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

SAINT ALBANS

Additions : 1974 City of and Rural District of St.Albans and the town of Harpenden

Origin/meaning :
The blue shield with gold saltire was recorded as St. Albans' arms in 1634 and certified in 1951. These are the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. King Offa of Mercia founded St. Albans abbey on the site of his martyrdom. Tradition has it that from that date the Mercian arms were granted to the town. In 1974 the larger city had supporters and crest added.

The crest has the figure of a baron holding the Magna Carta, which has associations with St. Albans.

The dexter supporter is a mitred abbot. The abbots once governed the town. The sinister supporter is a printer, as the town was an early centre of the industry.

Literature : Information provided by Laurence Jones (laurencejones@eircom.net)


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.