Guelph was founded on April 23, 1827, and officially became a town on January 1, 1856. The Town Council adopted a crest in readiness for Guelph’s proclamation as a city of April 23, 1879.
The original coat of arms was unique. On the left side was an axeman standing beside a tree stump, representing John Galt’s ceremonial felling of a mighty tree to create Guelph. On the right side, Britannia, with gown, helmet and shield, represented Guelph’s links with the United Kingdom. She held a cornucopia containing the bounty of the rich soil of Guelph. In the centre, as Guelph’s arms, was a shield with the symbolic white running horse of Hanover, the ancient principality in Germany where the Guelph royal connections go back 1,000 years. On top, again representing Guelph’s link with the British Royal family, was the supposed Guelphic crown with a lion on it. The inscription was in Latin and read “Fides, Professio, Fidelitas.”
For nearly 100 years the coat of arms was used extensively and considered handsome and historically correct. However, it was “unofficial” and known to be flawed from a heraldic point of view.
Guelph celebrated its Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) in 1977. To commemorate the occasion it was decided to redesign Guelph’s official arms and crest.
Well-known artist, Eric Barth, a graduate of Heidelberg University in Germany, agreed to do the design work. He was assisted by a panel of local historians, organized by the Sesquicentennial Committee chaired by Guelph journalist Verne McIlwraith.
It was discovered that the original coat of arms had a number of errors. The lion and the crown were incorrect. The cornucopia was at such an angle that nothing would stay in it. The white horse was not of the distinctive Hanoverian breed. The axeman was said to be “too effeminate” for a Canadian city. The Latin inscription needed to be translated in English as “Faith, Fidelity and Progress.”
Barth corrected the inaccuracies and redrew the coat of arms, being careful to retain the century-old general basis and outline. Colours were updated to take advantage of new printing procedures. The project was sent to the College of Arms and Heraldry in London, England, for approval and registration.
On December 15, 1977, the Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal, gave his warrant authorizing the granting and assigning to Guelph of the proposed Armorial Ensigns.
In London, England, on May 8, 1978, the Kings of Arms – Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster – signed and sealed the document, with its ancient language according to the Laws of Arms. The document was in the name of William Gordon Hall, “Gentleman”, City Clerk of the City of Guelph. English clerks sent it to him at City Hall. The public register of the Canadian Heraldic Authority at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, was also given a copy of the record.
Guelph, at last, had its official, registered and heraldically correct, armorial bearings (the centre part) and supports (the two human figures at the side). Total cost was under $4,000, all the local work having been done on a volunteer basis.
In the arms and the argent (silvery-white) horse had been given the busy tail and distinctive head of the Hanoverian breed. The crowns were changed to be the Ancient design in gules (red). As a special local touch the lion, wearing an ancient crown, was shown resting his forepaw upon the haft of an axe.
Britannia became an anonymous “female figure proper” losing her shield but gaining a trident. Her “sinister” (or left) hand held the cornucopia which was properly resting on the grassy mount at the base of the new design.
The axeman was no longer even an attempt at looking like John Galt. He was now a sturdy man in the fashion of the 1820s with open shirt, breeches, boots and cut-away tail coat, and with his axe embedded in a felled tree trunk.
The official design was put into use in 1978 as the City’s Seal and on civic documents and notices. The design was considered so attractive that immediate plans were made to use the shield, or arms, as Guelph’s own distinctive heraldic flag.
Kennedy’s, the flag-making firm in Erin, Ontario, assisted with the design. First efforts were not satisfactory as the running white horse proved difficult to get into correct perspective. “It looks like a lizard” was an initial criticism. Flag-makers quickly overcame the problems. They produced the correct heraldic colours for the white horse on its green background, with the ancient red crowns. The name of the City of Guelph was used instead of the city’s motto.
A similar version of the shield was produced as the logo for official city vehicles. The name of the corporation was put in Royal Blue in a circle around the shield.
