Civic Heraldry of the United Kingdom England

BOLTON

Additions : 1974 Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley, Little Lever, Turton (partly), Westhoughton

Origin/meaning :
Bolton (as Metropolitan Borough) was granted new arms following its amalgamation with seven other Lancashire towns in 1974.
The gold arrow and crown palisade, form a rebus or visual pun with the arrow or "bolt" and the crown representing a "tun" (a settlement within a stockade which is the meaning of the second syllable of the name), thus Bolton. The border of eight red roses on gold to represents eight Lancashire local authorities. The shield shows, therefore, eight Lancashire local authorities joining to form Bolton.
The elephant and castle are based on the former crest of the County Borough of Bolton with a red rose on gold trappings for Lancashire. The crown palisade as in the shield has eight points (three are hidden) to represent the eight constituent areas.
The black lion is taken from the former Bolton arms. Differenced by having round its neck a wreath of gold and red, the colours of the former Bolton arms. The red lion, derived from that of the Borough of Farnworth , represents the Hulton family of Farnworth but was changed to blue to match the rest of Farnworth's arms and is here returned to its true colour. About its neck is a wreath of gold and blue, the colours of Farnworth's arms. The pennon bearing the spindle and shuttle represents the textile industry and the other bears a hornet for the paper industry.

Previously Bolton (county borough) used the arms below :

The old arms were first granted on June 5, 1890, on September 25, 1958 the supporters were added.

The two bends, symbolising a soldier's shoulder belt, and the arrow are symbols for the famous archers of Bolton. The shuttle stands for the weaving industry and the spindle commemorates the invention of the mule by Samual Crompton, a native of Bolton.
The small shield shows the rose of Lancaster.
The elephant is derived from the arms of Coventry, and recalls that Bolton historically belonged to the diocese of Mercia, of which Coventry was the seat. The saddle of the elephant shows a mitre for the bishops. The elephant stands on moorland to suggest the towns old name "Bolton-super-Moras" or "Bolton on the Moors".
The two black lions are derived from the arms of Flanders (Vlaanderen). Most of the workers in the weaving industry in late medieval times were originally from Vlaanderen, and were of great importance for the development of the city.

The central device in the new arms is an arrow passing through a palisado crown. This is a rebus on the name Bolton. The arrow is a "bolt" and the stockaded crown represents a "tun" or settlement. This device first appeared in a badge granted to the old Bolton council in 1958. Around the edge of the shield is a gold border on which are placed eight red Lancashire roses. This symbolises the eight Lancashire towns combined in the new Bolton.

The crest still shows the elephant, but the mitre has been replaced by the rose of Lancaster.
The two lions that support the arms are taken from the arms of the two towns of Bolton and Farnworth. The black lion of Flanders supported Bolton's arms. Here he has a wreath in the red and gold livery of Bolton around his neck. The red lion was used by Farnworth and comes from the arms of the Hulton family. he has a wreath in the blue and gold livery colours of the town. Both supporters support green flags - suggesting the outlying rural areas of the Borough. The flags are charged with emblems of local industries - a spindle and a shuttle for weaving, and a hornet for paper manufacture.

Like the crest the motto "Supera Moras" refers to the town's old name.

Literature : image send to me by mail.

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