The coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney is the official heraldic arms of the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

, England. The coat of arms were granted on 25 July 1969. The present arms is mainly based on the arms of the former

Metropolitan Borough of Hackney The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney. Formation and boundaries The borough ...

, from which the cross and the horizontal partition ("per fess", as it is called in blazons) in the upper field of the shield is taken. The eight-pointed

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

is for the Orders of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

and Knights of St. John; the Knights Templar wore a red Maltese Cross on white surcoats and mantles and the Knights of St. John wore black surcoats and mantles with a white Maltese Cross on them. Both orders have at different times in history been the owner of the Hackney manor. The bordure of the shield has waves representing the waterways, rivers and canals around the borough; heraldic waves like this were also prominent in the coat of arms of the former Metropolitan Borough of Hackney, where they made upp the lower half of the shield. The oak trees comes from the coat of arms of the former

Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington The Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965 when it became part of the London Borough of Hackney. Formation and boundaries ...

, symbols of the formerly forested area in the north of the borough. The oak trees are "fructed gules", which means their fruits (''i.e.'' acorns for an oak tree) are visible and should be coloured red. The former

Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney to form the London Borou ...

had no official coat of arms, so in the arms of the London borough, Shoreditch is represented by the three bells in the lower field. They in turn represent the church bells of St. Leonard's Church, Shoreditch (these Shoreditch bells are known from the nursery rhyme "

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earliest ...

"), but their number of three stands for the three metropolitan boroughs which were merged to form the present London borough. London Borough of Hackney Coat of Arms

The crest is almost the same as for the former Metropolitan Borough of Hackney, the only difference is that it stands on a small hill in the current arms. It is a representation of the remaining tower of St. Augustine's Church, part of Hackney's ancient parish church located in the historical centre of Hackney. The image is a representation of it, it is not a picture of it, because heraldic arms are symbols and never depicts actual buildings or other actual things. The green hill on which the tower stands, represents the island in the

river Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

, where Hackney was founded, the island is supposed to have had the name Hacon's Eyot, from which the name Hackney is thought by some to be derived. The tower was also present in a field on the shield in the coat of arms of the former Metropolitan Borough of Hackney. The motto is ''Justitia turris nostra'', Latin for "Justice is our Tower" "Civic Heraldry of England and Wales: Hackney lb
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Blazon

Arms: Per

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...

in chief per fess Sable and Argent a Maltese Cross per fess Argent and Gules between two Oak Trees eradicated Or fructed Gules and in the base Gules three Bells Or the whole within a Bordure barruly wavy Argent and Azure. Crest: On a Wreath Argent and Gules on a Mount Vert a representation of the Tower of the Ancient Parish Church of St. Augustine Hackney proper.

Badge

On an Ellipse barruly wavy Argent and Azure a Delf per fess Sable and Argent fimbriated Or charged with a Maltese Cross per fess Argent and Gules ensigned by a representation of the Tower of the Ancient Parish Church of St. Augustine Hackney proper.

References

REFER. https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Hackney {{LB Hackney, state=collapsed Hackney London Borough of Hackney Hackney Hackney Hackney Hackney Hackney Hackney

Blazon

Badge

See also

References