The Coat of Arms of Bradford City Council was granted in 1976.Letters Patent dated January 2, 1976 The present City of Bradford was created in 1974 by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

and is one of five

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

s of

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. The 1976 arms are based on those of its predecessor, the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

of Bradford.

Symbolism

The red and blue ''"per pale"'' division of the shield, gold engrailed chevron and buglehorns were taken directly from the county borough's arms. The buglehorns refer to the service by which the manor of Bradford was granted by

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

to John Northrop of Manningham: upon the blowing of a horn on St Martin's day Manningham was to wait on John and his heirs and conduct them safely to

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

Castle. In the county borough's arms there were three horns: one has been replaced by a golden fleece. This is an emblem of the woollen industry and was found in the arms or devices of five

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s included in the metropolitan borough in 1974. On the chevron is an heraldic fountain from the arms of borough of

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

and

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

urban district. A ''bordure'' or border has been added to the shield, on which are placed eleven white roses, representing the eleven

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

councils combined in 1974. The crest features a boar's head without a tongue. This illustrates the legend of the boar of Cliffe Wood. The supporters are a gold stag from the arms of the Cavendish family, associated with Keighley; and an angora goat, another emblem of the woollen industry. The motto is ''Progress, Industry, Humanity''.

Blazon

The formal description of the arms, or

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

, is: *Arms: ''Per

pale Pale may refer to: Jurisdictions * Medieval areas of English conquest: ** Pale of Calais, in France (1360–1558) ** The Pale, or the English Pale, in Ireland *Pale of Settlement, area of permitted Jewish settlement, western Russian Empire (179 ...

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

and Azure on a chevron engrailed between in chief two buglehorns stringed and in base a fleece Or a Fountain the whole within a bordure gobony of the first and

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

charged on the Gules with eleven roses of the last barbed and seeded Proper.'' *Crest: ''Upon a

mural crown A mural crown ( la, corona muralis) is a crown or headpiece representing city walls, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the Romans a military decoration. Later th ...

per pale Gules and Azure a boar's head sans tongue erased Or.'' *Supporters: ''On the dexter side a stag Or gorged with a collar Azure thereon three roses Argent barbed and seeded Proper and on the sinister side an Angora Goat Argent horned Or gorged with a collar Gules charged with three like roses.'' *Motto: '' 'Progress, Industry, Humanity' ''

Sources

*''Aspects of Heraldry'' - Journal of the Yorkshire Heraldry Society, No.16, 2002 *G. Briggs, ''Civic and Corporate Heraldry'', London 1971 *W. C. Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953 *W. H. Fox-Talbot, ''The Book of Public Arms'', London 1915

References

{{reflist City of Bradford

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...