Dagenham

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DAGENHAM

Metropolitan Borough of London

Incorporated into: 1965 Barking and Dagenham

Official blazon

Arms: Per saltire Gules and barry wavy of eight Argent and Azure in chief a Sword point downwards in pale between two Keys in saltire wards upwards Or in base three Lilies one erect and two in saltire slipped and leaved of the last and in fess two Martlets of the first.
Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours a rising Sun Or charged with three Cog Wheels one and two in mesh Gules.
Motto: 'JUDGE US BY OUR DEEDS'.

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on July 8, 1936.

The parish church was built in the twelfth century by Barking Abbey, which owned Dagenham from the seven^th century until it was dissolved in 1539, and to which the lilies, emblem of the Abbey's patron St. Mary refer. The church is dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, whose traditional emblems are the crossed keys and sword.

The River Thames, represented by the blue and white waves, forms the borough's southern boundary and has played an important role in its development. The growth of the area is unequalled in Britain, nowhere else has a community's population increase tenfold in as many years.

Dagenham Urban District was formed in 1926 and borough status was achieved in 1938. The parish consisted of the manors of Cockermouth, Parsloes, Marks, Wangey and Valence, the last of these derived its name from the de Valence family, who lived in the parish in the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and from whose arms the martlets are taken. Valence House built circa 1660 is the only surviving manor house and was used as a meeting place by the Urban District Council at the time the arms were granted, it is now a museum devoted to Dagenham's history.

The rising sun refers to Dagenham's progress and the cog wheels are a reference to industry.