Flag of County Durham
| Flag of County Durham | |
| |
| Proportion | 3:5 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 2013 |
| Designed by | Katie, Holly and James Moffatt |
The Flag of County Durham is the flag of the county of Durham, registered with the Flag Institute in 2013, after winning an online competition to decide a flag for the county.[1]
Armorial banner
County Durham has long used the flag of Durham County Council as an unofficial flag of the county. This flag was the banner of arms of the council, based on the arms of the See of Durham (Azure a Cross Or between four Lions rampant Argent) [2]. In 1961 the council adopted a coat of arms based on those of the See, with the lions holding swords and wearing crowns and the addition of five black lozenges to represent the county's coal mining industries. After the Local Government Act 1972 came into effect the Durham Council lost administrative control over parts of the county in the north and south and gained control over the Startforth Rural District from the North Riding of Yorkshire. The arms of the Council were thereby altered to replace the central lozenge with a White Rose of York[3].
2013 flag
A competition to design a new flag for County Durham was launched in July 2013 on the blog of Andy Strangeway, who had already established flags for the Ridings of Yorkshire [4]. The competition noted that County Durham was the only traditional county in the North of England without a flag, after the adoption of the flags of Cumberland and Westmorland in 2011 and 2012.
The winning flag was chosen from six finalists, and was designed by twins Katie and Holly Moffatt and their father James Moffatt from Chilton, County Durham. The flag features the Cross of Cuthbert, counterchanged on the county colours of blue and gold. The same cross is also depicted on the Flag of Kirkcudbrightshire, showing the links both counties have to St Cuthbert.
The Pantone Colours for the flag are:-
- Blue 286
- Yellow 109
References
- ↑ "County Durham flag with St Cuthbert's cross wins vote". BBC Press Office. 21 November 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-25039676. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ↑ "Durham, Bishopric of". Civic Heraldry of England and Wales. http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/ecclesiastical.html#durham%20see. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ↑ "Durham County Council (UA)". Civic Heraldry of England and Wales. http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/tweed_tyne_tees.html#durham%20cc. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ↑ "County Durham flag design competition launched". BBC Press Office. 3 July 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-23159334. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
Outside links
- County Durham Flag on Andy Strangeway's blog
- Organiser's speech at unfurling of flag
- Designer's comments at unfurling of the flag
- Local media report of the unfurling
- County Durham flag production at locally based company
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