The basis of the shield are the three gold wheatsheaves on a blue field of the Earldom of Chester. To this were added a bale for the cotton industry, millrinds for the production of iron, a shuttle for weaving and bees for industry in general. The crest was a half-lion supporting a banner bearing a shuttle. The supporters were a wolf, an emblem of the early Earls of Chester; and an heraldic antelope from the arms of the Beaufort family, representing the Duchy of Lancaster. The arms granted to Manchester two years earlier had a similar supporter for the same reason.