Charter 750

Grants of Arms

Click on the thumbnails for a larger image:

Grant of property in the High Street, 1365
This deed, relating to a house and garden between High Street and the Kennet formerly owned by Stephen Cole, has the earliest known representation of the Borough coat of arms. This appears on the middle seal attached to it. At this date the arms represent those of the Merchant Gild. In contrast to the later arms, the seal shows 5 male heads as opposed to 5 female ones.
Document reference: [R/AT1/52]
 
 

Grants of arms to the Borough, 1566 and 1623
These two original grants of arms have been given the same colour wash treatment as the earliest surviving charter, making them virtually illegible. The first grant in 1566 confirms the ‘ancient arms and seal’ of the Corporation. This grant arose out of one of the periodic Visitations of the Heralds to enrol legitimate arms. The 5 heads are now female, and the letters ‘R E’ have been added. There has always been some debate as to whether this is the first two letters of ‘Reading’, or ‘Regina Elizabetha’, in honour of the Queen at the time. The grant made after the 1623 Herald’s Visitation does not include the letters ‘R E’.
Document reference: [R/HMC LX]
 
 

Grant of arms to the Borough, 1953
When the Borough applied for a new grant of arms in 1953 it was to gain supporters (the rams), a crest (the abbot’s mitre) and a motto (a deo et regina – from God and the Queen). The Borough worked with the College of Arms to secure the final design, which also restored the letters ‘R E’ to the arms.
Document reference: [R/ACC 7191.1]