Coat of arms of Bournemouth

King Edward the Confessor, in whose royal estate the area now known as Bournemouth was situated. The four salmon represent those to be found in the River Stour, which marks the boundary between Christchurch and Bournemouth. Each of the lions holds a rose between ts paws. The six birds, also taken from Edward the Confessor's arms, are martlets, heraldic birds with no legs (based on the folk belief that swallows never stopped flying and so did not need legs).^[2] The roses in the arms are emblems both of England and of Hampshire, which Bournemouth historically belonged to.^[3][4]