Proud Preston - Preston's Civic Crest. The Coat-of-Arms of the City of Preston.

Proud Preston

Well, actually...

The letters "P.P." are taken to mean "Princeps Pacis" - The Prince of Peace.

I stumbled across an article entitled, "Proud Preston's lamb: The sign is everywhere if you look hard enough" a couple of years ago. It went on to say, "You know about the symbol of our proud city, but have you noticed just how many there are?"

I've always been one for a challenge. I found all the ones that the article had pointed out, and a good few more. However, I am sure that I have probably missed a lot as well.

Proud Preston | Searching for Preston's Coats-of-Arms

Proud Preston | "Princeps Pacis" - The Prince of Peace

The lamb on the city shield is a biblical image of Jesus Christ, and the same image that represented seventh century bishop St Wilfrid, the city's patron saint. The "PP" on the city shield stands for "Princeps Pacis" (Prince of Peace), another title for Christ invoking Him as protector of the city, though it is also often taken to stand for the city's nickname "Proud Preston".

On earlier Coats-of-Arms the Lamb was standing and three letters "P" were depicted on it. The reason for the three letters was to give a general balance to the Coat-of-Arms. The Lamb is the Lamb of St. Wilfrid who is the Patron Saint of Preston.

Preston's Civic Crest Gallery

Saint Wilfrid: Proud Preston's Patron Saint

Saint Wilfrid is credited with bringing Christianity to the town of Preston in Anglo-Saxon times. His name is worthy of note: ‘Wil’ meaning ‘wishful of’ and ‘Frith’ meaning ‘peace’. He was adopted as the patron saint of Preston, his emblem becoming Preston’s coat-of-arms: the lamb of peace (altered from a standing lamb to one sitting down) and ‘P.P.’ at the base standing for ‘Princeps Pacis’ – Prince of Peace – because his name means ‘peace’.

Until the Reformation the parish church in Fulwood was dedicated to St Wilfrid, but then came a name change to St John’s. However, St Wilfrid’s became the name of the Roman Catholic church in Chapel Street, which leads off Fishergate into Winckley Square. It is a beautiful church, with pillars of white Italian Carrara marble, and is well worth a visit. There is also St Wilfrid’s Street which runs between Fox Street and Corporation Street.

When St Wilfrid brought Christianity to Preston he was accompanied by Benedict Biscop. His name is remembered in the area of north Blackpool, first as Biscopham and which later became Bispham. Biscop was responsible for introducing stained glass windows into churches to enhance and improve the work of their builders.

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