The Arms of Cirencester
The Armorial Bearings are based upon a medallion which is attached to the Mayor’s Chain. This, in turn, is based upon a capital excavated in 1838 and now in the Corinium Museum. This capital shows a female figure holding a mirror, the figure being the upper half of the woman and appearing as it were out of a panache of acanthus leaves. On the Mayor’s Chain is the Phoenix above this design.
The shield has been rendered with a gold field - or principal part - against the capital. Across the top of the shield is a green band known in heraldry as Chief. This contains a Phoenix rising from the flames. The embattled edge of the Chief is a possible allusion to the Roman origin of the town which was an administrative centre within the roman empire.
The crest consists of a circular Roman Wall with battlements. This may be taken as a further allusion to the Roman foundation of Cirencester. This is topped by a crown - designed in the antique manner - as a possible allusion to the fact that the town is describe in as early a document as Ethelred’s Charter in the Abingdon marks. From this combination rises an embowed (bent at the elbow) arm clothed in red, in order to achieve a good heraldic contrast, the hand which holds a scythe - an allusion to the agricultural importance of Cirencester through the Royal Agricultural College located there. The scythe has been chosen as a distinctive yet simple and traditional implement in the reference to agriculture.
On the Letter Patent the Crest is placed upon a helm appropriate to a corporation, that is to say steel, facing the viewer’s left, visor closed. From beneath the crest and down either side of the helm flows the mantling which is green-limed gold. The colours are by the way of allusion to the rich agricultural area and activities that Cirencester served and the gold as the wealth both spiritual as well as material produced by the activity of the citizens of Cirencester.
The Badge echoes the Arms of Cirencester with the Phoenix rising from the flames as a central symbol. It is enclosed within acanthus leaves - an inspiration from the details on the capital of the Roman column which is also a focal point. The town’s history from Roman to modern times is thus represented as symbols of past life.