The right-hand illustration (taken from RW Heald's healdfamily.org website) is adapted from a historic family quilt (date unknown) inherited from his grandmother. The full quilt design includes a date, 1641, but this date more probably commemorates the founding of Concord, Mass, by a group including John Heald, from whom this branch of the family is descended.

Burke's Armory does not say when or to whom the arms were originally granted; and there is some debate as to which (if any) present-day Healds technically have the right to use them.

One suggestion is that the arms were granted to a James Heald, a relative of the Healds of Mobberley in Cheshire, at some time in the reign of James I (1603-1625); but that the grant was later purged in the time of Cromwell, along with grants to other Royalists. (See eg the Johannes Heald (1547) page in the rwheald database at Rootsweb, which cites Jack Wendal Heald; Rootsweb: larrypdx also suggests that a coat of arms was inherited by John Heald of Concord, but cites no source for this).

According to Bill Heald in the post cited above, it has also been suggested that it was originally a 'scribe and treasurer of Edward III' (reigned 1327-1377) who was first granted the arms. Bill is dubious about this, but it could be a reference to William del Helde, who according to de Leycester's History of Cheshire bought Heild Manor from one of de Leycester's ancestors in 1355, and in 1360 acted as clerk when some land in Mobberley was signed over to another of de Leycester's antecedants. However, in the absence of more positive evidence about a grant of arms, the attribution seems most likely to be a case of "rounding up the usual suspects".

Another suggestion is that the arms were first granted to (Sir?) Thurstan Heald, a relative of the Healds of Chorley in Lancashire, early in the reign of Henry VII (reigned 1485-1509); but I have no evidence for this as yet, nor any other mention of this Thurstan.

Whilst not wanting to put too much of a dampener on such speculation, it is worth mentioning that no Healds were important enough to appear (even by marriage) amongst the pedigrees and coats of arms collected in the heralds' visitations of Lancashire in 1533, 1567 (Flower's visitation), 1613 (St George's visitation) or 1664-5 (Dugdale's visitation) [Chetham Society, volumes lxxxi., lxxxii., lxxxiv., lxxxv., lxxxviii., xcviii., and cx.]

It is also possible that the original coat of arms was less elaborate: according the 'Hall of Names' company, the most ancient Heald coat of arms was a simple silver shield with three black fire bombs (ie without the black (or red) chevron, the gold bezants, or the black (or red) chief). However, HoN has a very mixed reputation on the net, so it is probably unwise to accept this as definitive.

Any more information would be greatly appreciated: who exactly were these arms granted to; when; and is there any evidence of their early use in the New World, or by any particular family of Healds in England ?

Arms of James Heald, later MP (1829)

Arms: Quarterly gu. and az. in the first and fourth quarters, an eagle with wings elevated or., in the second and third a fret of the last all over, a fesse arg. thereon between two crosses patée a rose of the first barbed and seeded ppr.
Crest: Upon a mount vert a bundle of arrows fesswise, the points towards the dexter ppr., bound gu., thereupon an eagle with wings elevated erminois, in the beak a sprig of oak also ppr., the dexter claw resting on cross patée, as in the arms.
Motto: Mea gloria crux.