Lowther/Whitehaven Crests - our identity




We had learned from our visits to the Beacon Museum and Lowther Castle that Whitehaven had come into the hands of the Lowther family around 1630 - Christopher Lowther had developed the mining industry, then his son John Lowther transformed the town and expanded the harbour.

It is not surprising to see the Crests of the Lowther Family and Whitehaven have similarities.

Whitehaven Crest

Whitehaven adopted the Lowther crest in 1894 - taking the white dragon and yellow shield from the Lowther Coat of Arms.

So what is a Coat of Arms?   It is a design painted on a shield containing symbols which are unique and important to a person, a family even a country, company or organisation.

A good example to look at briefly is Copeland Coat of Arms.

Just focusing on the shield - at the top this shows picks from the coal and iron mining industries, an anchor for the ports, blue flashes of lightning refer to electrical industry served by Sellafield and Calder plants.  Below are the three well known mountains of Great Gable, Scafell and Scafell Pike set above blue waves for lakes, rivers and sea.

 Other symbols for important families of the time are shown but we shall only focus on the white dragon for the Lowther family to the left of the shield. 

Our activity - to be completed over a few weeks - is to think about our identity, who we are, what we like, what is important to us and design our own shield or coat of arms.

What would this say about us?

The following pictures show our work in progress ...............







Fabulous designs taking shape......

by Sienna

by Aneasha


by Lexie

by Hubert




Well done everyone!  More amazing work to follow.......................

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