Two Market Place surprises

I have lived in Epsom for some 25 years and walk through the Market Place several times each week. However, it was only today that I properly registered the Coat of Arms pictured above.

They are tucked away on the left of the frontage of Marks & Spencer, as marked by a white arrow in the photograph below. (As noted in Part 4 of my article about the Langlands family, the upper floors on the left of the M&S frontage were retained from the Langlands offices, and carefully integrated with the new building of the Ashley Centre.)

(See further below for what is marked by the red arrow.)
Photograph by Roger Morgan © 2024

There is nothing by the Coat of Arms to say what they represent, but the internet quickly provided the answer. Unsurprisingly, they are those of Marks and Spencer – and doubtless installed there as part of the development of their Ashley Centre site.

A full colour version of Marks & Spencer’s coat of arms.
With thanks to Heraldry-Wiki.com

The Arms were granted by the College of Heralds on 1 October 1968 with the following official description (the “Blazon”).

Arms: Pily azure and gules, a pair of scales Or in an orle of roses argent barbed and seeded Or.
Crest: On a wreath of the colours, in front of two cornucopiae in saltire a ladder erect proper.
Supporters: On the dexter side a lion gules and on the sinister side an owl proper, each gorged with an Eastern crown Or.
Motto: Strive, probe, apply.

The elements behind that heraldic language – and their symbolism – are the following. A lion, representing England, and an owl, representing wisdom, support a symbol of the Archangel Michael. A pair of golden scales portrays justice (and fair trading); white roses represent Yorkshire, where Michael Marks had his first stall; a ladder (from Jacob’s dream) is a sign of the aspiration and will to improve; and the horns of plenty represent the wide range of goods sold by the company. “Strive, Probe, Apply” is the Company’s motto.

Another Market Place item that I registered only recently is the slate octagon in the middle of the pedestrian area, as marked by the red arrow in the second photograph above.

At the centre is the Borough’s Coat of Arms. One of the inscriptions is, “New Market Place Scheme 1993”, marking the completion of the pedestrianisation of the Market Place made possible by the introduction of the one-way system using the new Ashley Avenue constructed alongside the development of the Ashley Centre. The other inscription reads, “The Diamond Jubilee of the union of Epsom with Ewell”. (Four years later, in 1937, the unified “Urban District” was granted Municipal Borough status.)

PS And have you ever noticed the plaques of Derby trivia at the western end of the Market Place?

Author

Roger Morgan