Heraldry of the World

The largest heraldry site on the net, with presently coats of arms on-line !

You are here : Home > Europe > United Kingdom
 


Civic Heraldry of the United Kingdom
England

AMBER VALLEY

Additions : Alfreton, Belper RDC, Belper UDC, Heanor, Ripley

Origin/meaning :
The arms were granted on October 18, 1989.
The gold wavy pale represents the Amber River in its valley, thus a canting symbol. The horseshoes in the border are derived from the arms of the Ferrers family, founders of Darley Abbey. The abbey owned much of the area in the borough.
The chief shows two black diamonds and a flaming fire-basket, symbols of coal and iron mining respectively, which have been of great importance for the local development.

The crest shows a stone tower, symbol for Codnor and other castles in the borough. From the tower rises an oak tree, symbol for Duffield forest, with golden acorns, symbol for the Oakes family. The latter played a major role in the industrial history of Alfreton. The tree is topped by a golden crown, similar to the crown of King Henry III, who often hunted in the forests in the area. Flanking the tree are two crosiers for Darley and Beauchief Abbeys.

The unicorn supporter is derived from the unicorn crest, used by the Wright family and the Butterley Company, founded by the family. The unicorn wears a collar derived from the red collar worn by the parrots in the arms of the Curzons of Kedleston. From the collar hangs a cross derived from the Outram family of Butterley.
The leopard supporter is derived from one of the supporters of the Strutt family, founders of the textile industry in Belper. The leopard wears a similar collar as the unicorn, with a fleur-de-lis derived from the arms of John of Gaunt, and also a symbol of the St. Mary, patron saint of Crich.

The arms stand on a compartment with white and blue waves, representing the river Derwent and other rivers in the area.

The motto means "We make progress through hard work.".

Literature : Information provided by the Amber Valley Council


Home © Ralf Hartemink 1996, ->

See also my other sites Food-Info.net and Food Dictionary


Disclaimer:
This site is private and non-commercial. All sources are mentioned when known. If you own copyrights to the information provided and are not mentioned, please contact the webmaster.

The information (texts or pictures) of this site may be used for private purposes but only after permission of the webmaster and with credit/link to this site. Be aware that for many non-commercial purposes permission of the (municipal) council to which the arms belong is needed ! When not sure, contact the council.
Use of the images in Wikipedia is allowed with reference to this site and/or the original source as mentioned on the site. Use template {{ngw}} for Dutch images and {{ngw2}} for non-Dutch images and always add original source. It is not allowed to use texts of this site on Wikipedia without permission !

For commercial purposes permission of the council as well as the webmaster of this site is always needed. The webmaster of this site is not responsible for commercial use of the material provided.
Disclaimer last changed on April 29, 2008 (addition Wikipedia templates), previous change January 2007 (addition Wikipedia text), previous change 2001.