There are nine shields on the exterior of the building, just above the first-stage windows. The three Arms on the west face depict the Society of Merchant Venturers, the City of Bristol and the City of Gloucester (to represent Gloucestershire, which did not have its own Arms at the time); those on the south face represent Sir George A Wills, the University of Bristol and H H Wills (the Wills family, who made their fortune in tobacco, funded the tower and many other University buildings); and those on the east face portray the City of Bath, the County of Somerset and the City of Salisbury (to represent Wiltshire, which did not have its own Arms at the time).