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Civic Heraldry of the United Kingdom
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POPLAR
Borough of London
Incorporated into : 1965 Tower Hamlets
Origin/meaning :
The Council had no registered Coat of Arms, but adopted a Common Seal based on the badge designed for the Poplar Board of Works in 1855, and comprising the seals of the parishes of Poplar, Bromley, and Bow, which formed the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar.
The gateway represents that of the West India Import Dock, and the sailing ship (believed to be the Hibbert) refers to the parish of All Saints and to Poplar's associations with shipbuilding and the sea.
The figure in the monk's habit was the seal of the parish of Bromley St. Leonard. It commemorates the Benedictine Priory dedicated to St. Leonard which is believed to have been founded in the 10th or llth century and which stood on the banks of the River Lea until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The bows and bridge on the Bow shield refer to the bow-shaped bridge over the Lea which, according to tradition, was built by Queen Matilda, wife of Henry I, near the site of a ford which formerly connected London with the old Roman road to Colchester.
Literature : Information provided by Laurence Jones (laurencejones@eircom.net)
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