Have you ever wondered about the elephants in Bolton? Ever stopped to think of the reasons that they are there or their significance? Ever wondered who designed them? Here I will explain the whole story behind the mysterious animals.
There are many elephants situated around Bolton, some you may notice or may not such as, the railings on the library, an elephant topped bollard in Ashburner Street Market or Victoria Square where there's an elephant situated on a war memorial, but what do they mean?
First of all, they have been around Bolton for a great amount of time and surprisingly they were the official stamp of the Clerk to the Board of Trustees in 1799!
Many elephants, also castles were inspired from the coat of arms which was designed in 1974. On The shield are 8 roses representing the towns, there's an arrow which is a pun for 'bolt' and a crown representing 'tun' which was a settlement within a stockade. Above the shield stands an elephant within a 'tun' with the Lancashire Rose upon it.
Have you ever seen the elephants on Newport Street in Bolton? I'm sure you have. Well they were removed for a while but are now back in their place but are completely different at the same time, they now have been replaced, repaired and are now very bright looking. All the 3 elephants are in the same place, and although the colours aren't significant as children entered a competition to design them, they are nonetheless very nice and are a ray of sunshine to our town centre. This is lovely as there are no other landmarks in Bolton Town Centre where children have designed themselves.
Maybe now when you walk around Bolton and notice an elephants, whether it's in Victoria Square, Great Moor Street or many other funny little places, you'll stop to think and realise the significance of them and be able to understand where and how they came about to our town.
