BERWICK-UPON-TWEED (Northumberland).

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED (Northumberland). Has no armorial bearings. The seal represents a bear standing upon a mount and against a tree all between two escutcheons each charged with France and England quarterly, above is placed under a Gothic canopy the figure of a king seated. The legend is " Sigilii maioratus villa Berwici super Twedam." In Burke's " General Armory " this is blazoned as a coat-of-arms in the following words : — " Ar. or a mount a bear standing against a tree, all ppr., the bear collared and chained or, in fesse two escutcheons, on each the Arms of France and England quarterly, on a chief of the first (sic) a king crowned and habited of the second, holding in his dexter paw (sic) a mount and in the sinister a sceptre, both gold." Save for the anatomical error, and that the chief is depicted as "azure," Debrett's " House of Commons " follows Burke, but adds the Motto, " Victoria gloria merces." Upon the seal of the County Council of Northumberland the arms of the County of Berwick are taken and used as the arms of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in a description of the seal in an article on County Council seals the tree is called a " Wych-elm."

Original Source bookofpublicarms00foxd_djvu.txt near line 3519.