Police Burgh of Cowdenbeath
Motto
“Stent Nae Stent”
“Effort always effort” or “Don’t stint, always give your best”
Cowdenbeath grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a Police Burgh in1890. The arms are partly a conventionalising of the device on the seal adopted by the Burgh in 1892 which showed a pit head scene. The silver field and the black chevron recall that this was once country owned by the Balfour family, but with it’s golden wheel the chevron also symbolises the pit head hoist just as the black barrulets denote the coal underground.
It is also intended to indicate that the days of feudalism are long past and that coal mining is the major interest of the town.
The birch trees are for Beath (the name of the Parish) which is a Gaelic word meaning, “birch tree”.