Legend has it that a member of the de Breuse family, Lords of Tetbury manor in Norman times, was sailing across the Irish Sea when his ship was holed by debris below the waterline and began to sink. The terrified sailors prayed desperately, the water stopped rising and the ship arrived safely back into port. To everyone’s amazement, two dolphins were found wedged into the hole in the ship’s side which had saved the vessel and everyone aboard from drowning. This fable may be why two dolphins were adopted into the Tetbury coat of arms. Even if not the case it makes for a fine story! We can see one of the sailors playing a harp as disaster struck. Perhaps it was his music that attracted the dolphins to the ship’s aid. In Medieval bestiaries dolphins are described thus: