A grave and a shield | more about the Tolkien heraldry

Old Camberwell Cemetery in March 2020 (my photo)

Old Camberwell Cemetery in March 2020 (my photo)

Maybe you remember my post from January 2020, "Help me to find the grave of J. B. Tolkien IV!"? I was to the Old Camberwell Cemetery in London, but I was not successful to find this gravestone. And few days ago J. R. R. Tolkien's uncle's grave was found! Nice people from Camberwell Cemetery wrote to me and sent the plan:

The grave's number is in fact 8305 (and not 8365)
It was marked with an arrow and a cross.

They also wrote:

"the grave still exists and can be located by the plan as the grave appears to be unmarked as there is no headstone recorded it obviously would make it more difficult to trace the grave."

So there is no headstone with names and the arms (I expected especially to see the coat-of-arms)... What a pity.

 

About his half-uncle, John Benjamin Tolkien IV (1845-1883) J. R. R. Tolkien wrote in his letter to the American cousins (see here):

My oldest uncle was a sailor. (...) The tradition that the eldest son was always called Johann or John which returned to me because my eldest uncle John Tolkien the sailor had no sons; and he had tradition of the family arms. The latter was said to be or have been – a blue shield with two gold chevrons and 5 gold stars three above and 2 below. The crest a half-griffin. I do not describe them in technical heraldic language as they are uncertain (and German in any case). The crest is given from an impression of my father’s seal; The motto is said to have been ‘Fest und Treu.’

I have reconstructed his life: 

 

John Benjamin Tolkien IV (January 1845, Birmingham – October 1883), was a music dealer in Birmingham, a tuner, a newspaper reporter and a composer. He was a half-brother of Arthur Reuel Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien's father. He married Agnes Marion Tyrrell on 24 December 1865 in Southwark, Surrey. Contrary to the words of J. R. R. Tolkien they had one child during their marriage, Beatrice Tolkien. He died in October 1883 in Camberwell at the age of 38. From 21 March 1871 to 1881 he was a member (Senior Warden) of the Lodge of Perseverance (No. 573) in Halesowen, Worcester. He composed a masonic hymn "United Ever".

 

It was from this uncle that young Tolkien inherited the tradition of family heraldry (see here). Except that this uncle's ancestors only used the Griffin crest (see here), which was probably inherited from the Murrell family (see here). Uncle John Benjamin married the daughter of a gentleman, Mr. Tyrrell. The Tyrrells used coats-of-arms that are suspiciously similar to the Tolkien's purported coat of arms (two chevronels):

 

The Tyrrell heraldry

In my opinion, J. B. Tolkien IV added to the tradition of the griffin a coat-of-arms, modeled on his wife's. Only the colors were changed and they added stars. Lucky stars, because perhaps they inspired young Tolkien to have so many stars in the heraldry and symbolism of Middle-earth.

Tyrrell

Tolkien