The Coat of Arms

Seaford finally got a coat of arms which was presented to Seaford Urban District Council on April 8th 1953 at a ceremony held at the Council Offices at Crouch House, Bramber Lane. Coldstream House now stands on the site of the old offices. It is believed that the coat of arms was mounted on the original chain of office presented to S.U.D.C. by F M Coldstream of the Corner House as a memorial to his son who died on active service in India. The presentation of the chain was made at a special meeting of the Council in April 1947 when Councillor Stanley Whitehead J.P. was Chairman. The coat of arms is still worn by the current Lewes District Council Chairman as L.D.C. decided to continue to use this chain of office when S.U.D.C. was amalgamated into Lewes District Council in 1974. Many local organisations still use the badge with permission from L.D.C. In suitably formal words, the document states how the Chairman had requested “that armorial bearings be duly assigned to the said Council” and these had been granted.

They were described as “Argent on Water barry wavy a Lymphad sailing to the sinister proper Pennons flying Gules a Chief per pale of the last and or thereon to the dexter two demi-lions passant guardant Gold conjoined with as many sterns of Ships of the field in pale and to the sinister an Eagle displayed Sable.”

• The Lymphad or ship is similar to one on Seaford’s original corporation seal, a reminder of the town’s former status as a port.
• The half-lion/half-ship device appears on the badges of many Cinque Ports member towns, and here serves as a reminder that Seaford for some hundreds of years was associated with the group as a “limb” of Hastings.
• The eagle, also represented on the old town seal, comes from the arms of the de Aquila family who owned land hereabouts in medieval times.
• The heraldic colours, agent, gules and sable mean silver, red and black.
• The motto “E Ventis Vires” translates as “From the wind – strength”, and I have been told it was devised by Miss Dinah Synge, herself once Council Chairman. The document is signed and sealed by Sir George R Bellew (Garter Principal King of Arms), Sir Arthur W S Cochrane (Clarenceux King of Arms) and Sir Gerald W Woolston KCB (Norroy and Ulster King of Arms), all three being Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

The original coat of arms is now on display at the Council Offices in Broad Street, together with the new coat of arms warranted to the town on the 30th May 2001.

Patricia Berry