OWESTRY

Origin/meaning :
The arms were granted in 1957 to the Oswestry Rural District Council. The new Oswestry Council formed in 1974 was allowed to retain the arms.
The shield represents heraldically the two ancient lordships of Knockin and Whittington which formerly covered a large part of the district. The white and red quarters with indented centreline were the arms of the Fitzwarins, Lords of Whittington for over 400 years; over them, in reversed colours, are the lions of the Strange or L'Estrange Barons of Knockin.

The red battlements in the crest allude to the castles of the district (Whittington, Kinnerley, Knockin and Selattyn). The golden dragon, which suggests the district's proximity to Wales and its partly Welsh population, is the principal emblem in the shield of the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital at Gobowen. From the neck of the dragon (which comes from the arms of Sir Robert Jones) hangs a lozenge of ermine with a black and white saltire, derived from the arms of Dame Agnes Hunt which also figures in the Hospital shield. The dragon bears a pennon of green, white and black for agriculture, limestone quarrying and coal mining.

The motto is that of the Bridgeman Earls of Bradford (of Knockin and Lianyblodwel)"Nec temerenec timide" (Neither rashly nor timidly) indicating a policy of progress with prudence.