Coat Of Arms Of The Metropolitan Borough Of Wigan
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The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of
Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council The Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in the United Kingdom. It consists of 75 Councillors with one-third being elected every three years in four. The borough is separated into 25 war ...
was granted 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 ...
in 1974.


Arms of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

The field of the arms consists of alternating gold and black lozenges or diamond shapes. Black lozenges are extensively used in British civic
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
to symbolise coal mining, while each gold lozenge bears a
red rose of Lancaster The Red Rose of Lancaster (blazoned: ''a rose gules'') was the heraldic badge adopted by the royal House of Lancaster in the 14th century. In modern times it symbolises the county of Lancashire. The exact species or cultivar which it represents i ...
to represent the union of several Lancashire communities in the metropolitan borough. The ''chief'' or top section of the shield displays a ''couchant'' lion from the crest of the county borough. On top of the helm is the crest which consists of a crowned castle and
mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...
tree. The castle and crown were in the county borough arms. The tree is included as a reference to the borough's name: the local name for the mountain ash being "Wiggin Tree". The supporters are a gold crowned lion from the county borough arms, and a sparrowhawk from the arms of the Atherton family, and found in the devices of Atherton Urban District council and the Borough of
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
. The motto is ''Progress With Unity''.


Blazon

The
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 ...
, or technical description of the arms is:


Arms of the County Borough of Wigan

The authority of Wigan County Borough was granted arms in 1922. The design incorporated several elements from a number of ancient
seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...
. The arms consisted of a red shield bearing a silver triple-towered castle with a gold ancient crown over the central tower. The design was taken from the earliest surviving seal of the borough dating from the twelfth century, which showed a castellated gateway over which appeared a crowned head, believed to be that of
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
. The crest consisted of a gold couchant lion in front of the head and shoulders of a king in a red robe and gold crown. The depiction used on the letters patent granting the arms was modelled on a portrait of
Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
. The lion was taken from the
royal arms of England The royal arms of England are the Coat of arms, arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as Armorial of the House of Plantagenet, personal arms by the House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet kings who ruled ...
. In a charter of 1350 Edward granted Wigan the right to use a seal known as the ''King's Recognaisance Seal'' on which were depicted the king's head and royal lion. The supporters were also royal lions, each holding aloft a branch of mountain ash or "Wiggin Tree". The motto was ''Ancient and Loyal''. Wigan described itself as the "Ancient and Loyal Borough", an epithet originating in the 1663 charter of Charles II which described the town as an "ancient borough" and noted its "loyalty to us". The 1663 charter governed the town until its reform by the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...
.


Blazon

The arms were blazoned as follows:


Seal used before 1922

The design on a seal adopted in the seventeenth century was used in lieu of arms until 1922. The seal was oval in shape and bore a depiction of Wigan's Moot Hall. The building had been the earliest meeting place for the borough corporation, and featured a belfry and a market cross.
Wigan Mayor's Handbook, "Looking Back" The
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
inscription was ''Sigillum commune villæ et burgi de Wigan''.


References

{{reflist


Further reading

*W. H. Fox-Talbot, ''The Book of Public Arms'', 2nd edition, London 1915 *W. C. Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953 *G. Briggs, ''Civic and Corporate Heraldry'', London, 1971


External links


Arms of Metropolitan Borough of Wigan (www.civicheraldry.co.uk)
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan History of Wigan
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...