Yorkshire

County

East Riding

The arms were officially granted on 1945.

The blue eagle was used by the council in their pre-1945 device. It is probably derived from some of the old seals of the Borough of Beverley, where the town’s arms were shown quartered with an eagle. The two garbs are for agriculture. The black chief has three Yorkshire roses.

The motto (to behold the sunrise) is a reference to its position on the east coast of England.

North Riding

The arms were officially granted on March 1, 1928.

The main part of the arms has the cross of St. George as found in the arms of the City of York. The chief has three white roses the famous historical emblem of Yorkshire.

West Riding

The arms were officially granted on February 2, 1927.

The ermine field has a white “rose-en-soleil”, a Royal badge of the house of York. The chief has the familiar historical white roses of Yorkshire.

Bedale

1792 Yorkshire Bedale Halfpenny Conder Token

Obverse: A perspective view of a main street with two inn signboards, one stretching across the road; a church spire in the distance to the right; and clouds and three pigeons in the sky. In the exergue is 1792.

Reverse: A cypher JOM in script capitals between crossed laurel branches. Legend: JAMES . METCALF * BEDAL . (sic) YORKSh. This is not in full agreement with the name given in the legend – James Metcalf. This die was used with several other Skidmore designs.

Edge: Plain (not in collar).

The view represents the High Street in Bedale, with the two principal inns of the time – The Black Swan, and the New Inn. Bedale lies on the Roman causeway between Richmond and Barnard Castle. The church shown on the token was dedicated to St. Gregory, and its tower was successfully defended by the inhabitants of the town against a Scottish raid in the reign of Edward III.

D&H Yorkshire No: 9c A. 11b

Huddersfield

1793 Yorkshire Huddersfield Downings Halfpenny Conder Token

Obverse: A public building, EAST INDIA HOUSE

Reverse: The Grocers’ arms, &c. HALFPENNY 1793

Edge: LONDON, BRISTOL AND LIVERPOOL

D&H Yorkshire No: 15a A. 17a

Provenance:

Ex-Robbie Brown Jnr Collection,

DNW Auction 10 June 2015, lot 493 (part)

Hull

The arms have been in use on seals of the City since the fifteenth century. The arms were recorded in 1612 and in 1665/6. They were certified in 1879.

The three ducal coronets are believed to refer to the legend of the Three Kings, a motif used by many towns across Europe, representing trade with far off nations.

There is a tradition that these arms originated in the device of a local company of ‘Merchant Adventurers’, who likened themselves to the three Kings of the East who followed the star to Bethlehem, and is a motif used by many towns across Europe, representing trade with far off nations.

Another origin may be found in the arms of the City of Cologne, and the habit of those who imported fine linen from that City to set up the arms thereof as indicative of the wares they dealt in.”

More likely is it that the crowns were adopted in token of Edward I, who, seeing its value as a port, took over the town of Wykeham-upon-Hull from the Monks of Meaux and gave it a charter, so that thereafter it was called the ‘King’s Town’. This simple explanation of the arms, which seems to have been obscured owing to the fact that nowadays the town is commonly called Hull, is supported by the thirteenth century seal which bears the figure of a king flanked by two lions and with a third at his feet.

1791 Halfpenny Conder Token Yorkshire Hull

Obverse: an equestrian statue of William III GULIELMUS TERTIUS REX (King William III) MDCLXXXIX (1689). King Billy, as the statue is affectionately know, sits in the centre of the road of Low Gate in Hull. The place was actually where the bear baiting ring was in previous times. The statue is of King William III, William of Orange. Hull was the first large city in Britain to swear their allegiance to the new King when he deposed James II in 1685. This came about as Parliament thought that James was to change the state religion to Catholic and they wanted to remain Protestant. Williams mother, Mary, was daughter of Charles I and then William had married Mary,  his first cousin and eldest surviving daughter of James II, when he was the Duke of York. She was therefore the next in line to the throne after James II. William refused however to be consort to Queen Mary or only as King during her lifetime and threatened to leave the country. Parliament thought it better to have a Protestant King and so it was the connivance of the Houses of Lords and Commons that declared them joint Rulers but William would exercise the regal power for both of them. They were crowned in April 1689. He died in 1702.

Reverse: Shield of arms between sprigs of oak, eight acorns on each side

Edge: PAYABLE AT THE WAREHOUSE OF IONATHAN GARTON & CO. X .

D&H Yorkshire No. 21

1791 Halfpenny Conder Token Yorkshire Hull

Obverse: Shield of arms between sprigs of oak, eight acorns on each side. 1791.

Reverse: A ship sailing, at the bottom sprigs of leaves.

Edge: PAYABLE IN HULL AND IN LONDON

D&H Yorkshire No: 22 A. 23

Leeds

Recorded at the Visitaion of 1666. Crest and supporters granted on November 7, 1921, but used before.

When the Royal Charter was granted to the town in 1626 the new Corporation adopted an achievement of arms:- Azure, a fleece or, on a shield supported by two owls argent ducally crowned, and the first seal was engraved accordingly. The fleece was symbolic of the town’s staple trade and the supporters were a compliment to the first Alderman, Sir John Savile, whose arms contained three owls argent.

A new Corporate seal was struck in 1662 after the granting of the second Charter, which gave Leeds its first Mayor. The first holder of the office was Thomas Danby, and in his honour a chief sable bearing three mullets argent (part of the Danby arms) was incorporated in the arms on the new seal.

The arms continued to be used in that form, sometimes without supporters, until 1836 when, after the reconstitution of the Corporation under the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835, the full insignia of shield, crest, supporters and motto came into regular use.

In 1921 the College of Arms, on the representations of the Corporation, confirmed and assigned the Crest and Supporters but changed them from owls argent to owls proper.

The motto “pro rege et lege” translates into English as “for king and law”.

1793 Halfpenny Conder Token Yorkshire Leeds

Obverse: Bust of Bishop Blaize (patron saint of woolcombers) and a wool comb with legend: SUCCESS TO THE YORKSHIRE WOOLLEN MANUFACTORY

Reverse: A view of the Leeds Cloth hall with other houses in the distance with legend: LEEDS HALFPENNY 1793

Edge: PAYABLE. AT. H. BROWNBILL’S. SILVERSMITH..

Henry Brownbill was a freeholder, watchmaker and silversmith at the Briggate in Leeds.

The reverse of this token is considered one of the best works in perspective in the entire Conder series.

D&H Yorkshire No: 41 Diameter 29.0mm.

1793 Halfpenny Conder Token Yorkshire Leeds

Obverse: A whole-length figure of Bishop Blaze, and a lamb, ABTIS NOSTRA CONDITOR. The Bishop is holding a wool-comb, which nearly touches the T and R, and stands away from the legend nearly at right angle.

Reverse: Shield of arms, crest an owl. LEEDS HALFPENNY 1 7 9 1

Edge: PAYABLE IN LONDON LIVERPOOL OR BRISTOL.

D&H Yorkshire No: 52 A. 47

Sheffield

The arms were officially granted on 16th July 1875, and subsequently to the present City Council on 1st September 1977.

The lion on the crest is taken from the Arms of the Dukes of Norfolk, lords of the manor of Sheffield; it appeared also in the Arms of the Talbot family, their predecessors in the lordship. The sheaf of arrows was the main motif in the seals of the Burgery of Sheffield and the Twelve Capital Burgesses, the two bodies which bore the brunt of local government in Sheffield before the creation of the Borough. The three wheatsheaves on a green field were probably chosen at the College of Arms as a play upon the name Sheffield which means “the open space by the River Sheaf”.

The two supporters, Vulcan and Thor, were chosen for their aptness to represent a place whose prosperity is almost entirely founded on the working of metal. Vulcan on the left, the smith of the Greek and Roman gods has his hand resting on a hammer, and Thor on the right, the smith of the Scandinavian gods, is standing in front of an anvil and is holding a pair of pincers.

The motto (Deo Adjuvante Labor Proficit) may be roughly translated as “With God’s help our labour is successful”.

1793 Halfpenny Yorkshire Sheffield Conder Token 

Obverse: A head in profile with a hat on. YORKSHIRE HALFPENEY 1793

Reverse: Shield of arms, crest an elephant’s head, PAYABLE IN SHEFFIELD

Edge: Plain (not in collar)

D&H Yorkshire No: 56b A. 53b

1794 Halfpenny Yorkshire Sheffield Conder Token 

Obverse: Four hands crossed, LOVE PEACE AND UNION. 1794

Reverse: Eight arrows crossed, a ribbon with forked ends in the centre, between two arrow-heads. HALFPENNY .
PAYABLE AT J0HN HANDS SHEFFIELD.

Edge: Engrailed

D&H Yorkshire No: 59 A. 55

York

When the arms were officially granted is not known, but it is likely that the arms were granted by King Edward III (1327-1377). He made York his capital when fighting the Scots. The arms show the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England, and the lion of England. The arms were officially recorded in 1587 after the 1584 Visitation.

The right to use the sword, mace and cap by the mayor of York was granted in 1396 by King Richard II, when York received county status. The cap is normally only used by dukes, not by cities. Even though these attributes are not formally granted, they have been used behind the arms since the 18th century.

1795 Halfpenny Yorkshire York Conder Token 

Obverse: View of a cathedral. Ex : YORK . 1795

Reverse: View of a castle and drawbridge. CLIFFORD’S TOWER A.D. 1100

Edge: YORK BUILT A . M . 1223 . CATHEDRAL REBUILT A.D. 1075

A.M. means Anno Mundi or “Year of Creation”. A.M. 1 = 1st year of creation. Some believe this to be 5509 BC (from the Old Testament), some believe it is 3761 BC.

D&H Yorkshire No: 63 A. 58

1811 Yorkshire York Sixpence

Dalton 96