Stanley

Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of the United Kingdom

STANLEY

Incorporated into : 1974 Derwentside (2009 Durham (County))

Official blazon

Arms : Per fess argent and vert, a representation of the Causey Arch at Stanley in fess throughout proper between in chief three popinjays vert collared gules and in base a cross of St. Cuthbert Or the inner angles enflamed proper.
Crest : On a wreath of the colours, Out of a circlet vert a demi bull argent, armed and unguled Or, pendent from the neck by a chain argent a Roman shield sable charged with a thunderbolt and on a bordure Or ten pellets.
Motto : On Stanley On

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on April 25, 1968.

The arms or shield are indicative of the Union of the districts of Stanley, Tanfield and Annfield Plain. Across the middle, Causey Arch recalls its purpose to facilitate the moving of coal, the industry around which the whole are grew. Above the arch, the three parrots from the arms of the Lumley family refer to their tenure of the Manor of Stanley in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Below, the pectoral cross of St. Cuthbert refers to the erection of Tanfield's Church about 1,000 years ago by the monks of Chester-le-Street, the repository of the relics of St. Cuthbert. In each angle is a flame of fire in allusion to the legends connected with St. Aidan, the patron saint of the parish of Annfield Plain: he was said to have, by prayer, changed the direction of the wind and thus to have diverted the fire which Penda, King of Mercia, had kindled against Bamburgh; when he died, his soul was said to have been seen by St. Cuthbert ascending to Heaven in a globe of fire. Thus, emblems of the two saints closely associated with Lindisfarne and Durham are combined to represent their links with Tanfield and Annfield Plain.

The crest spans the district's working history from Roman to modern times. The green circlet represents the turf wall enclosing the Roman cattle camp, which is recalled by the bull rising from it, wearing a Roman shield. These were often charged with a stylised thunderbolt, used in heraldry to symbolise electricity and refers here to the importance of Pontop Pike. The black field refers to the coalmining industry, and the chain to engineering.

Literature : Briggs, 1971 and www.derwentside.org.uk