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Most people in Warwickshire know that this badge represents the County and that it is the central motif of the County Council's coat of arms. The bear and staff were not always united -- for centuries before 1500 the Earls of Warwick sometimes employed the ragged staff, sometimes a bear. However, sometime in the 15th century Richard Neville ('The Kingmaker') used the two devices together, so that Shakespeare could say, 'old Nevill's crest, the Rampant Bear Chained to the Ragged Staff', The device was also used by the Earl of Leicester in Queen Elizabeth's day. Sincc then the bear and staff have naturally been accepted as the sign for Warwickshire.
© Alcester & District Local History Society 1991