The Three Crowns: History of the city’s regal coat of arms
PRIDE OF PLACE: The Three Crowns in the coat of arms at the Guildhall. Pictures courtesy of Hull History Centre
Martin Taylor, city archivist at Hull History Centre, looks back on the history and significance of Hull’s iconic symbol
If you look at any building in Hull built by the city council and its predecessors, you’ll almost invariably see the symbol of Hull – which we all know as the Three Crowns.
It is the city’s coat of arms, featuring three golden open crowns, one above the other, on a blue background. In the technical language of heraldry, it is described (or blazoned) as Azure, three ducal coronets in pale or.
The first thing to say is that although the technical term for them is ‘ducal coronet’, they are in fact crowns. They are identical to what kings in medieval drawings wear, so we can carry on referring to them as the Three Crowns.
But how old are the Three Crowns, how long have they represented Hull, and what do they mean?
INTRICATE: Detail on the 1440 sword of state
So, how old are they? They don’t date back to the foundation of Hull in 1299. We know that the Three Crowns was used as a coat of arms on the seal of office of the Mayor of Hull from the beginning of the 15th century.
Pretty quickly it developed from being the official coat of arms of the Mayor to that of the corporation – what we call today the city council.
In 1440 Hull was given the right to have a sword carried in front of the Mayor on formal occasions. The borough immediately spent 12 shillings on a sword of state and another four pounds seven shillings for mounting it in silver gilt.
Remarkably some of this original silver gilt mounting still survives on the present state sword, including the coat of arms.
This must be about the earliest representation on an item of corporation property, but once the trend had been established the corporation continued to use its arms on its plate, its documents and its buildings.
From there it seems to have come to represent Hull as a wider community. In the great east window of St Mary’s Church, Lowgate, there are stained glass shields from the reign of King Richard III (1483-85). One of these shows the Three Crowns as we know them today, gold on a bright blue shield.
EARLY EXAMPLE: Detail in the east window of St Mary’s Church in Lowgate, c.1483-85
Like many early coats of arms, the Three Crowns was adopted without authority from the Crown. It was only given official recognition in 1612 when the King’s heralds came to inspect coats of arms in Yorkshire and registered Hull’s.
From then on there was no holding back the Three Crowns. They appear on maps and pictures of Hull, as a ‘town mark’ on C17th Hull silver, and from the late C19th on virtually every building of note erected by the corporation.
The Guildhall, completed in 1916, is positively smothered in versions of the Three Crowns, as is the City Hall of 1903-9. Versions exist on buildings such as the former Northern Library in Beverley Road, 1895, and the 1904 College of Art in Anlaby Road, now NAPA. In the post-war period, when the council needed a logo, it was the Three Crowns which was adopted.
UNIQUE PRIVILEGE: Confirmation from the College of Arms in 1951 of the approval given in 1612
But what does it mean? Why Three Crowns?
Various theories have been proposed, including Hull’s location in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria which had three crowns on its (much later) coat of arms, or Hull’s link with the great northern European trading organisation the Hanseatic League, which had associations with the shrine of the Three Kings of the Christmas Story at Cologne in Germany.
Two are more plausible. The Three Crowns could represent the Christian Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit which was the focus of a popular religious cult in medieval Hull, and we still recognise today in the name of Trinity House and the dedication of Holy Trinity Church, now Hull Minster.
But the most obvious explanation comes from the official name of the city – Kingston upon Hull – the name it has had since King Edward I extorted the port settlement of Wyke from Meaux Abbey and named it after himself, 725 years ago this year in 1299.
Despite the unfortunate episode with Charles I in 1642, generally Hull was loyal to the monarchy. In fact, during the Wars of the Rose Hull was loyal to the reigning House of Lancaster, and in 1460 Thomas Wakefield the Mayor fought and died for the Lancastrian King Henry VI at the battle of Wakefield in 1460.
Loyalty to the Crown was important, and what better way to express that loyalty by using the King’s crowns on the coat of arms?
And perhaps more importantly than any reason, there has to be the artistic consideration. It looks good. It looks regal. It’s an appropriate coat of arms for our city and we couldn’t imagine being without it.
The Three Crowns remains the emblem of Hull and has been included in the badges and logos of organisations, companies and institutions unconnected with the city council. Notably they are proudly displayed in the badges of our two great rugby league clubs and in the early badges of Hull City AFC (who were given permission to use the Three Crowns in 1946).
STAKING A CLAIM: In 2004 the city council strengthened its right to the Three Crowns by obtaining a grant from the College of Arms of a heraldic badge of the crowns on no specific background
At one point Hull Corporation, predecessor of Hull City Council, became concerned about misuse of the Three Crowns. It was all well and good for prestigious sports teams to use the city’s coat of arms, but commercial enterprises like Smo-Rex Limited, “manufacturers of tobacconists’ fancy goods” were also applying (once again in 1946).
After failing in an attempt to register the crowns as a trademark, in 1952 the corporation secured the right under an Act of Parliament to seek an injunction to prevent unauthorised use of the coat of arms. This is a privilege unique to Hull City Council and is still in force today.
In 2004 the city council strengthened its right to the Three Crowns and at the same time made their use more flexible by obtaining a grant from the College of Arms of a heraldic badge of the three crowns on no specific background. This is the basis of the council’s current logo of the white crowns on a black background.
Perhaps more than anywhere else – even Manchester with its iconic bees which gained new prominence when Mancunians defied the horror of the 2017 bombing – a city’s people recognise its coat of arms, giving us a sense of history and a source of pride.
Find out more
Worship Street
Hull
HU2 8BG
Tel: 01482 317500
Email: hullhistorycentre@hcandl.co.uk
X: @Hullhistorynews
Facebook: hullhistorycentre