Herefordshire (England)

Last modified: 2020-07-04 by rob raeside
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• County flag
• Commercial flag
• Flag competition

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County Flag

The Herefordshire flag competition has completed and my own design won but it was amended by the organising committee, via the Flag Institute.
More here https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/18012559.local-artists-miss-herefordshires-new-flag-revealed/?fbclid=IwAR3Gpjy7DAyFOpVR-i-oRs-zozJgKsR9wGzGjfxC8xkl6Ed-2oFwYblnFi8.

4th November
THE NEW flag for Herefordshire has been unveiled, as it was raised to the top of the tower at Hereford Cathedral.
A competition to find the new flag saw designs from all over the UK entered, with the winner an artist from Kent. Jason Saber's design is a bull, above the River Wye and the county's deep red soil. The winner was chosen by the people of Herefordshire from a short-list of the five, whittled down from an original 695 entries, a UK record for any flag competition. Mr Saber has no direct connection with Herefordshire, but the flag committee chairman said without him, there might not have been a flag. "It was Jason who got in touch to point out that almost every other county now had one," David Marshall said. The two unofficial flags that were around did not meet the criteria to be officially registered. So he proposed something that could be registered, and it was basically a version of what's been chosen."

Mr Saber said: "I don't have a deep knowledge of Herefordshire but I think I understand its symbols. "The thing about flag design is that less is more. You mustn't cram too much in. So I thought about what the main elements would be. The soil's a very deep rich red. And what can be better than a fertile soil as a background? It is called Here-FORD, that makes the river important. And the bull is the dominant symbol of the county so I decided that should be the main focus."

The flags will be on sale to the public shortly and will be flown from public buildings on special occasions.
 Jason Saber, 6 November 2019

The red field represents Herefordshire’s famous red earth. It also evokes the reddish-brown coat of the Hereford breed of cattle. In the top centre is the head of a Hereford bull with its typical wide white face, while the three wavy stripes in blue and white represent the River Wye flowing through the county. The flag was chosen in a public competition organised by the Herefordshire Flag Committee. It was hoisted for the first time in a ceremony at Hereford Cathedral in November 2019.

Flag Type: County Flag
Flag Date: 2nd November 2019
Flag Designer: Jason Saber
Adoption Route: Popular Vote
UK Design Code: UNKG7464
Aspect Ratio: 3:5
Pantone® Colours: Dark Red 201, White, Blue 300, Dark Red 484
Source: https://www.flaginstitute.org
Valentin Poposki, 28 June 2020

Commercial flag

image located by Ian MacDonald, 14 July 2010
Source: http://englishcountyflags.com

This flag is being marketed for Herefordshire.

Herefordshire like many counties does not actually have a flag as such, but it does have a coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted in 1946 and is therefore pretty recent. There is a flag which is available for purchase which features the shield on the arms stretched into a banner. It is a particularly attractive flag for the people of Herefordshire.
Source: http://englishcountyflags.com
Ian MacDonald, 14 July 2010

Flag competition

Despite its long, proud tradition, Herefordshire is one of the exceptions. Hence the Herefordshire-sized gap on the flag-map of England. We want to close that gap in 2019 and we are holding a competition to design a flag for the county.

A Herefordshire flag will

• raise recognition and awareness of the area
• express pride in our local community and
• celebrate our county's heritage and culture.

The winning entry will be chosen by the people of Herefordshire. It will then be officially registered, flown from public buildings and by anyone else who wants to express their love of this beautiful county. There are already some existing "Herefordshire flags" and a coat of arms. But this can only be flown with permission. And the flags you might have seen were chosen only by their designers. Anyone will be able to fly this one. And it will belong to us all. br>The Herefordshire Flag Committee

The competition will be open for submissions from 1st March 2019.
Closing date: The competition will close on 15th April 2019.
Individuals, schools and groups may submit entries in line with the rules and guidance set out below. Everyone is eligible, whether they live in Hereford or Hong Kong, Leominster or Lithuania. Entrants can be professional artists or novices who have hardly held a crayon. There is no upper or lower age limit. Entrants may submit as many designs as they wish.

A panel appointed by the Herefordshire Flag Committee will assess the entries, taking into account the following factors:

• Does the flag truly represent Herefordshire?
• Is the design both simple and attractive?
• Is the idea fresh and original?
• WWill it be instantly recognisable to a small child from ground level in all weathers?

TThe competition to find an official flag for Herefordshire has produced a bumper entry with 675 designs being submitted before the closing date. Entries came from schools and colleges across the county and from individuals from Checkley to Chile.
The designs are now being anonymised and sifted to go before a panel of local judges who will meet next month with Philip Tibbetts acting as their technical adviser. They will prepare a short list of possibles. Herefordshire people will then make the final decision. The ballot will be restricted to those living within the county but everyone aged five and up will be allowed a say. The plan is for the winning flag to be revealed at a ceremony in Hereford in the autumn.
John Moody/em>, 22 June 2019