STOCKPORT

Origin/meaning :

There is some confusion about the early coat of arms of Stockport. Council minutes show that on February 3rd 1836 a design was approved by the Council, and a seal made to this specification arrived on the 9th of March. An agreement dated 16th December 1847, and kept in the Central Library, bears this original coat of arms. This has a shield with a lion couchant and a figure of Britannia as supporters and the words "Corporate Reform January 1836" on a banner. However, the College of Heralds can find no reference to these earlier arms.

The present arms were granted in December 1932, the supporters were granted in February 1960.

The wheatsheaves are from the arms of the Earl of Chester and the double-headed eagles from the arms of the De Eton family.

The crest shows a golden crown formed like a wall, on which there is a green mound surmounted by a castle in natural colours.

The shield is supported on either side by a lion rampant (from the Arms of the de Warren family who were Lords of the Manor from 1370 to 1826). Each lion wears a collar of Vairy Or and Gules (in allusion to Ferrers, Earls of Derby). From the collar of one hangs a silver disc with the Red Rose of Lancaster, and from the other a blue disc with the golden wheatsheaf of the Earldom of Chester.

The motto - Animo et Fide is translated as With Courage and Faith.