The Unofficial Shield of Arms

The village has no official coat of arms although it used to have an entrance sign containing a Shield of Arms.  the Arms were drawn by H Ellis Tomlinson, a man who both attended Baines' Grammar School on the Fylde and was a Master at the School in Poulton.  the Arms were found in a sketchbook of Arms drawn by Ellis Tomlinson in 1941, before he became a famious heraldic advisor.  He created the Arms for many universities across the globe, many towns in the UK and abroad and even Baines School and Blackpool FC.

 

Shield

This is called a Shield of Arms as it does not contain the heraldic emblems assciated with a Coat of Arms, namely emblems like the Unicorn or the Lion.  

The Shield is a simple design depicting the Cross of St Anne, the Anglican Church in the village is St Anne's also the Arms of the Eccleston family depicts a black cross.  It is unsure which ellis Tomlinson used for the Shield.  The emblem in the top left hand corner depicts a bull rush.  the village was famed for tallow which is formed from rushes and growing rushes for rush bearing.

The motto for the village is: Ranter tan mōst - which translates to Greater than most.

This is a derivation on the Great part of the name.