TEWKESBURY

Origin/meaning :

The arms were granted on April 10, 1964.

In the shield the golden cross engrailed on red in reference to the arms of the Tewkesbury Abbey occupies the place of honour. In the chief of the shield the castle, the Council's emblem from the Corporate Seal and the Mayor's Chain, appears between red and white roses in reference to the Battle of Tewkesbury.

In the crest a green demi lion with two tails from the arms of Dudley, Earl of Leicester - who was responsible for obtaining for the Borough the first Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1574 - issues from a Saxon crown, denoting a Royal Borough with Saxon origin and holds between the paws a black pear from the arms of Sir George Dowty.

The supporters are an heraldic panther from the arms of the Duke of Beaufort and an eagle from the arms of the Earl of Coventry, both families having a long association with the Borough. The first High Steward appointed in 1574 was the Duke of Beaufort. The shield and supporters rest on the compartment in which symbolic reference is made to the convergence at Tewkesbury of the Rivers Severn and Avon. Both of these rivers having played and still do, a most important role in the life of the Borough.