Present arms! London's portrayal in seals and heraldry
- London On The Ground
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
Greater London recently reinstated its 60 year old coat of arms, while the City of London’s arms have evolved over eight centuries.
St Paul, Thomas Becket, the cross of St George, lions, dragons, the Thames and the spires, towers and walls of the City have all featured in more than 800 years of designs representing London.
Greater London's coat of arms
The Greater London Authority (GLA) assumed the historic coat of arms of its predecessor, the Greater London Council (GLC), in November 2025. In the upper third it has a gold Saxon crown against a red background, referring to the Saxon origins of London (as opposed to Londinium, which was Roman). Below this, blue and white wavy lines refer to the River Thames, which has always been central to London’s history.
The College of Arms approved the design and granted the coat of arms to the GLC soon after it was established in 1965. The arms fell into disuse after the GLC was abolished in 1986. The GLA, established in 2000, only decided to apply for the coat of arms in 2020 and Charles III approved the petition to transfer it, on the advice of the College of Arms, in late 2025.
The London County Council's coat of arms
The GLC’s predecessor was the London County Council (LCC), established in 1889. The first body to draw together the sprawling metropolis that London had become, it was granted a coat of arms in 1914.
The LCC’s arms included the blue and white wavy lines, depicting the Thames, that have survived into the GLC/GLA arms. It also featured an English lion on the cross of St George, to show that London is the capital and Royal centre of England, and a gold ‘mural’ crown, indicating a municipal body.
LCC and the GLC/GLA coats of arms are both very new in the context of London’s very long history.
The City of London's coat of arms
By far the oldest London coat of arms is that of the City of London. Although the City is contained within Greater London, it remains a separate city and is very proud of its coat of arms.
Its shield was in use as long ago as 1381 and the other principal features of its coat of arms – two dragons supporting the shield, the Latin motto, a peer’s helmet and the dragon’s wing above it – were all in use by the early 17th century.
The City of London Common Seal of c.1220
However, long before it had a coat of arms, the City of London had portrayed its identity visually in the form of its Common Seal. Its earliest known Common Seal was made in c.1220.
St Paul...
The obverse (front) of the seal portrays the City’s patron saint, St Paul, holding a sword in his outstretched right arm. In his left hand he holds a banner showing the three lions of England.
Below St Paul is a depiction of the towers and spires of the medieval London skyline, surrounded by the ancient City walls. A small part of the River Thames is also visible. Inscribed around the seal are the words SIGILLUM BARONUM LONDINIARUM (‘seal of the barons of London’).
...and St Thomas Becket
On the reverse of the early 13th century seal is Thomas Becket, seated and wearing his vestments as Archbishop of Canterbury. He holds a staff with a cross on top in his left hand, while he holds up his right hand in blessing. A crowd of Londoners stands either side of him and the City skyline is shown beneath him, with St Paul’s Cathedral in the centre.
Becket, who was born on Cheapside in London in c.1120, was murdered by knights loyal to Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, only 50 years before this seal was made.
Canonised in 1173, St Thomas Becket was quickly regarded as London’s protector and its second patron saint. The legend around the edge demonstrates this: ‘ME QUE TE PEPERI NE CESSES THOMA TUERI' (‘Cease not, O Thomas, to protect me who gave birth to you.’)
The Mayoralty Seal of 1381:
St Thomas and St Paul side by side
In 1381, London replaced the earlier seal with a new one, known as the Mayoralty Seal. It shows St Thomas Becket (as Archbishop) and St Paul (holding a sword) sitting side by side. They are flanked by two serjeants-at-arms, while above them are the Virgin and Child and two angels.
The City shield appears for the first time
Below the two saints, the shield of the City of London coat of arms that is still in use today made its first appearance in the 1381 seal. The shield shows the red cross of St George, the patron saint of England. The sword in the upper left quadrant is the symbol of London’s patron saint, St Paul, a reference to his first century martyrdom at the hands of the Romans. He was beheaded with a sword.
The inscription around the edge reads 'SIGILL: MAIORATUS: CIVITATIS: LONDON' ('seal of the mayoralty of the city of London').
1539: the helmet and crest
At the Reformation in the 1530s, Henry VIII expunged Thomas Becket from the historical record and the City of London removed his image from its seal. Since 1539 the Common Seal has displayed the shield of the City’s coat of arms on the reverse, while St Paul continues to feature on the obverse.
By 1539 the shield of the City’s arms was surmounted by a peer’s helmet, indicating the status of its chief citizen, the Lord Mayor. The feature above the helmet, known as a crest in heraldic terminology, was a fan-like symbol inscribed with a cross.
Early 17th century: dragons and the motto
The lions supporting the shield had been replaced by two dragons by 1609 and the crest had evolved into a dragon’s wing by 1633. The dragon imagery is thought to derive from the legend of St George and the Dragon. Individual dragons often represent the City as stand-alone symbols (see also my post City of London: dragons' den.)
The 1609 coat of arms also included the City’s motto DOMINE DIRIGE NOS (‘Lord, lead us’) for the first time.
The City coat of arms has remained broadly unchanged since these 17th century amendments.
However, above the porch of Guildhall a version of the City arms carved in stone (from the late 1780s) fetures a Muscovy hat instead of the peer’s helmet over the shield. This furry hat, a reference to the historic trade with the Baltic, has been worn by the City Swordbearer on ceremonial occasions since the 17th or 18th century. At that time - an era when trade was increasingly important to the City - the coat of arms sometimes included the Muscovy hat.
The City of London coat of arms was not made official until as recently as 1957, when the College of Arms confirmed the City's right to it after centuries of use. Curiously, this happened only a few years before a depiction of the 1381 Mayoralty Seal was recreated in stained glass in St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside.
One of a number of windows made by John Hayward in 1963 for the post-war restoration of the church, which stands only a short walk from Becket’s birthplace, it once more shows St Thomas and St Paul side by side.
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