A hatchment is a form of representing armorial bearings . It is produced when a armiger (one who ars arms) dies and consists of one or several coats of arms usually painted on a lozenge-shaped support. Its purpose is to indicate the rank and marital status of the deceased. Rank is denoted by inclusion of helmets, cornets, hats or other devices. Marital status is shown by combining the arms of the spouses . The deceased's arms are depicted on a black background or field while that of the spouse (if still alive) are depicted on white. If both are dead the entire field is black., The arms of the male are always on the left, those of the female on the right. Like those of men, woman's armorial bearings can be represented alone. Following the death of the armiger, hatchments were usually hung at the main entrance of the family house for a year and then were taken to the family's church and hung inside (either permanently or temporarily). The hatchments were usually five or six feet high, but sizes vary., This particular hatchement has been severely cropped and is missing part of the crest and much of the black background. The identification of the coat of arms depicted in this hatchment is as follows. The shield in the centre belonged to the Hill family of Colne Park, Essex and County Salop (England). The main shield was used by several families, but the Salwey family of Salop seemed the best candidate. The combination of the Hill and Salwey arms pointed to Anna Maria Hill and Theophilus Richard Salwey who were married in 1787., The arms of Anna Maria Hill are placed on a small shield (escutcheon) in the centre of the large shield and not beside her husband because she was a coheiress. The helmet at the top of the shield is that of a squire, as befits Salwey's rank. The background is entirely black because Hill had predeceased her husband. The "R" at the bottom left corner may refer to RIP (Requiseescat in pace) or more likely Reurgam (I shall rise again). This oil painting was almost certainly done to commemorate Salwey's death in 1837., The Salway hatchment, although it is not Canadian, was acquired to document a custom that has now become extremely rare. Several late 18th century -century hatchments can be found in St. Paul's Church, Halifa (destroyed by fire 1993/4).
