Arms: Ainsworth of Pleasington

Ainsworth Heraldry

There are at least four authentic coats of arms associated with various branches of the Ainsworth family, two shown here. Ainsworth of Pleasington, shown at left (the arms associated with the present day village of Ainsworth) consists of three silver shovels on a blue background, with the motto “Spes meliora” (“I hope for better things”). So if you are interested in coats of arms, you don’t need to fall victim to those mail-order merchants who sell fake family histories and coats of arms.

Arms: Ainsworth of Smithills You can download a color file for printing on your color printer by clicking on the file below. Choose the format that will work best for you. All images are 5" by 7" for convenient framing.

Ainsworth of Pleasington:

  • ainsworth-1.tif 816K (PC) - bitmap format is fairly universal although the file size is large; you can reduce this image in size from the original 5" by 7", but it doesn’t look good if enlarged. If you want to edit it I recommend the .eps version.
  • ainsworth-1a.tif 816K (Mac) - same, but for Macintosh.
  • ainsworth-1.eps 153K (Mac or PC) - Postscript vector format can be made any size and is easier to edit, using Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw.
  • ainsworth-1.ai 77K (Mac or PC) - original Illustrator format: you’ll also need the font, Goudy Text, which is available here from Adobe (or edit the file and substitute a font of your choice).
Ainsworth of Smithills - coming soon.

You can also order an attractive, framable color laser print of any specified coat of arms from:

    Something Different
    19 The Shambles
    York YO1 2LX
    telephone 1904-652536

An 8"x10" print is £19.95 (includes shipping) and they accept Visa/MC/Amex or checks in £ made payable to B. Sellers. You can also get a hand-painted wooden shield; prices start around £50. You will need to specify which Ainsworth coat of arms you want (there are at least 4).

Read this to find out How to send a check in pounds sterling to the U.K.

Before getting too far into the idea of family heraldry, you should probably read an article such as “Heraldry” by J. Charles Thompson in How To Trace Your Family Tree, American Genealogical Research Institute (1973, Doubleday. $5.95 ISBN 0-385-09885-5). Essentially, coats of arms do not belong to a family, but to an individual. You are really entitled to use them only if you can prove that you are the heir (oldest son to oldest son etc.) of the individual to whom they were granted. There is nothing wrong with displaying a coat of arms of someone with your surname, as long as you understand they are not necessarily your arms. But it’s nice to know one is descended from a family whose members were entitled to bear arms, and I for one will allow myself to indulge in this small vanity.