The Coat of arms of Huddersfield was the official symbol of the local government of Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

 (the Corporation of Huddersfield). The borough was abolished in 1974, 106 years after its incorporation in 1868, under the provisions of 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....

 whereby control was ceded to Kirklees Metropolitan Council

Kirklees

The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...

 and West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council

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....

.

Symbolism

The arms were granted by the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 by letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 dated October 12, 1868 to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Huddersfield. The design was based on the arms of the family of Ramsden of Byrom, owners of the manors of Almondbury

Almondbury

Almondbury is a district 2 miles south east of Huddersfield town centre in West Yorkshire, England. The population of Almondbury in 2001 was 7,368Almondbury appears in the Domesday Book as "Almondeberie"...

 and Huddersfield: Argent on a chevron between three fleurs-de-lis Sable, as many rams' heads couped at the neck of the first.

The crest of a ram's head is similar to that granted to the borough of Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

 in the previous year: this also referred to the Ramsden family arms.

The arms feature the motto Juvat Impigros Deus which is Latin for 'God helps the diligent'.

Blazon

The formal description, 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...

, of the arms is:

Or on a chevron between three Rams passant Sable as many towers argent. And for the Crest on a Wreath of the Colours a Rams head couped argent armed Or gorged with a collar sable in the mouth A Sprig of the Cotton-tree slipped and fructed proper. Motto: 'Juvat Impigros Deus'.

Sources

• W. H. Fox-Talbot, The Book of Public Arms, 2nd edition, London 1915
• W. C. Scott-Giles, Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition, London, 1953
• G. Briggs, Civic and Corporate Heraldry, London, 1971