Triarii, there is no doubt the 'mortuary' style half basket hilts were produced in England, it is a question of elemental influences which presented in the design, in this case the thumb ring. As noted this was more recognized as a feature in Continental swords of Germany, Austria and in degree the Low Countries.
The swords in England during the 'Civil Wars' were often of course a range of forms which often came into the British sphere through trade as well as the numbers of British men who served a mercenary soldiers from late 16th into 17th century. These included various form of 'basket' hilt types as well as swept hilt rapiers which evolved into the heavier arming 'pappenheimers' with the familiar pierced shell guards.
The piercings in the shells on the pappenheimers (an eponym for the presumed association with Gottfried Heinrich, Graf dur Pappenheim c. 1630, a Field Marshal in Thirty Years War) seem perhaps to have had some influence on these guards as well as on some Hounslow examples.
The presence of thumb guards on any number of sword forms used among the officers during the Civil Wars may have compelled addition to the hilts produced in the period, but clearly it was not a common addition. I would suppose certain English officers may have been known to follow certain peculiarities in swordsmanship, such as associated with thumb ring, and these were added accordingly.
With my example (post #4) does not have a thumb ring, in examining the photos and reading more, I noted there is a floral device, presumably a rose, on the guard. The sword was featured in Bezdek (2003, p.281) in three photos, and classified as c.1650. In my opinion, it is more likely from the years 1642-46 and probably made at Wolverton, near Oxford, for forces with Charles I, interpreting the rose floral in the variation sometimes occurring with independent makers.
The so called 'walloon' were simple bilobate shell guard hilts, with that eponym derived from the French adopting the style from these kinds of practical simple hilts used in Low Countries and Sweden during Thirty Years war. The French simply used the term 'walloon' referencing the ethnic people originating in Wallonia, Belgium who popularized these simple hilts. These hilts became popular later in England as well through the latter 17th well through 18th century in cavalry swords (second sword illustrated, English? Dutch? 1680s?).
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