Oswestry
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Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of the United Kingdom |
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OSWESTRY
Until 1974 Oswestry RDC
Incorporated into : 2009 Shropshire
Official blazon
Arms : Per pale and per fesse indented Argent and Gules two Lions passant in pale counterchanged.
Crest : On a Wreath Or and Azure out of the Battlements of a Tower Gules a demi Dragon Or gorged with a Riband Gules pendent therefrom a Lozenge Ermine charged with a Saltire couped per pale Argent and Sable, and supporting a Staff proper flying therefrom a triangular Pennon tierced in pale Vert Argent and Sable; Mantled Azure doubled Or.
Motto : 'NEC TEMERE NEC TIMIDE' - Neither rashly nor timidly
Origin/meaning
The arms were officially granted on August 1, 1957 to the Oswestry Rural District Council. The new Oswestry Council formed in 1974 was allowed to retain the arms.
The shield represents heraldically the two ancient lordships of Knockin and Whittington which formerly covered a large part of the district. The white and red quarters with indented centreline were the arms of the Fitzwarins, Lords of Whittington for over 400 years; over them, in reversed colours, are the lions of the Strange or L'Estrange Barons of Knockin.
The red battlements in the crest allude to the castles of the district (Whittington, Kinnerley, Knockin and Selattyn). The golden dragon, which suggests the district's proximity to Wales and its partly Welsh population, is the principal emblem in the shield of the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital at Gobowen. From the neck of the dragon (which comes from the arms of Sir Robert Jones) hangs a lozenge of ermine with a black and white saltire, derived from the arms of Dame Agnes Hunt which also figures in the Hospital shield. The dragon bears a pennon of green, white and black for agriculture, limestone quarrying and coal mining.
The motto is that of the Bridgeman Earls of Bradford (of Knockin and Lianyblodwel)"Nec temerenec timide" (Neither rashly nor timidly) indicating a policy of progress with prudence.
Literature : Image and information provided by Laurence Jones (laurencejones@eircom.net)