Golden Fleece

carved
in stone
a golden fleece

I've seen this insignia a lot around Bradford and Leeds, and assumed it was somehow associated with the wool trade.

I wasn't quite sure what to search for when investigating it, but tried 'hanging fleece', which led me to a site which has many examples of the insignia being used on trade tokens from the Middle Ages.

The same source also explains that the image is derived from the "Golden Fleece" of Jason and the Argonauts fame, and became incorporated into the insignia of various European orders. Tradition has it that one of these orders, the Ancient Grand United Order of the Golden Fleece, was brought to Bradford in the eighteenth centry by German wool workers, before splintering into various friendly societies.

The golden fleece is incorporated into the civic heraldry of both Baildon and Bingley and the coat of arms of Bradford City Council.

The example in this image is above a doorway in Barry Street, Bradford, and it serves as my response to today's prompt word for the Bradford Photo a Day Challenge: "Wool".