Coat of Arms of South Cambridgeshire District Council

South Cambridgeshire District Council's Coat of Arms

The Armorial Bearings are based on the Arms of the former Chesterton Rural District Council and the Seal of the former South Cambridgeshire Rural District Council and consist of a Shield of Arms, Crest and Motto.

The official Blazon (heraldic prescription) reads:

'Gules on a saltire ermine between in chief a cornucopia the horn or, replenished proper, in fess two garbs and in base the sails of a windmill or, a closed book gules clasped and garnished or, and for the Crest, on a wreath argent and gules, upon a mount vert a Great Bustard close, between the legs two quill pens in saltire points downward all proper.'

Description

The shield retains the red background and ermine saltire charged with a red book edged and decorated gold which were the basis of the Chesterton arms. These commemorate the crossing of ancient roads in the District, including Ermine Street, and also many connexions with the University of Cambridge. The book also alludes to the unique system of Village Colleges in the County, many of which are in the new District.

As in the Chesterton arms, a gold cornucopia filled with fruit and flowers represents the orchards, nurseries and preserving industries. Below the saltire, the sails of a windmill, also in gold, as in the Chesterton arms, suggests the mechanised agriculture of the area and notable windmills at Bourn, Madingley and Chishill.

In the flanks of the shield, two gold sheaves indicate the union of two rural districts to form the new authority. The wheatsheaf was the only emblem in the South Cambridgeshire Rural District Council seal and this appropriate symbol is thus preserved.

The crest is based as usual on the closed helm with its wreath and decorative mantling in the basic colours of the shield, red and white, as in the Chesterton arms. From the Chesterton crest comes the Cambridgeshire bustard on a small grassy mound. For necessary distinction are added two crossed quill pens to indicate the literary associations of the District with writers such as Chaucer, Tennyson, Rupert Brooke, Pepys, Matthew Paris and Byron.

The Chesterton motto is retained; it is that inscribed on a house in Fen Drayton associated with Vermuyden, the famous fen drainer: "Niet Zonder Arbyt" - "Nothing without effort/work" - the only Dutch motto in British civic heraldry.