KEIGHLEY (Yorkshire).

KEIGHLEY (Yorkshire). Argent, on a fesse sable, between three stags' heads caboshed a fountain proper, all within a bordure embattled azure. And for the Crest — On a wreath of the colours, in front of a dragon's head erased gules, entwined by a serpent or, a fountain proper. Motto — " By Worth." Granted 7th February 1883.

Burke's " General Armory " adds a description of the arms as follows : —

" The Crest (a red dragon) was that of the ancient family of De Kighley, for many generations Lords of the Manor, whose last representative (a female) married the then head of the house of Cavendish in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and thereby carried the Keighley estate into that noble house, of which the Duke of Devonshire is the head. His Grace still retains the estate, which has belonged to his family for nearly 700 years. The serpent twined round the head of the dragon is the Cavendish Crest. The circle with the wavy blue lines at the bottom of the Crest, and also repeated in the shield, is the heraldic emblem of water technically called a fountain, and refers to the situation of Keighley in a well-watered valley, the streams of which have greatly tended towards the progress of the town, being of great value for manufacturing purposes. This idea is also borne out by the motto ' By Worth,' that being the name of the principal stream on the banks of which Keighley is situate. The shield is a combination of the Keighley and Cavendish arms. The silver shield and black bar being those of the former family, while the three stags' heads are the cognizance of the Cavendishes. The blue embattled border surrounding the shield shows that the arms are those of an ancient town, which is the case, Keighley having obtained its original market charter in the reign of Edward I."

Original Source bookofpublicarms00foxd_djvu.txt near line 13771.