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  Hinckley AFC Club Crest
Hinckley AFC Crest
When it came to designing and choosing a club crest for Hinckley AFC, the members wanted to move away from an intricate coat of arms style and opted for a more modern 'shield' style of badge. 6 designs of club crest were presented for members to vote on, each representing the town of Hinckley in a different way. The crest voted for by the members was an amalgamation of all the designs incorporating elements of each, and represented in 4 quarters of the crest.

Lower left quarter: The Arms of Honour of Hinckley, which has by now long been established with Hinckley and Hinckley football clubs, and is representative of Simon De Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and his association with the area.

Upper right quarter: The White Lion rampant also represents Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, being his battle arms as seen on the image below of Chartres Cathederal, considered to be one of the progenitors of modern parliamentary democracy, and represents not only the history of Leicestershire, but also the democratic one member one vote ethos of the football club.

Lower right quarter: The Hansom Cab represents part of the history of Hinckley, as Joseph Hansom first developed and tested his Hansom Cabriolet Taximeter design in Hinckley in the 1830s. Hansom's design was later modified by John Chapman and resulted in the popular 'Hansom Cab' of Victorian era, and is also the etymology of the phrase 'taxi cab'.

Upper left quarter: The Phoenix represents the rebirth of the new football club after the dissolving of Hinckley United.

  The History of the Crest
Writing in 1782, John Nicholls, the town's first historian, had recorded that "In a valuable volume of records belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster is the blazonry of the ducal arms, accompanied by the banners of the various lordships... Among these is the banner born by the old Earls of Leicester in right of their honour of Hinckley, viz' Party per Pale, Argent and Gules." In other words silver and red divided vertically with a serrated line.

The antiquity of this device is beyond question, a window in Chartres Cathederal depicts Simon De Montfort, Earl of Leicester c.1209-1265, carrying the same banner. It was painted on a shield in St Mary's Church by 1622, but the relevance to the connection with Hinckley is unclear. It seems unlikely that Simon De Montfort would choose to carry a banner peculiar to one of the town's of his Earldom, as indeed De Montfort's own arms were a Silver Lion with a forked tail on a red background (pictured right). It was regarded by John Nicholls as a device associated with De Montfort's Earldom that would later come to be regarded as the banner of the Honour of Hinckley.

Whatever the case, this device came to have special significance for the town. It was borne on the flag that headed the Show Fair in 1787, that included someone dressed up as Hugh De Grantmesnil, who was by dubious and circumstancial evidence deemed to be one of the town's earliest Norman Lords. The error was compounded when the Ostrich Feathers of the De Grantmesnil family were incorporated into the following Crest, and a myth was established that exists even to this day.

In 1887 Thomas Harold displayed the 'Banner of the Honour of Hinckley' to a meeting of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society, and in 1890 Thomas Harold also used the banner at the head of a series of articles of the town's history. More official acceptance was evident by it's incorporation in the facade and a stained glass window in the new Council Offices built in Station Road in 1904, and it's inclusion in the 'Coronation Guide' of 1911. The motto 'Anglia Cor' was added in the same year, 1911, by the Urban District Council and 40 years before the official grant of arms, the council had adopted it's own unnofficial arms.

honour of arms ofhinckley simon de montfort chartres cathedral simon de montfort coat of arms banner of the honour of hinckley
  Hinckley Urban District Crest
Hinckley Urban District Crest
Arms:
Per pale Argent and Gules on a Chief Erminois a Maunch of the second between two Flames of Fire proper.

Crest:
On a Wreath of the Colours in front of five Ostrich Feathers Argent a Ram's Head erased Sable and armed Or.

Motto: 'ANGLIAE COR' - The heart of England.

The coat of arms was officially granted to Hinckley District on 16th August 1946, though had been used by the District for some hundred years previous. It ceased to represent the Hinckley District on 15th November 1974 when Bosworth District was merged with Hinckley District to form the Hinckley & Bosworth Borough.

The basis of the shield is formed by the arms of the Honour of Hinckley, as borne by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. The Maunch, or lady's sleeve, is the emblem of the Hastings family, who held the Manors of Barwell and Burbage in Norman times. It is flanked by two "flames of fire proper" which had been the crest of the Flamvilles, who succeeded the Hastings family in the Manor of Burbage. The Ostrich Feathers are from the crest of the De Grantmesnils, allegedly the earliest Norman Lords of Hinckley. The town's woollen industry was indicated by the Ram's Head and a Chief of Ermine can be seen as Leather representing the Hosiery and Shoe Manufacturers of the Hinckley District.

  Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Crest
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Crest
Arms:
Per pale Argent and Gules on a Chief Or three Roundrels Gules, in the centre charged with a Pierced Cinquefoil Ermine the others each charged with a Mascle Or

Crest:
On a Wreath of the Colours a Dragon Gules preying on a Boar passant Argent.

Supporters:
Two Rams Rams reguardant Sable armed Or.

Motto: 'POST PROELIA CONCORDIA' - After the battle, peace.

The coat of arms was officially granted to Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council on 15th November 1974. It is an amalgamation of the Hinckley Urban Dictrict Council and Bosworth Rural District Council crests.

The gold Chief comes from the arms of the Dixie family of Market Bosworth. The red Roundels are from the arms of the De Grey family, the gold Mascles from those of the Ferrers and the ermine Cinquefoil from those of Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. All these families were prominent in the borough.

The crest refers to the Battle of Bosworth Field, symbolising the defeat of the white boar, Richard III, by the red dragon, the traitor Henry VII.

The supporting black rams commemorate the woollen industry upon which Hinckley's staple trade of hosiery manufacture was originally founded and also as a reference to the important local industry of boot and shoe manufacture.

The motto is that previously used by the Market Bosworth RDC.

  Hinckley United Crest
Hinckley United Crest
Arms:
Per pale Argent and Gules on a Chief Azure three Roundrels Gules, in the centre charged with a Pierced Cinquefoil Ermine the others each charged with a Mascle Argent.

Crest:
On a Wreath of the Colours a Robin sits atop an Eagle.

Supporters:
Two Rams reguardant Argent armed Azure & Gules.

Motto: 'Hinckley United FC'.

Having previously used the Arms of Honour of Hinckley since 1997, this crest became the Official Club Badge for Hinckley United Football Club in June 2006.

The Arms of Honour of Hinckley, the Chief plus Roundrels, Cinquefoil and Mascles were all kept in the crest to represent the town of Hinckley and the area of South West Leicestershire. The colouring in the badge was changed to the representative colours from the two merged clubs, Red from Hinckley Athletic and Blue from Hinckley United. The crest is also representative of the two merged clubs, the Robin is from Hinckley Athletic's club badge and the Eagle is from Hinckley Town's club badge.

The supporting rams were also kept to represent the hosiery trade and woollen industry of the area of Hinckley.

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