A note on the family crest of Sir John and Sir James Ross (and on North West Castle)
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In The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (first published 1842), we find the above coat of arms attributed to Sir John Ross:
Transcription: Ross (borne by Sir John Ross, C.B., Capt. R.N. so distinguished for his discoveries in the Arctic Regions). Gu. three estoiles in chev. betw. as many lions ramp. ar. — for augmentation, a chief or, thereon a portion of the terrestrial globe ppr. the true meridian described thereon by a line passing from north to south sa. with the Arctic circle az. within which the place of the magnetic pole in latitude 70° 5’ 17’’ and longitude 96° 46’ 46’’ west, designated by an inescutcheon gu. charged with a lion pass. guard. of the first; the magnetic meridian shown by a line of the fourth passing through the inescutcheon with a correspondent circle, also gu. to denote more particularly the said place of the magnetic pole; the words following inscribed on the chief, viz., “Arctæos Numine Fines.” Crests—1st, Ross: A fox’s head erased ppr.; 2nd: On a rock a flagstaff erect, thereon hoisted the union jack, inscribed with the date, 1st June, 1831 (being that of discovering the place of the magnetic pole), and at foot, and on the sinister side of the flagstaff, the dipping-needle, showing its almost vertical position, all ppr.
The Ross family coat of arms was originally fairly simple, featuring the silver stars and lions on a yellow background and the fox’s head crest, as well as the motto, Spes aspera levat (“Hope lightens difficulties”).
After the nearly miraculous return of John and James Ross from their disastrous Arctic expedition of 1829 to 1833, however, they were permitted to add personal augmentations. These took the form of the complicated chief (i.e., the topmost part of the shield, featuring the globe) as well as the entire left-hand crest (featuring the rock, dipping needle, and flagstaff). Permission to use such augmentations could be granted by the monarch in recognition of particular achievements---such as the discovery of the north magnetic pole, which is celebrated in the augmented Ross arms. Such augmentations were often fairly simple, according to this heraldics blogger, who singles out the Ross arms as an example of "over the top".
Though the augmented arms is attributed to Sir John Ross in the General Armoury, it was also used by Sir James Ross, as it was featured on the silver plated tea set which was gifted to him on the occasion of his marriage by Francis Crozier and Edward Bird (more images and auction listing here via Invaluable):
It turns out, however, that Sir John Ross likely had his crest featured on his house:
North West Castle in Stranraer, built by Sir John Ross around 1820 and now a hotel, features the Ross coat of arms prominently on one of its outside walls (image screengrabbed from Google Street View). Unsure whether this was an original feature, I went looking for older images of the house as it originally appeared before it was remodelled, expanded, and transformed into a hotel.
In this undated photo from Tour Scotland on Blogspot, the same rectangular panel with the coat of arms in relief can be made out above the gate on the right hand side of the photo. (The look of the house here, and what little is visible of the gardens, appears to correspond closely with that shown in the section of the 1893 Ordnance Survey Map of Stranraer below, and the photo looks like it might date from the early 1900's.)
It's natural to assume that the coat of arms is an original feature of the house, and that the same coat of arms was used by both James and John in their lifetimes.
Finally: Another charming view of North West Castle, this time from an 1843 plan of Stranraer, showing the house and its gardens.
