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Civic Heraldry of the United Kingdom
Wales


ABERYSTWYTH

Origin/meaning :
The Borough of Aberystwyth was granted arms on May 15, 1961. These are now used by the Aberystwyth Community Council.

The heraldic ships record Aberystwyth's past importance as a port and ship building industry. The open book represents academic aspects in the town's life as represented by the University College of Wales and the National Library of Wales. The date 1277 is the date of the original Charter granted by Edward 1.

The crest is Aberystwyth Castle Tower.

The dexter supporter is the red dragon of Wales, supporting a pennon charged with a wheatsheaf signifying the importance of the town as a market centre and it's dependence on the agricultural hinterland. The sinister supporter is a black lion, taken from the arms of the Pryse family of Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth, who played an important part in the life of the town and county of Cardigan. He supports a pennon charged with a winged wheel as a heraldic symbol for tourism, which indicates the importance of the tourist trade to the town.

The motto means The Best Way of Life is Service.

Prior to 1961 Aberystwyth did not have a coat of arms. The local seal showed a lion reguardant (looking backwards), and around 1905 the arms were shown as below on the famous Ja-Ja cards:

Literature : Image and information provided by Laurence Jones.


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Disclaimer last changed on April 29, 2008 (addition Wikipedia templates), previous change January 2007 (addition Wikipedia text), previous change 2001.