INGATESTONE & FRYERNING COAT OF ARMS NOTES
Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council decided in the mid/late 1980s to produce a coat of arms for the joint parishes, which had existed since 1894. The above painting, which was held in the Parish Council office was the original draft of this, although for aesthetic/technical reasons, the Maltese Cross at the top within the blue shield was changed to silver. This design was used for council stationery and road signs for the then Brentwood District Council and also for a chain of office for the Chairman. It was also decided to erect a village sign, firstly at Docklands Avenue and subsequently at the Roman Road end of the village and this incorporated the new coat of arms and an artwork depicting a mail coach and horses to reflect Ingatestone’s history as a coaching stop on the road from London to Great Yarmouth. This was designed by local artist Roy Hammond and the steelwork done by the Old Forge metalworking site near the Boys’ own Club. Unfortunately over the years some of the original road signs at the Seymour Field end of the village were removed. The shield is now used on Parish Council stationery. The details of the symbols on the coat of arms were registered with the College of Arms in London, and these notes explain the significance of the colours and symbols used which reflect the history of the villages of Ingatestone and Fryerning.
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This is the sign at the Docklands Avenue end of the village in its planter (1990s).
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The photo at the top is of the late Paul Carter in 1958 in the yard of The Spread Eagle coaching inn (demolished in the early 1960s) and the photo from 2013 is the very same view from the front of the Chelmsford Star Co-op looking towards Budgens Store in High Street, Ingatestone. Sadly Paul Carter, who was working on the A12 Ingatestone Bypass was killed in a motorcycle accident at this time and his name was inscribed in the side of the new road by his workmates. (Thanks to his brother Mervyn for letting me use this photo)
A surviving coaching arch further up the High Street near the opticians.
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Ready in The Furlongs for the Junior School trip to the Baltic and Scandinavia in 1965
The coat of arms includes a silver/white lily which is a religious symbol to reflect “purity�. A white lily, pierced by two darts was used on the original Junior School badge after 1963 as these 1965 school trip photos show. I only ever had the cap badge but remember being photographed by some American girls from Texas on a 1964 school trip to Windsor Castle who liked our uniforms!
This photo I took on the Windsor trip in 1964. John Brace (Year 5) is standing to the right holding his notebook and he appears in the 1965 photo above, in Year 6. The school tie was mid- blue.
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The original Ingatestone Secondary School (1959-1973) badge had an Essex “seax” and a scallop shell from the Petre family arms; the band represented the Roman Road through the village. (It is proposed to use the three Essex seax in road art for Le Tour 2014 when it comes through Essex on Monday 7 July 2014, though these should be in the colours of the race jerseys).
The Petre arms with scallop shells. The motto “Sans Dieu Rien” means “Without God Nothing”.
These are the arms of Wadham College Oxford, the benefactors of Fryerning Church and who still own land in the area (hence College Wood beyond Mapletree Lane, Mill Green and Wadham Close in Ingatestone village). Dorothy Wadham was a Petre, so the arms include the scallop shells.
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The Fryerning village sign on the green includes the Wadham arms and the Maltese Cross which refers to the Knights Hospitalier who had interests here until Henry VIII dissolved their order in 1540.
The original Fryerning village sign on Church Hill, Fryerning where the Maltese Cross is in red.
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Two Brentwood District Council signs at the Seymour Field end of the village which have the original coat of arms on them: the red Maltese Cross (the Knights Hospitalier), the two gold crowns (Royal authority), three gold roses (Love and Faith), the two silver lily flowers (Purity) and the silver scallop shell (The Traveller).
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A close up shot of the BDC Ingatestone sign showing the coat of arms of Ingatestone and Fryerning.
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The cover of the 1990 IFHAS guide to the High Street includes in their badge, the Maltese Cross, the crown, the scallop shell, the lily and what appears to be the Cinquefoil, representing “Hope and Joy�.
The cover of the first IFPC footpath map in 1994 t celebrate 100 years of the Parish Council which has a drawing of the village sign and coat of arms on it (Artwork by Matthew Bryan).
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The Docklands Avenue village sign and coat of arms again appear on the c1997 IFPC booklet on the buildings of the High Street in Ingatestone.
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INGATESTONE & FRYERNING COAT OF ARMS THE SHIELD: (Background =SILVER or WHITE/ARGENT=Peace and sincerity Band=SILVER or WHITE/ARGENT with RED/GULES spots=warrior or martyr Shield=BLUE/AZURE=Truth and Loyalty (GOLD/OR=Generosity and elevation of the mind) SYMBOLS: 1 RED OR GULES/SILVER Maltese Cross=Blessings; badge of Knights Hospitalier 2 GOLD/OR Crowns=Royal or seigniorial authority; prestige 3 GOLD/OR Roses=Love and faith; Charm and innocence 2 SILVER/ARGENT or WHITE Lilies/"Fleur-de-lis"=Purity 1 SILVER/ARGENT or WHITE Scallop Shell/”Escallop”=Traveller to far places or victorious naval commander
(Truth, Loyalty, Blessings, Prestige, Love & Faith, Purity and Travel) 11
Ingatestone Primary School badge 1963 onwards Blue/Azure background with White Lily and Gold/Or base, pierced by two diagonal Gold/Or arrows or darts
Arrow or Dart
Readiness (for battle); if depicted with a cross, represents an affliction
(Truth, Loyalty, Purity and Readiness) USEFUL WEBSITES: http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/ (College of Arms in London) http://www.fleurdelis.com/index.html (Website for information on arms, their design and symbolism) http://www.ingatestone-fryerningpc.gov.uk/ (Parish Council website)
http://www.villagesigns-essex.co.uk/pages/new_f.shtml (Interesting website with village signs) SOURCES: Wilde, E, E, Ingatestone and the Essex Great Road, (Oxford: Humphrey Milford Oxford UP: 1913) Yearsley, I, Ingatestone & Fryerning: a history, (Romford: Ian Henry Pubs., 1997)
ROBERT W FLETCHER (rfletcher189@gmail.com / 01277 354431/07910 679379) 27 APRIL 2014 12