Barnet Coat of Arms
There are two coats of arms representing Barnet. Barnet Urban District and East Barnet Valley Urban District (designed by Mr A. E. Kelsey and granted in September 1955). Both have elements which represent the Battle of Barnet.
Barnet Urban District Council had two swords crossed with a red rose (on a white background) which represented the Lancastrian (external link) faction in the Wars of the Roses (external link) and a white rose on a red background which represented the House of York (external link).
East Barnet’s had a similar motif but with an omega (the last letter of the Greek alphabet) which signified that the Battle of Barnet was the last of the war. However this was not true as the Battle of Tewkesbury (May 1471) was the final battle of the Wars of the Roses. The East Barnet motto “WILLINGNESS RIDS WAY” is taken from the speech of King Edward IV after the Battle of Barnet, in Shakespeare's King Henry VI, Part III.
Many of the other elements of the arms are simply to differentiate East Barnet from Barnet Town. East Barnet has what is known as an “eastern crown”, as well as two crosses and the fleur de lys for St Mary’s Church; but it also has the deer, or hart, of Hertfordshire, with the arms of St Albans. Barnet town has the two-towered hall representing Tudor Hall, the old grammar school.
Other Barnet special topics
Email this pageLast modified by: Richard Nurse on 18/12/2007