Crest Description

The significance of the gold crown is threefold; it is an accepted emblem of local government, it is featured in the same place in the arms of the Leon family who formerly owned Bletchley Park - now recognised as the famous wartime decoding centre, and it refers to the brickmaking industry - one of the earliest industrial developments in the area. The fire-breathing black horse symbolises the advent of the railway in Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The red spear is the symbol of the martyrdom of St. Thomas, patron saint of Simpson, Fenny Stratford's neighbouring village.

Bletchley Urban District Council chose the motto which was very apt for the decades of rapid expansion that the town underwent from 1950 onwards. The Council became the Borough of Milton Keynes through local government reorganisation in 1974. Bletchley is now represented by Milton Keynes Council, the unitary authority that superceded the Borough Council. The Bletchley Crest is therefore no longer in use, but for a time it reflected the town's pride in it's history and civic endeavour.

For this reason and because its motto was so appropriate to Bletchley's overspill years, it has been brought into use again, in a small way, on this website.




	Click on the Crest image on each page throughout this site to return to our home page
			The above motto from the Bletchley Crest is from Cicero - a great Roman lawyer - and means 'Our spirit is strengthened by advancing'. Bletchley's Crest was designed to reflect the early history and development of the area. The white and blue background is derived from the shield of the de Grey family, who were Lords of the Manor of Etone, which included Water Eaton, Bletchley and its neighbouring town of Fenny Stratford. The gold eagle represents the Romans, as the Roman road of Watling Street passes through Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The red and black part of the crest reflects the liveries of the Dukes of Buckingham and the Buckinghamshire County Arms. The bulls' heads indicate the importance of the agricultural markets. Bletchley was predominantly an agricultural area in times past and retained a cattle market until the 1960s.
	The significance of the gold crown is threefold; it is an accepted emblem of local government, it is featured in the same place in the arms of the Leon family who formerly owned Bletchley Park - now recognised as the famous wartime decoding centre, and it refers to the brickmaking industry - one of the earliest industrial developments in the area. The fire-breathing black horse symbolises the advent of the railway in Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The red spear is the symbol of the martyrdom of St. Thomas, patron saint of Simpson, Fenny Stratford's neighbouring village. Bletchley Urban District Council chose the motto which was very apt for the decades of rapid expansion that the town underwent from 1950 onwards. The Council became the Borough of Milton Keynes through local government reorganisation in 1974. Bletchley is now represented by Milton Keynes Council, the unitary authority that superceded the Borough Council. The Bletchley Crest is therefore no longer in use, but for a time it reflected the town's pride in it's history and civic endeavour. For this reason and because its motto was so appropriate to Bletchley's overspill years, it has been brought into use again, in a small way, on this website.