Whitby

	WHITBY Country : United Kingdom England Incorporated into: 1974 Scarborough 2023 North Yorkshire Status: Urban District Council Loading map... {"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"250px","height":"250px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":7,"defzoom":14,"layers":["OpenStreetMap"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":54.4872299999999967212716001085937023162841796875,"lon":-0.6160099999999999464961319972644560039043426513671875,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

Official blazon
English	Arms : Barry wavy of ten argent and azure, three serpents coiled proper. Crest : On a wreath of the colours, in front of an anchor sable, three roses, two and one, argent, barbed and seeded proper. Motto: Fuimus et sumus

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on July 3, 1935.

The arms show three curled snakes (previously shown as ammonites). According to legend Abbess Hilda of Whitby Abbey rounded up the serpents that swarmed around the abbey. She hurled them from the cliffs, where they lost their heads and turned into stones. The ammonites actually are 190 million year old fossils, which can be found in the area.

The motto means We have been and we are.

Image gallery

The arms as used on a JaJa postcard +/- 1905
The arms as used on a JaJa postcard +/- 1905
The arms as used on a postcard +/- 1905

Literature: Information from postcards from Whitby.

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