The coat of arms of Colchester is the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

and other insignia associated with the city and

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

is more commonly used than the full arms. There are two versions of the arms that are commonly seen. The first was in use from around the 1550 to 1915; the other the intervening periods between 1413 and present.

Historic Arms

The 'raven' of Colchester

The oldest known device associated with Colchester is the

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

, found on seals dating back to the 11th or 12th century. It continued to be used for many centuries as a symbol of the Port of Colchester. It has been suggested that the raven may have been derived from a symbol of the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

when they ruled the area.

Post-Reformation arms (c.1550 - 1915)

This shield, which can be blazoned as ''Gules, two staves raguly and couped argent, one in pale, surmounted by another in fess between two ducal coronets in chief Or the bottom part of the shaft enfiled with a ducal coronet of the last'' or alternatively ''Gules two silver ragged staves joined in the form of a cross, its arms and foot pierced by Passion Nails; and three golden crowns, the bottom encircling the foot of the cross'' was in use until 1915. It had been in use since at least 1558, where it was mentioned in the heralds' visitation of that year. It is thought to have been created by heralds wishing to remove the reference to a revered

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. It was in 1915 that the Corporation of Colchester revised the arms of Colchester based on a report by Alderman Guerney Benham. It decided to revert the arms to the original form that were granted to Colchester by Henry V in 1413, as described on Letters Patent "and also employed upon the Common Seal of the Borough, adopted at about the same date and used continuously as the borough seal for over four centuries" The change was supported by the 'advice of many eminent heralds'. Among the changes was the firm addition of the nails and the change of the wood from ''argent'' (white) to ''vert'' (green).

Current arms (1415 - c.1550, 1915 - present)

The current arms, which are officially assigned to Colchester Borough Council by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, were first used after being granted by

King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

in 1413, when the town was granted a new

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

. These early arms featured inscriptions like ''QUAM CRUX INSIGNIT HELENAM COLCHESTERIA GIGNET'' and ''COLCESTRIENSIS SUM BURGI COMMUNE SIGILLUM''. The shield shows a cross, with three

crowns A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, one of each 'arm' and one encircling the foot of the cross, each supported by a nail. There was, and is, also question over whether there should be three nails or four. The shield can be blazoned ''Gules four Pieces of Wood raguly conjoined in a cross proper each side arm transfixed with a Nail palewise Sable ensigned by an Ancient Crown Or and that in base enfiling a like Crown and transfixed by a like Nail in bend.'' In 1976, the coat of arms was extended with the addition of a

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

, a

torse In heraldry, a torse or wreath is a twisted roll of fabric laid about the top of the helmet and the base of the crest. It has the dual purpose of masking the join between helm and crest, and of holding the mantling in place. The torse is some ...

of red and white, topped with roses of the same colours rising from which is a female figure, holding a Cross, which can be blazoned ''On a Wreath of the Colours issuant from a Chaplet of Roses alternately Gules and Argent a Female Figure habited Azure and Veiled Argent crowned Or holding a Passion Cross Or.'';

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. H ...

of a fisherman in the sinister (observer's right) and a Roman soldier in the dexter (observer's left). The motto ''No Cross, No Crown'' was added. These additions are not generally used. As of 1989, these arms had never been used. Until this standardisation, the official description included detail on the type of ragules on the wood and the direction of the wood. The current arms are a direct reference to

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, the patron saint of Colchester, believed to have been born there. The charter is the inscription ''Sancta Elana nata fuit in Colcestria. Mater Constani fuit et Sanctam Crucem invenit Elana'' (St. Helen was born in Colchester. Helen was the mother of Constantine and she found the Holy Cross). The cross is believed to be the True Cross, which Saint Helena is supposed to have found. The red background represents the blood of Christ; the nail the

Holy Nails Relics that are claimed to be the Holy Nails with which Jesus was crucified are objects of veneration among some Christians, particularly Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. In Christian symbolism and art, they figure among the ''Arma ...

. The crowns are representative of the crowns of the

Magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...

, the bodies of whom Saint Helena is supposed to have found. The four shafts are joined in a

fylfot The fylfot or fylfot cross ( ) and its mirror image, the gammadion are a type of swastika associated with medieval Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a cross with perpendicular extensions, usually at 90° or close angles, radiating in the same direc ...

, a symbol of good fortune. When

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

was founded in 1937, it adopted this coat of arms as the club badge. This was changed in 1972 after a disagreement with the Council over use of the arms. Colchester Town also used these arms as their badge. The

Bishop of Colchester The Bishop of Colchester is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The current bishop is Roger Morris, former Archdeacon of Worcester, who was consecrat ...

bears no arms. Colchester Flag

The modern coat of arms of Colchester should not be confused with that of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, which, apart from being supported by two royal stags instead of a fisherman and Roman soldier, differs only in the absence of the nails on the cross. This arms is described as ''Gules issuant from the base a ragged Cross couped proper between two Ducal Coronets in chief Or the lower limb of the Cross enfiled with a like Coronet'', but, as with Colchester, the cross is usually shown in green.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of Colchester

Colchester (town) Coats of arms of non-metropolitan district councils