This series was inspired by an article from John&Jane that explored the design of a modern flag for Cardiff. In the first part I looked into the history of Cardiff and found some examples of the “Cardiff Arms”.

Since then, I’ve been collecting even more examples and looking into the history of the design.

The “Cardiff Arms”

The Cardiff Arms is a coat of arms featuring a shield, mural crown and slogan, “Villa Cardiff”.

A mural crown represents city walls in heraldry with the number of towers often representing the size or importance of the town or city.

The “charge” on the shield features three chevrons and the slogan may represent Cardiff’s Roman origins. (The thinner chevrons are called chevronels in heraldry but I’ll keep referring to them as chevrons.)

I’ll refer to the coat of arms as the “Cardiff Arms” for the rest of this article.

Developing the Arms

The design of the Cardiff Arms was a topic of discussion for decades at the end of the 19th Century.

The Cardiff Times reported on 11 November 1871 that the Mayor suggested redesigning the arms.

“The proposal of the mayor to remodel the borough shield by adding to the insignia of the De Clare family the quarterings of the House of Stuart would fittingly and somewhat poetically link together the past and present ‘patrons’ of the ancient town of Cardiff.”

The Cardiff Times – 1871

On the same day, the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian reported that there was a mistake in the original design of the arms. Earlier versions had gold chevrons on a red shield.

This design still exists in the stained glass windows of Cardiff City Hall today.

This was based on incorrect information provided to Berry’s Encyclopedia of Heraldry by the father of one of Cardiff’s aldermen.

“We therefore recommend that the Borough Arms be borne ‘Or Chevrons Gules,’ and the present anomaly of the Arms appearing in different forms, in the Town Hall and the mayor’s badge, be corrected.”

Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian – 1871

The Weekly Mail reported on 20th May 1893 that it was Lord Bute’s idea to add the mural crown to the Cardiff Arms. The 3rd Marquess of Bute was Mayor in 1890.

“The right to use the mural crown is believed to be derived from the fact that Cardiff was formerly a fortified place.”

The Weekly Mail – 1893

In “The Book of Public Arms” by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1894), the design of the arms is also mentioned. It notes that, “On some of the Corporation notepaper the tinctures are reversed”. The author also describes examples where people created their own versions of the design.

The Editor has seen the arms used with the addition of two dragons as supporters and a leek as a crest, but it was only a Cardiff tradesman’s usage, and was probably the outcome of his imagination rather than of any more authentic source.

The Book of Public Arms – 1894

Examples

I’ve been scouring the internet to find more examples of the Cardiff Arms from over the years.

The Cardiff Fine Art, Industrial, and Maritime Exhibition took place over 6 months in 1896. The Cardiff Arms were used in the promotion of the event and can be seen prominently on the exhibition building.

“The movement to hold an exhibition of arts and industry began with the Free Library Committee of the Borough of Cardiff. A general committee of public figures, businessmen and industrialists was formed who were keen to promote the local resources and industries of Cardiff. The Marquis of Bute permitted the use of Cathays Park as the site of the exhibition. Local architect Edwin Seward designed the main exhibition building which contained exhibits ranging from machinery to fine art. The exhibition grounds included a canal and lake for maritime exhibits, models of a working dairy, a biscuit factory and Shakespeare’s house. The event proved a spectacular extravaganza, with art exhibitions, concerts, outdoor shows and an exotic Indian bazaar. During the six months the exhibition lasted, one million people visited.”

The shape, colour and elements included in the arms have changed over the years but the core design has remained the same.

The seal featured in the Duke of Beaufort’s book shows that Cardiff has been using the three chevrons for hundreds of years.