Seals & Coats of Arms

Seals
At the time of the construction of the Western Canal it was a legal requirement for all company documents to be signed under seal. The purpose of the seal was to help to prevent any question of irregularity in the execution of a document. There was only one seal available to the signatories and the proprietors (directors) or the clerk (company secretary) controlled its use. In canal company minute books the phrase, 'clerk to affix seal' can be found and this signified that the proprietors had reached a decision about some matter and the clerk was then instructed to affix the seal to the associated document. The official company seal was affixed to documents such as legal documents, formal contacts and lease agreements.

Today, except in special circumstances, there is no requirement under UK Company Law to have a seal, although a company can, if it prefers, elect to use one. Instead, any document that once required a seal can now be signed 'as a deed' by two officers of the company.

Coat of Arms
The passing of the Act of Parliament allowing construction of a canal or railway gave the promoters a grant of incorporation, which allowed them to establish their company. If it so wished, it could then acquire a Coat of Arms from the Garter King of Arms. There is no evidence to show that the three companies who were to form the Western Canal took advantage of this but the successor railway companies certainly did. In these instances, the designs of the seal and the Coat of Arms were similar.

The Garter King of Arms is now known as the College of Arms but in the Middle Ages the use of arms spread from individuals to corporate bodies such as cities, towns, abbeys and churches. The first recorded example of a grant of arms to a corporate body was the grant of arms to the London guild of the Worshipful Company of Drapers on the 10 March 1439. It then became the practice to grant arms to livery companies, merchant companies, civic bodies, charities and hospitals. The next development was that banking, shipping, insurance and similar commercial companies were given the right to bear arms.

An applicant must be registered or situated in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (Scotland has its own heraldic authority). An applicant must be well established, of sound financial standing, and be a leading or respected body in its field. It may be incorporated by Act of Parliament, by Royal Charter, and nowadays under the Companies Acts, and it could be a commercial enterprise, local authority, school, college, university, or charity. Professional institutions can also apply for the grant of arms, provided that they have a written constitution.

Note: The representations on crests and badges are based upon Coats of Arms and in the examples below it is stated whether they are crests or badges.

Western Canal
The Western Canal were three canals on the western side of the Pennine hills that were eventually owned by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company, which afterwards changed its name to the Great Central Railway Company. The three canals, in order of construction, were the Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals. The design of the seal of the Ashton Canal Company now seems to be lost but the designs of seals for the Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canal Companies are known.

The original Acts of Parliament authorising construction of the these canals were:

Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham Canal (Ashton Canal)
Act, 32 George III. Cap. 84, which received the Royal Assent on the 11 June 1792.

Peak Forest Canal
Act, 34 George III. Cap 26, which received the Royal Assent on the 28 March 1794.

Macclesfield Canal
Act, 7 George IV. Cap 30, which received the Royal Assent on the 11 April 1826.

Note: In the descriptions given below, no attempt has been made to use the special heraldic language.

Seal of the Peak Forest Canal Company
The hawk (falcon) hovering above represents the Peak District, the source of wealth. On the left of the seal, a cherub is holding the rudder of a boat with her right hand while she takes fruits with her left hand from a cornucopia (horn of plenty) on the right, which is being carried by the boat and supported by a second cherub. Behind the cherub on the left there is another cornucopia with an abundance of water flowing from it with which to fill the canal. Below the rudder, a shovel represents all those involved with the building of the canal.

However, there is also a deeper meaning to some of the heraldic symbols used in this seal. Each cherub represent dignity, glory and honour; a missionary; a bearer of joyful news. The hawk (falcon) represents one who does not rest until the objective is achieved. The cornucopias represent the bounty of nature's gifts. The fruit represents felicity and peace.

The seal is dated 1794 and around the periphery it is worded, THE COMPANY OF PROPRIETORS OF THE PEAK FORREST CANAL. It was in use from 28 March 1794 until 25 March 1846 at which time the company was leased to the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway Company.

Seal of the Macclesfield Canal Company
This depicts a lion rampant holding a wheat garb (sheaf) taken from the Coat of Arms of the town of Macclesfield. This represents good harvests and the rural nature of the areas through which the canal passes.

The deeper symbolism is that the lion rampant represents dauntless courage and the wheat garb is representative of the harvest of one's hopes having been secured.

The seal is dated 1826 and around the periphery it is worded, MACCLESFIELD CANAL COMPANY. It was in use from 11 April 1826 until 25 March 1846 at which time the company was leased to the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway Company.

Note: The Ashton Canal Company was also leased on the same date.

Crest of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway Company
The three shields, from left to right, represent Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester. The device above the shields depicts a white rose of Yorkshire within a red rose of Lancashire.

Around the periphery it is worded, SHEFFIELD ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE AND MANCHESTER.

It was in use from 5 May 1837 until 1 January 1847 at which time it amalgamated with other companies to form the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company. The Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals then became collectively known as the Western Canal of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company.

Crest of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company
This is an early example and the central device depicts a rose, thistle and shamrock to represent Britain. Surrounding this are five devices, which are, clockwise from the top, a sailing ship representing Manchester, arrows representing Sheffield, a fleur-de-lis mounted on a cross representing Lincoln, two rampant choughs representing Retford and a chevron and three boars representing Grimsby.

Retford is in the county of Nottinghamshire lying between Doncaster and Newark-on-Trent, the deeper symbolism of the choughs representing strategists in battle and being watchful for friends.

Badges of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company
The one on the left was in use until 1888 and around the periphery it is worded, MANCHESTER SHEFFIELD & LINCOLNSHIRE.

The one on the right was in use from 1888 until 1 August 1897 and around the periphery it is worded, MANCHESTER SHEFFIELD & LINCOLNSHIRE RAILWAY C^o. At this time the name of the company was changed to the Great Central Railway Company. The opening of their railway line to London occasioned the change of company name, the new line being known as the 'London Extension'.

Seal of the Great Central Railway Company
The crest is a winged Pollitt locomotive. The upper section of the shield, from left to right, represents, Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln and the two wings represent swiftness and protection. Sometimes these are known as a 'Vol'. The cross and dagger represent London and the winged helmet at the centre of the cross represents Hermes. In Greek mythology, Hermes is the messenger and herald of the gods as well as being the god of commerce, invention and cunning. Hermes is also identified with Mercury, the messenger of the Roman gods. Below the shield is the company motto, FORWARD. On either side of the shield, roses and thistles represent Britain.

Around the periphery it is worded, THE SEAL OF THE GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY COMPANY, and there is a Tudor rose at the bottom, this being symbolic of Lancashire and Yorkshire after the War of the Roses. Harry Pollitt was a widely respected locomotive engineer for the Great Central Railway Company and he should not be confused with Colonel Sir William Pollitt who was a director of the Great Central Railway Company and a Government official nor with the Harry Pollitt who was a Communist politician. For the record, Colonel Sir William Pollitt was the High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1908.

Crest of Arms of the Great Central Railway Company
This has the same symbolism as the company seal with the company motto, FORWARD, below the shield.

The House Magazine of the Great Central Railway Company was also called, FORWARD.

Postscript
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company leased the Companies of Proprietors of the Western Canal from the 1 January 1847 until the 2 August 1863, on which day the railway company finally owned them. The three canal companies then remained in existence until they were dissolved and vested in the railway company on the 2 August 1883. On the 1 January 1923 the Great Central Railway Company merged with other companies to form the London and North Eastern Railway Company. On the 1 January 1948 the London and North Eastern Railway Company was nationalised to become part of British Railways. The Western Canal, along with other canals, then came under the control of the Inland Waterways Division of the British Transport Commission, which subsequently changed its name to British Waterways Board. Nowadays, this is known as British Waterways.

It is, perhaps, surprising that the three companies comprising the Western Canal survived for another 37 years after they were first leased to the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway Company in 1846. To all intents and purposes, from 1846 onwards they were defunct as companies, as the day-to-day operation of the canals was then entirely under railway company control. Nevertheless, they still had two important legal obligation to fulfil. The first was to be responsible for the payment of any dividends due to canal company shareholders at the time that they were leased and who continued to hold them. The second was to be responsible for the payment of interest on any outstanding loans that were entered into prior to 1846. By 1883 it can, therefore, be assumed that no canal company shareholders were then left and that all outstanding loans had been paid back in full.