In 1980 my father (Philip - eldest son of the first Welby-Everard) prepared a short history of the family - this is reproduced below

On 6th April, 1894, Edward Everard Earle Welby B.A. was granted a Royal Licence " . . . that he and his issue may henceforth use the surname of Everard in addition to and after that of Welby and that he and they may bear the Arms of Everard quarterly with those of his and their family." This licence had been sought to conform with the Will of Henry Everard of Leamington and of Gosberton who died on 27th November, 1893, leaving his Gosberton property to E. E. E. Welby, the eldest son of his niece Sarah Elizabeth Welby (nee Everard), on condition that he assumed the additional surname of Everard.

[I have in my possession the original Licence, signed by H.M. Queen Victoria, together with the illuminated roll depicting the Arms of the Welby-Everards signed by the three Kings of Arms, Garter, Clarenceaux and Norroy. The Motto chosen for us was "Stella Maris" but it was quite fortuitous that I, the first person to be born a Welby-Everard, should join the Royal Navy in 1916 to go to sea!]

The Welbys and the Everards are both old Lincolnshire families and possessing copies of both pedigrees it seemed appropriate for me to put on record the story of our origins for the information of our family. As genealogical trees are complicated and rather dull I have extracted those salient facts which are of direct interest to us and have put them in narrative form under five headings:-

Throughout my story I have stated my sources of information and those of the documents in my possession are available for examination by anyone interested in more detail. Wherever I have made assumptions upon somewhat limited evidence, or have relied upon my personal recollection, I have stated this clearly. In Parts I and II, which are summarised pedigrees of our two families, the names of those of our forbears from whom we can with reasonable certainty claim direct descent are shown in bold type.

I am sending copies of this account of our origins in the first place to all those now of age who were born Welby-Everards, to Sir Bruno Welby, 7th Bart and head of the Welby family, Barbara Lady Welby his mother and Charles Welby his eldest son. In addition copies to Ranulf A. E. Welby, whose father produced the Welby pedigree, to Madeline Everard, granddaughter of Henry Everard of Gosberton the only member of the Everard family with whom I have been in touch, and to Richard Agnew, my eldest grandson and our current family genealogist whose thirtieth birthday it is today. Some additional copies are available on request.

I am also sending copies to those whom I have consulted in my research namely, my own Solicitors, Maples and Son, and Calthrops Solicitors of Spalding, the Spalding Gentlemen's Society and the Lincolnshire Archives.

Dated this sixth day of April 1980, eighty-six years after our name was legally authorised.