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Newcastle, UK -
07-18-2004, 07:13 PM
[img]http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/newcastle_tyne.JPG[/img]
ARMS: Gules three Castles triple towered Argent.
CREST: On a Wreath of the Colours a Castle as in the Arms issuant therefrom a demi Lion guardant supporting a Flagstaff Or flying therefrom a forked Pennon of the Arms of Saint George.
SUPPORTERS On either side a Sea Horse proper crined and finned Or.
Motto 'FORTITER DEFENDIT TRIUMPHANS' - Triumphing by brave defence
Arms recorded and confirmed, crest and supporters granted 16th August 1575.
The castle motif goes back to earliest times for originally the town took its name from the "New Castle" built by order of Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, in 1080 and a castle was depicted on the twelfth century common seal. The earliest extant example of the three silver castles on a red shield, dating from about 1400, is in the window on the north side of the chancel in St. John's church.
The castle motif is repeated in the crest which is a golden demi-lion issuing from a silver castle. His fore paws grasp the golden staff of St. George's pennon depicted in red on a silver ground.
The supporters, two mythical seahorses, are a reminder that Newcastle is a seaport.
The motto was adopted during the Civil War, probably following the stubborn defence of the town against the Scots in 1644.
the_finger:
That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest - Henri David Thoreau
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