Coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich

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Coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich
Shield
Gules a cannon barrel erect palewise proper surmounted by a lion's face or between two hour glasses or a chief nebuly of one point upwards azure thereon a chief nebuly of one point upwards argent charged with two mullets azure.
SupportersOn the dexter a representation of Zeus proper vested gules murally crowned and holding in the dexter hand a Hartmann astrolabe or and on the sinister a representation of Neptune proper vested azure crowned with a naval crown & holding in the sinister hand a trident or.
MottoWe Govern By Serving
Earlier version(s)
UseThe coat of arms used between 1965 and 2012, with the following blazon: Per chevron Argent and Gules in chief an Hour Glass proper between two Estoiles Azure and in base three Cannon Barrels erect palewise proper each surmounted on the breech by a Lion's Face Or.

The coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich is the official heraldic arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Arms were originally granted to this London borough in 1965 but these were replaced in 2012 with a new grant when the borough gained the epithet of "Royal Borough".

Original arms

Coats of arms of Metropolitan Boroughs of Woolwich (top) and Greenwich (bottom)

Arms were originally granted to the London Borough by

standard of time is taken. The three cannon barrels, taken from the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, signify the association of that borough with the Royal Arsenal.[2] These are also the origin of the cannon in the crest of Arsenal F.C.[3]

2012 grant

New arms were granted to replace to borough on 3 January 2012,[4] as it was decided the borough was to become a royal borough that year.[5] Originally, the intention was that the borough would receive the royal epithet on 3 January, but this was postponed by one month to 3 February.[6][7]

Although much of the 1965 design has been retained, the arms have been altered by the addition of a representation of the

astrolab of a kind constructed by Georg Hartmann, clearly a symbol for the astronomical studies at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, while Neptune is holding his usual attribute of a trident
.

The helmet is facing forwards, something which usually is reserved for royal arms. Special dispensation has been given to the royal borough for this use. The same is true for the Tudor rose in the crest, which also is marking the borough's long association with royalty.[9]

The motto, 'We govern by serving', has been retained from the old arms.

Meaning

The symbols relate to the Royal Observatory, built in 1675 for the advancement of navigation and nautical astronomy.

The ship and anchor on the crest recall the close association with the Royal Navy since the old royal palace was converted to a seamen's hospital, now the Old Royal Naval College.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-900455-21-7
    .
  2. ISBN 0-900455-21-7
    .
  3. ^ "The Crest". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  4. ^ "College of Arms September 2013 Newsletter (No. 36)". College of Arms. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Greenwich to become Royal Borough". Greenwich Council. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Greenwich's royal borough bandwagon rolls from February". 853blog.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  7. ^ Rob Powell. "New coat of arms for Royal Greenwich revealed". Greenwich.co.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  8. ^ "The borough's coat of arms and crest". Greenwich Council. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  9. ^ "The borough's coat of arms and crest". Greenwich Council. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
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