The flag of Northumberland is the banner of arms of Northumberland County Council. It is also used to represent Northumberland in general, and unofficially to represent the historic county.
 | |
| Proportion | 5:8 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 1951 |
| Design | Paly of eight Or and Gules per fess embattled all counterchanged[1] |
| Designed by | College of Arms |
The design is the same as the coat of arms of the county council, granted in 1951; the heraldic blazon, or description, of the arms is Paly of eight Or and Gules per fess embattled all counterchanged.[2] It is based on the arms medieval heralds attributed to the Kingdom of Bernicia based on a brief description by the historian Bede of a flag used on the tomb of St Oswald in the 7th century.[3] The flag should be flown so that the top corner nearest the hoist is gold.[4]
In November 1995, the county council agreed to allow the flag to be flown anywhere in the county.[5] In 2000, a spokesman for the county council stated that the "flag should only be rightfully flown within the present administrative County of Northumberland".[6]
The Flag Institute, a vexillological charity, has included the flag in its "Flag Registry" and considers it to represent the area within the historic county boundaries, which includes northern Tyne and Wear. [7]
Colours
editThe Pantone colours for the flag are:[7]
- Red 485
- Yellow 109
References
edit- ^ "Civic Heraldry of England and Wales - North East Region". www.civicheraldry.co.uk.
- ^ "Civic Heraldry of England and Wales - North East Region". www.civicheraldry.co.uk.
- ^ Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book III, Ch. 11: "And to furnish a lasting memorial of the royal saint, they hung the King's banner of purple and gold over his tomb" (et ut regia viri sancti persona memoriam haberet aeternam, vexillum eius super tumbam auro et purpura conpositum adposuerunt).
- ^ "The Northumberland Flag Northumberland Northumbria England UK GB (page 113)". 24 June 2005. Archived from the original on 24 June 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ Winter, Ian (28 November 1995). "County flies its own flag". Newcastle Journal. p. 14. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Hillman, Peter (1 February 2000). "Letter to the Editor". The Journal. Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Ltd.
- ^ a b "UK Flag Registry: Northumberland".