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Civic Heraldry of the United Kingdom
England

WOKINGHAM

Origin/meaning :
The shield combines the principal topographical and historical features of the district. The main surface of the shield indicates the former, while the latter are represented in the top portion or "chief'. Three white waves and two green ones, each resembling an initial W, suggest the undulating farmlands and rich woodlands enclosed by the Thames, Loddon and Blackwater rivers.
The royal stag's head, similar to that in the arms of Windsor and that of the complete stag in the arms of Berkshire and Wokingham, refers to the situation of large parts of the district in the ancient Royal Forest of Windsor.
In the chief, the pastoral staves refer to the Sees of Winchester and Salisbury, the former held the whole of the Hundred of Wargrave and the Bishop of Salisbury had a Palace at Sonning. The mitre refers to the mitred Abbey of Abingdon which has links with the district over a thousand years old, and to the ancient Saxon bishopric said to have existed at Sonning. The background is red, as is the upper part of the arms of Reading University, whose site is within the area at Earley.

The crest, the base of which is the special type designed for Rural District Councils and consisting of wheat ears and acorns alternately, representing agriculture and natural beauty. The acorn is especially appropriate to the district centred on Wokingham, whose emblem was an acorn long before the present arms (also based on the acorn) were granted.

Out of the coronet rises a grassy mound on which stands a Royal lion from the arms of the Royal County of Berkshire, granted to the former County Council holding an oar. The lion refers to various royal and national associations with the district, including the world-famous Royal Regatta of Henley, which takes place within the district and to which the oar refers.

The motto Unum E Pluribus ("One made out of many") refers to the union of the various parishes in one Rural District. It is a variant of the motto of the U S A whose first President, George Washington, was descended in the maternal line from the family of Ball of Arborfield.

Literature : Information taken from here, with permission.


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