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.

Mayoral Chain Leek Staffordshire

 As a Leekensian and a heraldry addict I have a double interest in any news that touches upon both interests.

The Leek Town Council website informs us that Cllr. Derek Hilyer was elected as The Mayor of Leek at the Leek Town Council Annual Meeting held in May 2025 and provided us with not only a photo of the Mayor proudly wearing his Chain of Office but also provides a close up of the heraldic pendant upon the Chain. Belated congratulations to Derek (I'm a bit late with this report) and many thanks to Belinda Hargreaves of Our Leek & Moorlands publication for providing the photos (especially of the Chain).

Cllr. Derek Hilyer resplendant in his Chain of Office

The Arms of Leek Town Council as featured on the Mayoral Chain

(The moorcock seems to have become a bit faded but hey, it is blazoned as Proper so perhaps, like me it has grayed with age!)

Arms : Azure a Saltire patonce between in chief a Stafford Knot in fesse two Suns and in base a Garb all Or. Crest : Out of a Mural Crown Or charged with three Mulberry Leaves proper a Mount of Heather thereon a Moorcock also proper resting the dexter claw on a Leek small-weave Shuttle Gold threaded Gules.  Motto: 'ARTE FAVENTE NIL DESPERANDUM'- Our skill assisting us, we have no cause for despair.

The arms were officially granted on May 7, 1956 to Leek Urban District Council but are now used by Leek Town Council.

For an explanation of the rationale behind the design, see: 

https://weblog.heraldryaddict.uk/2020/07/leeks-civic-heraldry-and-finest-garden.html

Removal of slave from coat of arms sparks backlash

 Reports are coming in over a purported "backlash" over the removal of a slave from a town's coat of arms.

The BBC have posted the following report on their website:

[Quote] 25 July 2024

A council has defended the disappearance of a slave from a town's coat of arms.

The figure was originally included to reflect the work of the abolitionist William Knibb, who was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

A griffin has also been removed from the design.

Kettering Town Council said the changes were the result of heraldry rules.

As first reported in the Northamptonshire Telegraph, external, a black man with a broken chain has been part of the Kettering coat of arms since 1938.

Both the slave, who was depicted holding up the right side of the shield, and a rampant griffin on the other side are known as "supporters" in heraldry.

Supporters had been part of the Kettering Borough Council coat of arms, but rules on heraldry, external meant the town council - which is legally a parish - cannot use them.

The authority agreed at its first meeting in May 2021 to have no supporters on its coat of arms, with one resident telling the meeting, external the image of the slave should have been consigned to history and "we have the chance to be creating something new".

The artwork for the new version has now been acquired.

On social media, Duncan Bain, a former mayor of Kettering, agreed with a George Orwell quote posted by another contributor: “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted... History has stopped."

Another correspondent posted: "Stop eradicating history, it's there to learn from. The world has gone mad."

A spokesperson for the town council said: "The College of Arms, which created the new coat of arms, advised that parish councils’ coats of arms cannot include 'supporters' – which in Kettering’s case involved an image of a freed slave – so the resulting coat of arms agreed by them and the King is essentially the central shield and helm.

"It is sad that the William Knibb reference has been lost from the coat of arms, but it is not a reflection of the view that anyone on the town council has about his work. It is not something the town council had any choice over."

The spokesperson added that plans were being made to create a permanent artwork to celebrate Knibb's work. [End Quote]

The original arms were granted, by The College of Arms, to Kettering Borough Council on 26th September 1938

Arms: Sable a Pelt Or in chief a Cross Crosslet fitchy of the last between two Fountains each charged with a Martlet of the first. Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours issuant from a Circlet of Chain Flames proper. Supporters: On the dexter side a Griffin reguardant Or beaked and membered and gorged with a Chain reflexed over the back Azure and on the sinister side a Negro proper habited about the waist with a Cloth and his sinister wrist encircled with a Handcuff pendent therefrom a broken Chain Azure.

Motto 'PROGRESSIO ET CONCORDIA' - Progress and concord.

The new, Kettering Town Council arms are the same but without the supporters.

I have no problem with the alteration, simply because no one is attempting to erase history; the previous coat of arms will always remain on record as being that of the former Kettering Borough Council.

Leek's Civic Heraldry (and the finest garden gate in England)

On Monday I had time to spend the best part of the day, camera in hand, walking the streets of the town of my birth, Leek, in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and had the opportunity to spend some time visiting St. Edwards Church, where I was baptised a lifetime ago. This post however, is a continuation of my Civic tributes. The Town Council Offices are on Stockwell Street and the Town's arms are proudly displayed on the swinging sign outside.

Arms : Azure a Saltire patonce between in chief a Stafford Knot in fesse two Suns and in base a Garb all Or. Crest : Out of a Mural Crown Or charged with three Mulberry Leaves proper a Mount of Heather thereon a Moorcock also proper resting the dexter claw on a Leek small-weave Shuttle Gold threaded Gules.  Motto: 'ARTE FAVENTE NIL DESPERANDUM'- Our skill assisting us, we have no cause for despair.

The arms were officially granted on May 7, 1956 to Leek Urban District Council but are now used by Leek Town Council.

The basic colours of the arms are gold on a blue ground, the colours of the Earldom of Chester, Dieulacrcsse Abbey, the Kingdom of Mercia and St. Edward. The cross, is that of St. Edward, patron saint of the parish, here it is set X-wise to recall the golden saltire on blue from the arms traditionally associated with the Saxon earldom and kingdom of Mercia, in which Leek held an important place under Earl Ælfgar. The Stafford Knot, like that in the arms of the County Council, indicates the town's importance in North Staffordshire. The wheat sheaf, is from the arms of the Earls of Chester, from whom the manor of Leek was held by the monks of Dieulacresse Abbey, founded in 1214 by Ranulph, Earl of Chester. The two suns recall the well-known Leek phenomenon of the "double sunset" and also refer to those in the arms of the family of Nicholson who have been so closely connected with Leek's modern development.

The mural crown is a symbol of local government and recalls Leek's traditional title of "Capital of the Moorlands". The mulberry leaves stand for the silk industry and the mound of heather and moorcock refer, to the moorlands, and also to the local archaeological feature, Cock Low. The special type of small-weave shuttle is characteristic of the local Industry.

The motto is that which was in use before the arms were granted.

On February 27, 2008, there was a rather silly and ill informed report in the leek Post & Times on the crest and I have written about this elsewhere in this weblog. Council in flap over Town Crest Fowl Up!

The town has quite a few rather wonderful heraldic seats, a rather innovative way of reflecting the Town's arms. This one is on the elevated section on the junction of Mill Street and West Street.

Whilst on my wee tour, I really couldn't resist taking a photo of what must have a claim to be the finest garden gate in the whole of England. It's not heraldry but who could resist it?   

The entrance gate to Greystones, 23 Stockwell Street, Leek. Greystones is a C.17 grade 2 Listed Building. William Morris stayed here 1875-1878.

St. Georges & Priorslee Parish Council and Oakengates Town Council

Carrying on with my tribute to Local Authorities, yesterday I spoke of the County and the Unitary Authority responsible for the area in which I live and you may recall that we didn't get off to a very good start because Telford & Wrekin Council isn't armigerous. Within each Unitary authority, or County depending upon where you live, there are, more often than not, Civil Parishes administered by Parish or Town Councils and some of them are armigerous. Unfortunately, once again where I live there is a distinct absence of heraldry! 

I live in the Civil Parish of St. Georges and Priorslee which, although not armigerous, does have a very nice pseudo armorial badge.

The pseudo heraldic badge of St. Georges and Priorslee Parish Council

St Georges & Priorslee Parish Council was elected in 1988 when Telford and Wrekin Council created eleven new parishes as part of the formation of Telford New Town in Shropshire. 

Before the formation of the District of The Wrekin (Telford) and later the Borough of Telford and The Wrekin, the Urban District of Oakengates comprised Oakengates, Wrockwardine Wood, St. George's, Priorslee, Snedshill, The Nabb, Wombridge and Trench, and always had a Labour council.

The creation of Oakengates Urban District in 1898 helped to improve municipal government, the U.D. comprising the civil parishes of Wombridge, Priorslee, St. George's, and Wrockwardine Wood. Nevertheless Oakengates remained under four education authorities until 1903 and three poor-law unions until 1930. The urban district council first met at the Coffee Palace but soon moved to rented offices in Market Street. Its offices were in Oxford Street c. 1905-c. 1940, thereafter in Stafford Road. Arms were granted to the council in 1960 and included a crest (out of a coronet composed of four laurel leaves set upon a rim or a demi wolf argent collared and lined gold and holding in the forepaws a tower sable the battlements enflamed proper) and the motto Haec sunt nostra robora.  

The name, Oakengates, has nothing to do with Oak or Gates but is derived from the Ancient Brythonic name for the valley which was Usc-con meaning The Lake (Usc(water) and the confluence (Cond) of two streams and from the Old Norse gata, path see gh- in Indo-European roots.  A history of Oakengates was written by local historian Rev J.E.G Cartlidge, whose name is commemorated in the name of the retirement home Cartlidge House.

Arms : Or, an eagle displayed, wings inverted, azure grasping in the talons two abbots' crosiers sable; on a chief gules three acorns slipped and leaved gold.

Crest: Out of a coronet composed of four laurel leaves set upon a rim Or, a demi wolf argent collared and lined gold and holding in the forepaws a tower sable, the battlements enflamed proper.

Motto: Haec sunt nostra robora.

The arms were officially granted on September 15, 1960.

When Oakengates Urban District Council became obsolete,  Oakengates Town Council "adopted" their arms and now use them on their website - spot the difference; is it an error or is it deliberate?

A reliance on Local Government

Local Government has played an important roll in the present pandemic so I thought it would be nice to pay homage to their efforts by featuring some of the heraldry that can be found in my own Local Authority area. Sadly, we don't get off to a very good start because my own Local Authority isn't armigerous. 

I live in the Borough of Telford & Wrekin; Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The district of Telford and Wrekin was granted borough status in 2002, though the council does not ordinarily include "Borough" in its name.

Telford & Wrekin used to be a District Council and in those days (prior to it becoming a unitary authority in 1998), it was, for want of a better word, subordinate to Shropshire County Council which was armigerous. 

Arms : Erminois, three pile azure, two issuant from the chief and one in base, each charged with a leopard's face Or.

Motto: 'Floreat Salopia'

The arms were officially granted on June 18, 1896 but Shropshire County Council became obsolete on 1st April 2009 when it was replaced by Shropshire Council, a unitary authority which replaced the former two-tier local government structure in the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire.The replaced former tiers were Shropshire County Council, and five non-metropolitan district councils – Bridgnorth District Council, North Shropshire District Council, Oswestry Borough Council, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and South Shropshire District Council. These districts and their councils were abolished in the reorganisation.

Shropshire Council continues to use the arms of the abolished County Council however, I haven't found any formal authority for them to do so (nevertheless, I am pleased that the arms are still in use and in fact, they have been adopted, by popular demand, as the banner of the ceremonial county of Shropshire).

The leopards' faces (sometimes called the Loggerheads) in these arms were adopted by the County Council in 1895 from the Borough of Shrewsbury (Azure, 3 leopards' faces Or). The heads appear on the fifteenth century seal of the Corporation but their origin is unknown. They may have been derived from the Royal Arms, or from the Arms of De La Pole, Earls of Suffolk in the fourteenth century (Azure, a chevron, and three leopards' faces Or), or arms of some local family.

The heads are often referred to as "the loggerheads". This originates presumably in the practice of carving some such motif on the head of the log used as a battering ram.

Floreat Salopia, the county's motto, means "May Shropshire flourish!" - Salop. is the standard abbreviation for Shropshire.

Details of the County Flag of Shropshire, also containing useful background information to the arms, can be found on the website of British County Flags.