The Coat of arms of Bradford City Council was granted in 1976. The present City of Bradford was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 and is one of five metropolitan borough

Metropolitan borough

A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...

s of West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

. The 1976 arms are based on those of its predecessor, the county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 of Bradford.

Symbolism

The red and blue "per pale" division of the shield, gold engrailed chevron and buglehorns were taken directly from the county borough's arms. The buglehorns refer to the service by which the manor of Bradford was granted by John of Gaunt to John Northrop of Manningham: upon the blowing of a horn on St Martin's day Manningham was to wait on John and his heirs and conduct them safely to Pontefract

Pontefract

Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

 Castle. In the county borough's arms there were three horns: one has been replaced by a golden fleece. This is an emblem of the woollen industry and was found in the arms or devices of five urban district

Urban district

In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....

s included in the metropolitan borough in 1974. On the chevron is an heraldic fountain from the arms of borough of Keighley

Keighley

Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of Bradford and is at the confluence of the River Aire and the River Worth...

 and Ilkley

Ilkley

Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...

 urban district.
A bordure or border has been added to the shield, on which are placed eleven white roses, representing the eleven Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 councils combined in 1974.

The crest features a boar's head without a tongue. This illustrates the legend of the boar of Cliffe Wood.

The supporters are a gold stag from the arms of the Cavendish family, associated with Keighley; and an angora goat, another emblem of the woollen industry.

The motto is Progress, Industry, Humanity.

Blazon

The formal description of the arms, or blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

, is:

For the arms: Per pale

Pale (heraldry)

A pale is a term used in heraldic blazon and vexillology to describe a charge on a coat of arms , that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Writers broadly agree that the width of the pale ranges from about one-fifth to about one-third of the width of the...

 gules

Gules

In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....

 and azure

Azure

In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....

 on a chevron engrailed between in chief two hunting horns and in base a fleece Or a fountain all within a bordure gobony gules and argent

Argent

In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...

 in the gules eleven roses argent barbed and seeded proper; and for the crest: A mural crown

Mural crown

-Usage in ancient times:In Hellenistic culture, a mural crown identified the goddess Tyche, the embodiment of the fortune of a city, familiar to Romans as Fortuna...

 per pale gules and azure thereon a boar's head couped at the neck sans tongue erased

Erasure (heraldry)

Erasure, in the language of heraldry, is the tearing off of part of a charge, leaving a jagged edge of it remaining. In blazons the concept is usually met with in the form of the adjective erased....

 Or

Or (heraldry)

In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...

; and for the supporters: To the dexter a stag Or gorged with acollar azure charged with roses argent barbed and seeded proper and to the sinister an angora goat argent armed Or gorged with a collar gules charged with roses argent barbed and seeded proper, the whole upon a Compartment of rocky moorland proper. Badge: A mural crown per pale gules and azure thereon a rose argent barbed and seeded proper on the crown a boar's head couped at the neck sans tongue erased Or.

Sources

• Aspects of Heraldry - Journal of the Yorkshire Heraldry Society, No.16, 2002
• G. Briggs, Civic and Corporate Heraldry, London 1971
• W. C. Scott-Giles, Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition, London, 1953
• W. H. Fox-Talbot, The Book of Public Arms, London 1915