View source for Ashby-de-la Zouch RDC

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'''ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH (Rural District Council)'''

Incorporated into : 1974 [[North West Leicestershire]] 

[[File:ashbyzouchrdc.jpg|center|Arms (crest) of {{PAGENAME}}]]

===Official blazon===
'''Arms''' : Argent on a Mount in base an Ash tree proper within a Bordure Gules charged with five Bezants on a Chief Sable a pierced Cinquefoil Ermine between two Garbs Or.<br>
'''Crest''' : Out of a Coronet composed of four Fleur de lys set upon a Rim Gules a demi lion Or supporting a staff proper flying therefrom a Banner paly of six Gold and Azure a Quarter Ermine. Mantled Gules doubled Argent.<br>
'''[[:Category:Mottoes all|Motto]]''':  'DEEDS NOT WORDS'

===Origin/meaning===
The arms were officially granted on February 9, 1956.

The ash tree, within a border carrying five of the ten gold roundels on red of the arms of the Zouche family, symbolises the name. The hill on which the tree stands refers to the uplands of the district, especially Bardon Hill, the highest point in Leicestershire. The black chief, with the ermine cinquefoil, from the arms of the County Council, represents the Leicestershire coalfield. The wheatsheaves allude to the agriculture which, with the mining, constitutes the principal industries of the district.

The red and white of the wreath and mantling are the County liveries. The red fleurs de lys of which the crown is composed come from the arms of George Stephenson, who lived at Ravenstone and built the Leicester and Swannington, one of the earliest railways. The gold lion is that of the Beaumont family of Coleorton and Grace Dieu, and the banner shows the arms of the Shirleys, Earls Ferrers, of Staunton Harold.

The motto is a reflection of the Council's progressive attitude, and has a local significance in that it comes from one of the works of the late Elizabethan dramatists, Beaumont and Fletcher, Francis Beaumont being one of the Coleorton family.

[[Literature]] :

{{media}} Image and information from [http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk here]

[[Category:United Kingdom Municipalities A]]
[[Category:England]]
[[Category:Granted 1956]]