Go to navigation
Coat of Arms
Garter
King of Arms granted the Medway Coat of Arms in January 1999.
The shield is made up of a bridge with four arches, each arch
symbolising one of the four predecessor authorities, Strood,
Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham, and five supports each support
symbolising the five Medway Towns, Strood, Rochester, Chatham,
Gillingham and Rainham.
A gold lion passant guardant is devised ultimately from the
English Royal Arms and the background refers to the River
Medway.
A bridge can be described as uniting different ages and
communities and derives its strengths from its arches. (Note
the shield with the bridge and lion is very similar to the ship’s
badge from a Royal Naval Vessel HMS Medway launched in 1927.)
The crest is formed by a Naval Crown with three forts. The
Naval Crown recognises the long and proud history between Medway
and the Royal Navy. The forts, one of which is taken from the
old Gillingham Borough arms, signify the number of forts built to
surround the Medway area during the Napoleonic wars and the strong
links with the Corps of Royal Engineers at Gillingham. The
blue oak wreaths surrounding the two outer forts refer to the naval
victories associated with the area. HMS Victory, perhaps the
most famous of all British Warships was built at Chatham Dockyard.
The brook on the centre fort is taken from the old arms of
Gillingham and refers obliquely to Will Adams (died 1620) who was
born there and who has been described as the founder of the
Japanese Navy.
The supporters are based on those from the predecessor City of
Rochester upon Medway, and are sea horses holding tridents from the
old arms of the Borough of Chatham. The collars are taken
from the arms of Pitt of Chatham with a harp suspended from each.
The harp comes from the old arms of the Borough of
Gillingham. The motto “Forward Together” promotes a sense of
unification of all that has gone before and yet looks forward to
the new millennium.
Add this page to my Quick Links:
Add page
Send this page to a friend:
Send