Oops - they've done it again!

As an ex-Leekensian, I have a passing interest in matters Civic, especially so when it involves heraldry. 

The Government has just confirmed that two new councils will provide services for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the future. Two new unitary councils will replace the ten existing ones and cover:

• North Staffordshire - taking in Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent

• Southern and Mid Staffordshire - taking in Stafford, East Staffordshire, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth

Under the Government’s timetable, the new councils are expected to be established in April 2028, with elections to shadow councils held in May 2027. 

How does this affect heraldry? 

Well, quite a lot because ten councils are affected; Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, East Staffordshire, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, and Tamworth, are all armigerous Councils. All ten of them are about to be abolished and replaced by two new unitary authorities. 

Ten armorial achievements consigned to the bin of history.

You can see all of the arms on the excellent Civic Heraldry of England & Wales site.

A demi-dragon, collared, holding a cross crosslet fitchee

This one has eluded me for years. It is a a crest featured above the front door of a house, on 30 Stockwell Street Leek, Staffordshire, opposite the old Cottage Hospital.

I visited Leek on Monday to take the photo and it looks to me to be a demi-dragon, collared, holding a cross crosslet fitchee. His wings appear to be charged with a number of smaller charges which I can’t make out. The Motto “Pro Cruce” is Latin and (roughly) translates as For the Cross. Any information gratefully appreciated. (I should say that although it looks as though it may be an original feature, there is always the possibility that it is a piece of architectural salvage added to the building at a later date in which case, it may have nothing to do with the history of the house itself!)

My first thought was that the motto could possibly be a pun on Crusso/Cruso, a notable local family, however, the only listed Crusso/Cruso coat of arms (Burke's General Armory) has a crest of a cross forme Or; there is no entry for Crusso/Cruso in the British Dictionary of Arms. 

Reading Blue Coat School has a similar crest (but not the same).