In 1406, Sir John Stanley, great grandfather to Sir John Stanley, the ancestor to the Stanley's of Alderley, married Isabel Lathom the sole heiress to the estates of Lathom and Knowlsley. It was about this time he adopted the Eagle and Child as a family crest.The story of The Eagle and Child is a traditional tale going back to the time of King Alfred.

In the Lathom family it is told as follows:

SIR Thomas Lathom had one child, Isabel and was anxious to have a son and heir to carry the family name.

His wife being of advanced years, Sir Thomas turned to a young gentlewoman who obliged him with a son. The child was brought by a servant to the foot of a tree in which an eagle nested. Sir Thomas and his lady on their usual walk found the child as if by accident. The old lady believed the child to be a gift from heaven, brought by the eagle and the child was adopted as their heir. The child was given the name Oskatell after his mother Mary Oskatell.

The Eagle and Child was then adopted as the family crest. On his death-bed Sir Thomas had a change of heart and left the bulk of hisfortune to Isabel.