Chigwell
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 Civic heraldry of the United Kingdom |
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CHIGWELL
Incorporated into : 1974 Epping Forest
Official blazon
Arms : Or a Stag lodged proper on a Chief Gules three Axe-heads each in bend sinister blade downwards Argent.
Crest : On a Wreath of the Colours issuant from a Wreath of Oak a dexter Cubit Arm habited Vert the hand proper grasping a Riband Gules pendent therefrom a Bugle Horn Or [contourneé].
Motto : 'NON PROGREDI EST REGREDI' - Not to go forward is to go backward
Origin/meaning
The arms were officially granted on May 9, 1951.
Epping Forest, represented by the stag and the oak leaves in the crest, formed a large part of the urban district's area and is closely linked with its history. The other charges are also connected with the forest and its ancient laws. In former times the chief officer of the forest was the Lord Warden, under him was the Lieutenant of the Forest, who was aided by the Master Keepers, an office commonly held in latter centuries by the lords of the forest manors. Along side these various offices was a judiciary, responsible for the administration of the forest laws, led by the Verderers of whom there is an unbroken list of names from 1250.
The Verderer's court - known as the Court of Attachments or Woodmote, was held at Chigwell and after the Coroner's Court was the second oldest court in the country, it dealt with cases at once if the damage was not more than fourpence. The Verderers also presided at the Court of Swainmote, where the more serious offences were tried by a jury of freeholders of the forest. The most serious offences were tried at the court, commonly called the Justice Seat, presided over by the Chief Justice in Eyre, commonly called the Justice Seat.
The Master Keeper's symbol of office was a horn, which is seen in the crest, this he was required to present on his knees at the Justice Seat after the Lieutenant had presented his baton. Today the Verderers, four in number, are members of the Epping Forest Committee of the Corporation of London, which since 1878 has administered the forest. They are elected every seven years by the Commoners, that is those with over half an acre of free land within the forest parishes. The axe-heads represent their authority.
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© since 1995, Heraldry of the World, Ralf Hartemink 
Index of the site
Literature : Scott-Giles, 1953, image from http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk