Did you know? Scunthorpe is five villages in a trench coat
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XDid you know? Scunthorpe started out as several separate villages. In 1919, Scunthorpe was joined with Brumby, Frodingham, Crosby and Ashby to form one bigger town.
It became a municipal borough in 1936. Five villages, one postcode, endless arguments about where Ashby actually ends. The old coat of arms tells the story.
A length of chain across the shield stands for the five villages linking together. The green shield and golden wheatsheaf remember that the area used to be farmland. At the top are two fossils called "devil's toenails".
They're ancient oysters, found in the rock that was quarried for ironstone. Yes, our coat of arms has the devil's toenails on it. Metal.
SRN Verdict
The town grew fast thanks to iron and steel, from 1,245 people in 1851 to 11,167 in 1901. And we've been arguing about which bit is posh ever since.
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