CLEVELAND
Additions : 1974
Hartlepool County Borough, Teesside County Boroughand parts of Durham and Yorkshire North Riding
Abolished 1996.
Origin/meaning :
The arms were granted on 10th December 1974.
The blue lion is from the arms of the Brus family who, following the Norman Conquest, were given substantial lands in what is now Cleveland, and its collar and crown are similar to those in the heraldry of the Dukes of Cleveland. Charles II created Barbara Villiers Duchess of Cleveland in 1670 and their illegitimate son became the first Duke upon the death of his mother in 1709. The flames symbolize the energy industry generally, the ancient ship represents shipping, the cogwheel - engineering and the hexagon - the petro-chemical industry. The two vertical lines separating these symbols represent the railways and are a reminder that the World's first passenger railway had its terminus at Stockton-on-Tees.
The anchor resting on the grassy mount represents the sea and the golden 'estoiles' are identical to the polar stars in the arms of Captain Cook, but are blazoned as estoiles as they are not in a North-South position.
The supporters consist of a Hartlepool hart and a Cleveland Bay horse, each with a hoof resting on three steel ingots, representing the iron and steel industry.
The motto "Endeavour" was chosen not only for its obvious message but because Endeavour was the name of Captain James Cook's ship.
Literature : Image and information provided by Laurence Jones
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