Last modified: 2008-08-16 by rob raeside
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image located by Ivan Sache, 31 July 2008
Source:
http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Lancashire-flag-is-all-yellow.4333614.jp
See also:
There is, apparently, an official
flag for Lancashire, but am reasonably certain that the one described above is
not it. I have no background so cannot confirm that this is the design, but the
one of which I am aware consists of three gold triangles (two upright and one
reversed) on a red field, with three red roses one in the centre of each
triangle. I have the definite feeling that the red rose on white described by
James is actually a commercial venture, and despite what he was told the only
flag I have ever seen flying from the County Hall in Preston is the Union Jack?
Christopher Southworth, 11 February 2006
This flag as described by
Christopher would be a banner of arms of Lancashire County Council.
Laurence Jones, 12 February 2006
Lancashire seems to have followed the tracks of Yorkshire [in having a flag
recorded by the UK Flag Registry], but with less
presence in the media. In the "Lancashire Evening Post", 29 July 2008, Chris
Visser reported the registration of the new flag of Lancashire with the Flag
Institute:
"The traditional red rose of Lancashire has turned yellow for the
21st century. For the first time, Lancastrians can wave this county flag ...
without having to get planning permission first. But as the Scottish town of
Montrose had already registered a flag with a red
rose and white background, Lancashire has had to brighten things up. This new
design has now officially been registered with the Flag Institute – meaning
proud Lancastrians are free to wave it at will. Chris Dawson, chairman of the
Friends of Real Lancashire, which registered the flag, said: "The Lancashire
coat of arms is yellow and red, so the yellow seemed to be an appropriate
colour. "It seems to have been favourably accepted by everyone who has seen it.
I think it will show up better than the white, which often clashes against the
clouds. We'd like to see everybody flying the Lancashire flag. We want to see it
on public buildings."
The Flag Institute's chief flag expert, or
vexillologist, Graham Bartram said: "One of our rules is that you can't have two
flags which are the same, so we suggested that they modify the background. "It's
quite a striking flag and we did research to make sure it was a Lancashire rose.
The middle sepal on the Lancashire rose points upwards but downwards on the
Yorkshire rose.""
Source:
http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Lancashire-flag-is-all-yellow.4333614.jp
The
flag is yellow, divided with a kind of red W and with the two outer sectors
red and a rose in each of the three yellow sectors.
Ivan Sache, 31
July 2008
image by Kevin Lea, 4 December 2007
The emblem of Lancashire is the red rose, in contrast to the white rose of
Yorkshire. However, this emblem does not seem to
have been used on a flag. The red rose was originally a symbol of
Lancaster, and seems to have been invented by Henry VII. He however used
the combined "Tudor Rose", so the red rose alone would never have been used.
Nathan Lamm, 9 September 2002
There is indeed a Lancashire flag: a red rose on a white background [see
illustration at
http://www.worldofflags.co.uk - ed. ]. It can
be seen flying from some businesses (e.g. the Lancashire House Hotel, where I
stay when I'm visiting Lancaster University), and can be purchased from a number
of flag vendors online. I'm told by several locals that it flies from Preston
County Hall, but I haven't yet confirmed this myself; eventually I'll try to get
a photo which will confirm semi-official status.
James Sterbenz, 11 February 2006
I have seen a flag depicting the Lancashire rose flying outside what used to be
the office block for Leyland Motors known as Lancaster House. It used to be
flown alongside the Leyland Motors company logo flag at the front of the
building. However since Leyland Motors closed down some years ago, and the
building premises were taken over by Enterprise plc, I have seen no flag(s) flying from that particular mast.
A member from the Leyland forums kindly sent me a picture of what I believe to
be the flag that was sometimes flown from outside Lancaster House. I am familiar
with the flag, the Red Rose had 5 equally spaced sepals with the 'pointer' sepal
orientated face down on the flag, on a white background. I was also interested
to notice that the orientation of the rose sepals on the flag was the same as
that which is depicted on its counterpart the
Yorkshire flag. I
cannot confirm whether this flag is official, my guess is that it will be as
official as the Yorkshire counterpart.
Kevin Lea, 4 December 2007
image by Eugene Ipavec, 31 July 2007
Source: http://www.lancaster.gov.uk (located by Valentin Poposki, 27 July 2007)
Based on this web page,
http://www.lancaster.gov.uk, it is clear this flag is a banner of arms.
Laurence Jones, 28 July 2007
Carr, 1961, says "Liverpool's arms date
from 1797, when the heralds, having never heard of Litherland close by, were
left to choose between the pool of laver - that is, the seaweed Porphyra - and
the pool of the liver, a bird unknown to naturalists; and, failing to find a
figure of the imaginary bird, they invented a sort of short-necked cormorant,
into whose beak they put a couple of fronds of Porphyra in case it was Liverpool
after all. This very neat instance of heraldic hedging did not, however, meet
with the success it deserved, for the old name was discovered to be Litherpool -
that is, the sluggish pool - yet the cormorant and the seaweed remain, for they
are in the grant."
Carr therefore suggests that cities may use banners of arms..
Jarig Bakker, 2 April 2002
It is a cormorant on the arms of Liverpool. It was inspired by an American
flag with a bald eagle on it, and developed with a hint of the famous Liverpool
humour. The "liver birds" are Oliver and Olivia - she looking out to sea waiting
for her true love to return, he looking into the city to see if the pubs are
open!
Valerie Sullivan, 16 June 2004
The late Fritz Spiegl, who was an
authority on all things Liverpudlian (and who wrote a four volume series
entitled 'Lern Yersel Scouse' under the pseudonym Linacre Lane), claimed that
the Liver Bird was based on a pelican, the local artist who was commissioned to
draw the bird (a) had never seen one and (b) was drunk at the time.
Ron Lahav, 18 April 2005
Concerning the Liverbird, I can't believe
people think the Liverbird is a cormorant. I felt the need, being from Liverpool
myself and being very proud of my city, to set the record straight. The original
seal of Liverpool was based on the heraldic emblem of King John, which was an
eagle. The original seal was broken some time during Liverpool's history and
when the new seal was created the artist couldn't quite render the eagle as well
as the original, so it came to look something like a cormorant.
Neil Evans, 7 May 2006
See also:
image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 September 2007
The web page at
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/prestonian/preston.htm reports along with some
other information about the city:
"The "PP" in the coat of arms is said by locals to stand for Proud Preston or
Preston - Priest's town, this may be because of the historic association of the
church and town and certainly in the coat of arms or seal it was originally a
standing lamb with banner flag - the emblem of St. Wilfrid. When the parish
church changed its name to St. John in Tudor times, the pragmatic townsmen sat
the lamb down and it became the emblem of St. John the Baptist. It was the wrong
St. John, but they probably thought it would be standing up again soon! With
regard to the 'PP' in the coat of arms it is also said it may stand for Princeps
Pacis, Prince of Peace or Preston-Preston. In 1376 there were no Ps in the town
seal; in 1402 there were three Ps arranged decoratively on either side and below
the standing lamb. In later times one of the Ps was lost and the other two ended
up below the seated lamb."
James Dignan, 14 September 2007
It has to be said that the white Paschal lamb on a blue field is almost
certainly several hundred years old (if not early medieval). The shield
displayed on a white ground is, however, new to me, because for at least forty
years or so the flag of Preston Borough Council (not often flown) was a banner
of arms i.e., a white Paschal lamb on a blue field with PP in gold below. Local
tradition, by the way, says that "PP" stands for Proud Preston, but it is not
impossible that it does stand (or originally stood) for Prince of Peace. It is
also worth remarking that the blue that I have often seen used is much darker
than that shown on the image here, but I will try to confirm current practice in
the next day or so.
Christopher Southworth, 12 November 2007
I have spoken this morning to His Worship the Mayor of Preston, and he confirms
that the City (from any of its offices) no longer flies a flag of its own. He is
also unaware of any flag showing a shield on a white ground, that the only flag
he knows about is a banner of the town's arms which was occasionally used
formerly but which has now been retired (following the Prime Minister's recent
request [to make greater use of the Union Flag]) and the Union Flag flown in its
place. The Council "replaces the Union Flag with the Flag of St George on St
George's day and the camp flag of our local regiment on the anniversary of its
foundation".
Christopher Southworth, 13 November 2007
Detail of arms
image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 14 September 2007
Source: Port Cities
On the Port Cities web site
(search for "Flag") are also many proposals for a Mersey Docks and Harbour Board
house flag. The flag is from the Merseyside Maritime Museum.
Jan Mertens, 11 February 2005
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board has long since been privatized and has a
different name now, but I don't know if it has a new flag as well.
Ron Lahav, 12 February 2005