WHITBY
Origin/meaning :
The arms show three snake-stones, or ammonites. According to legend Abbess Hilda of Whitby Abbey rounded up the serpents that swarmed around the abbey. She hurled them from the cliffs, where they lost their heads and turned into stones. The ammonites actually are 190 million year old fossils, which can be ofund in the area.
The motto means We have been and we are.
Literature : Information from postcards from Whitby.