
Sable, three leopards' heads or. Jessant as many fleures-de-lis gules.

Woodford of Ashby Folville:
Sable, three leopards' heads gules, jessant-de-lis argent.

Woodford of Carleby, Co.Lincs:
Sable, three leopards' heads reversed, jessant-de-lis, argent.

Woodford of Ansford:
Sable, three leopards' heads reversed gules. Jessant-de-lis, argent.

The Woodford Cartulary states that:

And in this same coat armour was this same John of Woodford
with King edward at the getting of Caleys
And at the taking of the king of France at the battle. 

John Woodford of Brentingby bore no arms before his journey to Melton Mowbray prior to 1316 and his subsequent purchase of the manor of Brentingby.  

The Woodford arms were purchased with the manor of Brentingby and have associations with the arms of Neville of Stoke of Nottinghamshire (the fleur-de-lis) and those of Canteloupe (loupe, lepus, leopard).  

John Nichols in his History & Antiquities of the County of Leicester, 1815, notes a deed dated 6 Edward II (1312) on which the seal of John Neville at Brentingby is described as 'in an escrutcheon, three fleurs-de-lis circumscribed'.  Nichols also records a deed dated 1215 relating to William de Canteloupe's interests at Brentingby on which the seal is 'three fleurs-de-lis circumscribed.