Southborough's Coat of Arms Explained...

Southborough’s coat of arms taken from the colour book plate from ‘Patchwork’ magazine.

Southborough’s rich history and the trades on which it was founded are contained within its coat of arms. Until recently, a rather faded coat of arms had resided above the entrance to the Council Offices. Now, as we await the construction of the Town’s community Hub, the centre of Southborough no longer displays its official emblem representing our town.

In the Southborough Society archives, there is an excellent explanation of our Town Coat of Arms which is perhaps not widely known. It appears in the Patchwork magazine, published in 1988, compiled by local people to raise funds for Age Concern. The article was written by J.M. Kirkness, Chairman of The Southborough Society.

“To mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, the Southborough Urban District Council commissioned a coat of arms from the Portcullis (The Master of Sinclair) at the College of Arms, and this was granted in 1953. In 1962, the motto ‘Propria tuemur’ was adopted, which is freely translated as ‘We look after what is ours’.”

The writer explains the significance of the imagery on the shield in proper heraldic terminology, but we have decided to abandon that and describe the design in plainer language. If you would like to see the original text a copy of Patchwork can be found in Southborough Library.

The shield, as shown in the illustration, is largely coloured red and gold. The Oak tree, in fine leaf at the bottom point of the shield, represents the former Bounds Oak, mentioned in the Domesday Book, growing on the Great Bounds estate. This was the site of the well-known Elizabethan mansion, demolished in the 1950s. The two sprigs of Broom, flanking the Oak, are a reference to High Brooms, once an open grassy area, known for the Broom bushes which grew there.

The ‘Torteau’ is the heraldic term for the small red circular shape featured towards the top of the shield. Sometimes it represents a loaf of bread, but here it is clearly refers to the cricket-ball making industry, important to Southborough, for more than a century.

To right and left of the circle are placed two rectangles, (Billets), in acknowledgement of the brick-making industry which, together with the gasworks, led to the growth of High Brooms. By 1885 there were two hundred employees working in the brickworks.

The black Ram’s Head, sitting on top of the helmet, suggests the reputed association of Southborough with weaving, although apparently there is no documentary evidence to support this. However, The Weavers restaurant, situated in a Tudor farm house (c.1570) was said to have been occupied by French Huguenots who were weavers. Since weaving was once a well-established industry throughout the Weald it may not be too fanciful to imagine a Huguenot family finding Southborough a congenial place to settle.

The shield with hand painted coat of arms given to all Council members and employees on the 31st of March, 1974 to mark the close of business of the Southborough Urban District Council.

Southborough Library – A Letter from the Committee

In January, we wrote to Cllr Mike Hill (Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services) and James Pearson (Head of Libraries at KCC) to inform them of our position on Southborough Library. Below is the letter and the response from Cllr Hill is found on this link.

23rd of January, 2019

Dear Mr Hill and Mr Pearson,

I am writing to you as the Planning Officer of the Southborough Society with regards to the Southborough Library and its proposed new location within the Hub scheme.

At the Society's Committee Meeting on 27th November, the Society agreed that it will not support or oppose the revised Hub application. However, the Committee were unanimous in their decision that it is very important that the library should remain on its current site rather than become part of the new Hub development.

We feel it is very necessary to preserve our purpose built, Civic Trust Award (1962) winning space as it serves the community perfectly well, indeed more so than the proposed new library which will not include a designated separate children's library and which will have to share space with other services which will potentially be disruptive to its visitors. Its current neglected state is due to underinvestment by KCC in recent years but this could easily be rectified.

By keeping the library site where it is, we will be able to free up much needed room in the Hub for a community cafe and/or dedicated space to exhibit the large collection of objects, artefacts, maps, photographs owned by the Southborough Society. A museum space to share and display our collection has been a long term ambition of the Society.

The existing library too has the potential to be developed into heritage centre for our collection, again would preserve the building and the surrounding green space if it the Library. Southborough desperately needs this green and leafy punctuation point at one of our busiest intersections. The trees have Tree Protection Orders and make our town more attractive and contribute to cleaning the air on one of Kent's most polluted roads.

Southborough Library is not a problem that needs to be fixed; it has some of the highest borrowing numbers for a library of its size in Kent. It has been largely consistent in it use (visitor numbers and borrowing) by the community over the last ten years – this is despite a significant reduction in the libraries budget in recent years.

We believe this proposal would have widespread support. At the public meeting held in the town in December many people expressed their appreciation of our existing library and their desire for it to remain in its current situation. I hope you will give our proposal serious consideration and look forward to hearing your response in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs D Blackwell

EDITOR’S NOTE

Since this post had been published, Cllr Mike Hill has responded and his letter can be found here.

Doctor's Meadow

Among the many activities of the Southborough Society and the duties that it carries out, possibly the least known and most surprising is that it owns and cares for a sizeable piece of land bordering Southborough Common.

 It is located along the western edge of the Common, opposite the slope on which the large beech trees grow, the other side of the stream.  Many people probably assume that it is part of the Common but it was in fact sold to the Society in 1980 by Mr and Mrs A. Pollock of Bentham Farm for the princely sum of £1.  It appears that the couple wanted to protect the wider area from development and permanently safeguard it as a haven for wildlife.  There were strict clauses in the legal document which meant that it could never be used for anything other than a nature reserve or be sold on to anyone other than an organisation with similar aims to the Southborough Society.

 So why the name “Doctor’s Meadow”? It is not known who the doctor which gave the site its name was.  You could be forgiven for thinking that the term “meadow” was a misnomer given its current state - in many places overgrown and impenetrable.  But as with the Common itself, the land was once a lot more open as it was managed with coppicing, pollarding and grazing widely practiced.  The last remnant of meadow can be seen at the top of the site where it is still quite open and free from trees and bushes, although covered in bracken.

 For nearly two decades the site was left to nature with little intervention but in 2015 the Society’s committee decided to consider better ways of managing it.  A survey by Kent Wildlife Trust was commissioned which gave valuable advice on how to proceed with work that would maximise its potential to promote biodiversity.  Amongst the report’s many observations, it stated that the area was an ideal habitat for dormice, reptiles, amphibians and bats.  Bluebells and brambles were recorded but with sensitive clearance of invasive species such as holly, sycamore, rhododendron and willow, more light would reach the ground and this could encourage much rarer wildflowers to emerge from the seedbank in the soil.  The survey’s author stressed that all dead wood and the many fallen trees should be left untouched as they provide an excellent habitat for insects and fungi.

In the winter of 2017/18 in collaboration with Kent High Weald Partnership, conservation work began with parties of volunteers who spent two sessions clearing and burning the undergrowth.  In the late summer of 2018, work to eliminate the thick bracken commenced, which will hopefully help to restore the area of mixed grassland and meadow at the top of the site.  The Society also intends to build two or three bridges over the stream to make it easier for people to cross over and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of Doctor’s Meadow.

More sessions are planned for the next winter season - look out for information in the Society’s diary of events or check out their website if you’d like to volunteer!

Michael Howes

Former Chairman of the Southborough Society