Armorial of county councils of England

This is a list of the coats of arms of various county councils (current and former) in England.

Background

Under heraldic law in England, arms are not granted to places as such, but only to the corporate bodies that govern them. Accordingly, although arms and devices were associated with counties from the seventeenth century onward, there were no official grants until the establishment of county councils in 1889.

History

First grants

The first grant was made to West Sussex County Council soon after its establishment in 1889. The cost of the grant was defrayed by the Duke of Norfolk, titular head of the College of Arms, who was also first chairman of the county council. Further grants were made over the years, the number greatly increasing after the passing of the Local Government Act 1929 when county councils gained extra powers. Following the Second World War the majority of non-armigerous county councils obtained grants. When Durham County Council received a grant of arms in 1961 (it had previously been using the arms of the Diocese of Durham) only Hampshire County Council was left without an official grant.

Changes in 1965

Changes to local government in 1965 meant that several arms became obsolete and new arms had to be granted to Greater London, Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely and Huntingdon and Peterborough.

Changes in 1974

Local government in England and Wales was completely reorganised in 1974, with all existing county councils abolished. In their place was established a system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan county councils. Some of the non-metropolitan counties were identical or very similar in area to the previous administrative counties, and in their case they could apply for the transfer of the arms of the previous county councils by Order in Council. In some other cases, where substantial alterations were made to the county council's area, the College of Arms granted arms very similar to the previous arms, with a number of changes introduced. In the metropolitan counties, and entirely new non-metropolitan counties such as Avon, Humberside and Cleveland; new arms had to be designed. The arms of two small county councils were transferred to Huntingdon and Rutland district councils.

Changes in 1986

The six metropolitan county councils (five of which had arms) and the Greater London Council were abolished in 1986 and their arms became obsolete.

Changes after 1996

By 1995 all the remaining non-metropolitan county councils except Dorset were using official arms. From 1996 a piecemeal reform of local government meant the abolition of a number of county councils. It also recreated Worcestershire county council, who regained the use of the former county council arms. The unitary authority of Herefordshire, a county for ceremonial purposes, also gained the use of the old county council arms. Among the unitary authorities created was East Riding of Yorkshire. However this had a very different area to the pre 1974 East Riding and so was not allowed to take over the old arms. The council did obtain a grant of new arms. Rutland district became a unitary authority and ceremonial county, retaining the coat of arms that had been transferred from the previous county council. Dorset became a unitary authority in 2019, and has yet to apply for a formal transfer.

Use of the arms

The arms were granted to the councils of the county, and not to the county in general. This means that they can only be used by the council itself, who cannot allow another body or individual the use of their arms. However, many county councils have an additional heraldic badge which they can license organisations associated with the county to use.

The accepted practice is that it is permissible to illustrate the arms of a county council subject to copyright of the illustrator. In this case they should be clearly labelled as the arms of the county council.

Current

Non-metropolitan county councils

There are 25 two-tier county councils remaining in England after a series of reforms.

Council Image Granted
Cambridgeshire County Council Created 1976
Derbyshire County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1974; Crest and supporters added 1976
Devon County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1975
East Sussex County Council Coat of arms Created 1975
Essex County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1974
Gloucestershire County Council Transferred 1976
Hampshire County Council Created 1992[1]
Hertfordshire County Council Transferred 1974
Kent County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1975
Lancashire County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1974
Leicestershire County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1974
Lincolnshire County Council Coat of arms Created 1977
Norfolk County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1974; Supporters added 1992
Nottinghamshire County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1977
Oxfordshire County Council Coat of arms Created 1976
Staffordshire County Council Transferred 1975
Suffolk County Council Coat of arms 1978
Surrey County Council Coat of arms Created 1974
Warwickshire County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1975
West Sussex County Council Coat of arms Created 1975
Worcestershire County Council (created 1998) Coat of arms Transferred 1998

Transferred from county council to unitary authorities
Council Image Granted Notes
Buckinghamshire Council Not Yet Transferred County Council, became Unitary in 2020.
Bristol City Council Transferred 1974 District Council, became Unitary in 1996.
Cornwall Council Transferred 1975 County Council, became Unitary in 2009.
Cumberland Council 1951[lower-alpha 1] County Council abolished in 1974, revived Unitary in 2023.
Dorset Council Transferred 2019 County Council, became Unitary in 2019.
Durham County Council Coat of arms 1974 County Council, became Unitary in 2009.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council Coat of arms 1996 County Council abolished in 1974, revived Unitary in 1996.
Herefordshire Council Transferred 1998 County Council abolished in 1974, revived Unitary in 1998.
Isle of Wight Council Transferred 1975 County Council, became Unitary in 1995.
Northumberland County Council Coat of arms Transferred 1974 County Council, became Unitary in 2009.
North Yorkshire Council Coat of arms Created 1980[lower-alpha 2] County Council, became Unitary in 2023.
Rutland County Council Transferred 1974 District Council, became Unitary in 1997.
Shropshire Council Transferred 1974 County Council, became Unitary in 2009.
Somerset Council Transferred 1974; Crest and supporters added 2003[lower-alpha 3] County Council, became Unitary in 2023.
Wiltshire Council Transferred 1976 County Council, became Unitary in 2009.

Obsolete

County Councils (1889–1974)
Council Image Granted
Bedfordshire 1951
Berkshire 1947, supporters granted in 1961.
Buckinghamshire 1948
Cambridgeshire (abolished 1965) 1914
Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely (created 1965) 1965
Cheshire 1938
Cornwall 1939
Cumberland 1951
Derbyshire 1937
Devon 1926, supporters and crest granted 1962.
Dorset 1950
County Durham 1961
Essex 1932
Gloucestershire 1935
Hampshire No Arms Granted
Herefordshire 1946
Hertfordshire 1926
Huntingdonshire (abolished 1965) 1937
Huntingdon and Peterborough (created 1965) 1965
Isle of Ely (abolished 1965) 1931
Isle of Wight 1938
Kent 1933
Lancashire 1903
Leicestershire 1930
Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland 1954
Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven 1950
Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey 1935
London (abolished 1965) 1914
Middlesex (abolished 1965) 1910
Norfolk 1904
Northamptonshire 1939
Northumberland 1951
Nottinghamshire 1937
Oxfordshire 1949
Rutland 1950
Shropshire 1896
Soke of Peterborough (abolished 1965) 1950
Somerset 1911
Staffordshire 1931
East Suffolk 1935
West Suffolk 1959
Surrey 1934
East Sussex 1937
West Sussex 1889
Warwickshire 1931[2]
Westmorland 1926
Wiltshire 1937
Worcestershire 1947
Yorkshire, East Riding 1945
Yorkshire, North Riding 1928
Yorkshire, West Riding 1927

Greater London Council (1965–1986)
Council Image Granted
Greater London Council 1965

Non-Metropolitan County Councils
Council Image Granted
Avon (abolished 1996) 1976
Bedfordshire (abolished 2009) Transferred 1975
Berkshire (abolished 1998) New Arms 1974
Cheshire (abolished 2009) Transferred 1976
Cleveland (abolished 1996) 1974
Cumbria (abolished 2023) Coat of arms Created 1974
Hereford and Worcester (abolished 1998) 1978
Humberside (abolished 1996) 1976
Northamptonshire (abolished 2021) Coat of arms Transferred 1975

Metropolitan County Councils (1974–1986)
Council Image Granted Article
Greater Manchester 1974 Coat of arms of Greater Manchester
Merseyside

South Yorkshire 1978
Tyne and Wear No Arms Granted
West Midlands
West Yorkshire 1975 Coat of arms of West Yorkshire

See also

Sources
  • A. C. Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms, 1915
  • C. W. Scott-Giles, Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 1953
  • G. Briggs, Civic and Corporate Heraldry, 1971
  • The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) Order 1974
  • The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) Order 1975
  • The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) Order 1976
  • The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) Order 1977
  • The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) (No. 2) Order 1997[3]

Notes
  1. Tentative as to if the 2023-district will adopt the old arms
  2. Tentative as to if the 2023-district will adopt the old arms
  3. Tentative as to if the 2023-district will adopt the old arms

References
  1. "Hampshire Now - Hampshire history: The Hampshire County Council Coat of Arms". Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
  2. "CIVIC HERALDRY OF ENGLAND AND WALES-WARWICKSHIRE".
  3. "Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 2618". Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
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