Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council
Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council
History
Founded	1 April 1965
Disbanded	1 April 1974
Succeeded by	Cambridgeshire County Council
Meeting place
	Shire Hall, Cambridge

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council was the county council of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely in the east of England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1965 and was abolished on 1 April 1974.^[1] The county council was based at Shire Hall, Cambridge.^[2] It was amalgamated with Huntingdon and Peterborough County Council to form an enlarged Cambridgeshire County Council in 1974.^[3]

Coat of Arms

The College of Arms granted the coat of arms to the council in 1965:^[4]

Coat of arms of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County
	Granted 1 September 1965 Coronet Mural crown Or Escutcheon Or a double Tressure flory counterflory Gules over all on a Bend wavy Azure three [open] Crowns Or Supporters On either side a Great Bustard proper the exterior leg resting on a closed Book Gules garnished Or. Motto 'SAPIENTES SIMUS' - Let us be men of understanding Symbolism The wavy blue band across the shield refers to the River Cam, which apart from being a geographical feature was for long important as a trade route and a source of prosperity. The three golden crowns are from the of arms of the Isle of Ely CC. Forming a border on the shield are double lines set with fleurs-de-lis; this is derived from the Royal Arms of Scotland because the Earldom of the shire was held by Kings of Scotland in the twelfth century. Above the shield is a mural crown, a common symbol of civic government. The two supporting birds are Great Bustards, now extinct in Britain. It is claimed that this county formed their last English habitat; it is interesting to note that Wiltshire also claims the last associations with these magnificent birds and shows one in its Arms. Each bird stands on a book as an allusion to the University of Cambridge. The motto applies both to the community attitude of the area and to the significance of the part played by education throughout it.

^ Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. ISBN 0-11-750847-0.
^ "No. 44460". The London Gazette. 24 November 1967. p. 12882.
^ "Cambridgeshire County Council". Recruiter Directory. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
^ Briggs, Geoffrey (1971). Civic & corporate heraldry: a dictionary of impersonal arms of England, Wales, & N. Ireland. London: (10 Beauchamp Place, S.W.3), Heraldry Today. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-900455-21-6.