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Matlock Bath : Coat of Arms
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Matlock Bath - coat of arms
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Matlock Bath seems to have had at least six designs for its coats of arms; the ones we know of are discussed here.

Shown above are arms published on an early twentieth century postcard and they incorporate both the Royal lion of England and Britannia with her helmet, spear and lozenge shaped shield with the Union flag on it[1].

The second set of arms includes a four arched bridge and a river in the design (below). It was featured on china souvenirs, in this instance a small mirror made by Willow Art China of Longton. The bridge represents Matlock's mediaeval stone bridge and the river is the River Derwent which flows through both Matlock and Matlock Bath. There is a helmet above the shield. The bridge design was more commonly found on Matlock memorabilia.

Acanthus leaves used in the mantle behind the coat of arms, the red rose of Lancaster and the crown are common to both. The most likely crown depicted is the Imperial State Crown, but it is very difficult to tell[2]. Presumably, the red rose and crown symbolize the link with John of Gaunt, Earl of Lancaster, that the district had in the Middle Ages.


Arms on china

The remaining four designs have all been found on china souvenirs.


Bud vase

The bud vase has a similar coat of arms to those above, incorporating several features found on them both. The acanthus leaves, the lion and the knight's helmet surround the top of the shield. The Lancastrian rose, the crown and water are all represented on the shield itself, but the bridge symbol has gone. The piece, of English make, is marked underneath:

J. M. White
Derwent China
Matlock Bath.

Teapot

The pretty china teapot has no maker's mark. There are four symbols displayed on the shield this time. Top left is a moose, complete with antlers, sitting in a wooden enclosure.
The discoveries of both a moose skeleton and its antlers are
mentioned in "Gem of the Peak". Top right is an urn and fountain, presumably representing the water fountain in the Grand Pavilion. Below is a crown and a red rose.

Jug

The tiny W. H. Goss jug is another variant but is much simpler. It shows only a shield, on which is water, the crown and the rose but has no mantle.

china war memorial

This china replica of the war memorial uses the same arms as the 1904 postcard below.
Also see: Commemorative Souvenirs of the War Memorials


The second postcard, below, was written on 23rd July 1904. This is variant of the arms shown on the postcard at the top of the page, but without the mantle of acanthus leaves surround. The lion doesn't look very happy! The brief message was written beside the picture (not shown) as, at that time, only the recipient's name and address could be written on the reverse.


Matlock Bath - coat of arms, the same design as the top card

Postcard of arms at the top of the page published by W R & S, in the collection of and provided by and © Ann Andrews. No date. This replaces an earlier image.
Postcard of arms at the bottom of the page in the collection of and provided by and © Ken Smith. Postcard message written on 23rd July 1904.
Photograph of arms on china in the collection of, provided by and © Ann Andrews, Bernard Gale and Ken Smith.
Scanned for this website and information researched by and © Ann Andrews.
Intended for personal use only.

References:

[1] An example of these arms on commemorative china is shown on Peter Allen's replica war memorial. See War Memorials, Commemorative China

[2] Historic Royal Palaces > Tower of London> The Crown Jewels
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