The Herald's College granted the Borough Arms of Keighley on February 7th, 1883, after the incorporation of the borough by Royal Charter on July 28th, 1882.

This version of the Keighley Coat of Arms was drawn by Christopher M Kelly
in 2001 and is the Keighley WebSites version, not the official Coat of Arms.

The dragon's head was the crest of the ancient knightly family of Kighley which held the manor for sixteen generations. Edward I, in the 33rd year of his reign (1305) granted them a Market Charter. The last male representative, Henry Kighley. died in 1567, leaving two daughters as co-heirs.
      "Anne, the elder, married (by licence dated March 21st, 1580-I) William Cavendish, esquire, son of Sir Wm. Cavendish of Hardwick, afterwards created Baron Cavendish of Hardwick in 1605, and Earl of Devonshire in 1618; their descendant, the present Duke of Devonshire, is lord of the manor of Keighley".

To show the connection between the two families and to emphasise the friendly. relations between them, a serpent. Which is the Cavendish crest, is twined round the head of the dragon and the heads of both animals are turned in the same direction.

The circle, which encloses the wavy lines of blue, (known in heraldry as "a fountain"), at the bottom of the crest, is the emblem of water and refers to the situation of Keighley in a well-watered valley, the streams of which flow through the town and used to supply the early factories with waterpower before the steam-engine came into general use.

Like the crest, the shield is a combination of the arms of the Keighley and Cavendish families: the black fesse and the silver background belong to the former and the three stags' heads to the latter. The fountain reappears in the fesse and the embattled border indicates the antiquity of the town.

The motto may be interpreted in three ways. While recognising the geographical situation of the town on the banks of the Worth, and acknowledging the value of its waters to the town's industry, it presents a moral challenge to the citizens that they should justify themselves "By Worth".
                                                                        Reproduced with permission,
                                                                        © 1974 Ian Dewhirst