Stalybridge was granted the Coat of Arms pictured on the website header on June 18th 1857.
The red chevron on silver is from the arms of the Staveley family, this family held the manor and from whom the town derives its name.
The silver base colour traditionally Signifies "truth, sincerity, peace, innocence and purity." The red chevron stands for 'protection'. The chevron represents the roof of a house, derived from the French word 'chevron' meaning rafter.
The pointed crosses are from the arms of the Dukinfield family and the spur-rowel or five pointed star is from that of Assheton.
The two cinquefoils or flowers are taken from the Dukinfields and Astley families. Both these families held land in Stalybridge and in the eighteenth century the heiress of the Dukinfields married into the Astley family,
The wolf and wheatsheaf on the top of the shield represent the Earldom of Chester.
The motto "Absque labore nihil" proclaims the philosophy of the modern industrial town 'Nothing without Labour.'