Hi there Julie K,

**... the couped cross and the lion rampant ...**
The cross is actually a Greek Cross sometimes referred to as a Cross Humetty. It's difficult to see, but is the cross white (Argent) or gold (Or)?


**I meant to ask was if there was any significance in the absence of a helmet, not so much what the shell itself symbolizes ...**
Some artists omitted the helmet basicly because of a lack of heraldic knowledge. Whilst the actual crest was often mis-used as a badge which appeared on stationery, etc., the crest object, when shown with the remainder of the arms (not in isolation), should always include the helmet. The crest object is attached to the helm and the helm is part and parcel of male personal arms.


**... I have read it seems this would be a marriage, with the two families combined on the one shield. Do you think so? ...**
I think that this would be a fairly good assumption, especially seeing that the motto has been adopted from the sinister arms (the female side). If you think that the arms are genuinely from your ancestral past, you will have to do a generation by generation paternal pedigree search until you come to a marriage to a lady bearing the maiden surname of Stacpoole or a variant of that surname.

Just out of curiosity, what was your Grandmother's maiden name? It might give us a clue towards identifying the dexter (male) arms in that achievement.