The Borough Crest
The Borough Crest is distinct from the council's logo.
It is used widely in the borough by organisations with a strong connection to Gosport and its people and communities, and is synonymous with the borough, rather than being specific to the council.
History of the Borough Crest
In 1922, Gosport artist Martin Snape was commissioned to design the official seal of the newly formed borough of Gosport. This is the basis for the current civic crest.
The ship on the crest is a reference to a story that recounts how, in the 12th century, King Stephen landed here after a storm. The then lord of the manor, Henry de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and brother of the king, called the village God's Port in consideration of the kindness shown to Stephen. Another version of the story has Henry taking shelter from the storm, beaching his vessel and calling the place God's Port in gratitude. In the 1940s it was decided to add the words "God's Port Our Haven" to the design.
The council's use of the Crest
As well as being in widespread use in the borough by organisations that have a strong connection to Gosport and its people and communities, the familiar borough crest, with the words "God's Port Our Haven", is a very important and valued part of Gosport's heritage and is used by the council for civic and ceremonial purposes and by the Mayor.
Using the historic Borough Crest
It is important that the unique historical significance of the borough crest is respected when it is used, and that it is only used appropriately.
The crest can be used by organisations with a strong connection to the borough and its local communities.
The crest should only be used in accordance with the original design to protect its historical significance and importance and should not be adapted or amended. The crest should not be used for commercial purposes.
Requests to use the borough crest should be made to:
democratic.services@gosport.gov.uk or gosport.media@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
The Gosport Borough Council logo is exclusively for use by council services and projects. Organisations that work with the council can request use of the logo to demonstrate partnership and other relationships, by emailing gosport.media@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
The Gosport Borough Council logo is trademarked certification of which can be found here Trademark Certificate GBC Logo (PDF) [1MB] .
Share this page
