Monday 25 August 2008

Salubritas et Eruditio

This is the Coat of Arms and Insignia of Cheltenham. This one is above the main entrance to the Municipal Offices but there are others around town.

So what does it all mean? Well, starting at the top and working down, the pigeon at the very top is sitting on a blue stripped sphere and this represents the discovery of the fountain of spa water by a pigeon that made Cheltenham famous. This is sitting on top of a wreath of Oak leaves. The two open books, either side of the silver cross, on the blue band represent education, particularly Pates Grammar School and Cheltenham College. The silver cross shows religion. The two pigeons represent the flock that gathered at the spa water spring. The Oak tree at the bottom is there to represent the tree lined Promenade and streets that Cheltenham is also known for. And finally the towns motto - Salubritas et Eruditio means "Health and Education".

And so ends today's lesson! Does your town or city have a motto?

13 comments:

Jane Hards Photography said...

Interesting post. You got me. I haven't a clue if Ramsey has a motto. I could think of several but I don't think mine would be approved.Have to check it out now.

Hilda said...

Ooh, thanks for the lesson! I love it when coat of arms are explained — helps me appreciate them more. And I really like your town's motto.

I just checked if Quezon City (the part of Metro Manila where I live) has a motto — we don't! Weird. Our current mayor has one though and it's Serbisyong Bayan (community service) to match his initials SB.

Neva said...

I don't believe Inverness has a motto but we are a Tree City...

Tash said...

I finally looked up where Cheltenham & Gloucestershire are - I didn't think that it was so close to Wales. (Please forgive the geography challenged American who is a bit better than many.) My 1st question is - how is it pronounced? (another problems Americans have). That is very elaborate emblem & quite nice too. I saw that you have plenty of sister cities (twin towns?) including Torun. I'll be interested in which one you'll select for sept theme day.
Finally, Rancho PV has no motto (but the one that comes to mind is "We've got land, we'll let you develop it") & no sister city (I called city hall) - so I have freedom to pick.

magiceye said...

that is interesting... no clue whether our city has a motto! dont think it has!

magiceye said...

oops..
as per http://www.city-data.com/world-cities/Mumbai-Bombay.html mumbai's motto is Urbs Prima in Indis ("First City in India")

thanks to you i learnt something more about my own city!

Gerald (SK14) said...

So we have the pigeons to blame for Cheltenham then!

Hyde's motto is ONWARD about which I have posted in the past - exactly how that motto was arrived at though I don't know.

Anonymous said...

Just imagine, not that long ago, I thought I could make a living doing coats of arms and heraldry. But, thankfully, somebody told me what I was doing was utter crap and I should get a truck driver's license. LOL

I think it is beautiful; this work.

I hope you can return tomorrow and read about my whippings.

Lori said...

That's a very interesting post. You are teaching us a lot about Cheltenham through your blog! (I don't think New York has a motto, I should look into it.)

Janet Kincaid said...

What great information, Marley! I never imagined I'd learn of a place where pigeons were so significant. Thanks for sharing.

slim said...

Health and education make for a great motto . . . if you've got those you have a lot. Do you know how long Cheltenham has had its motto? Quincy has a motto called the "Manet". I need to get a good closeup of it and will post it ;).

Anonymous said...

Hello from Cheltenham Township just north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Our Township offices letterhead also has the slogan "Salubritas Et Eruditio" and I Googled it to find out what it means. Thank you Cheltenham, UK for your great website. Don't worry...we finally got rid of Bush, and now we are working to clean up the mess.

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