THE OFFICIAL STAFFORDSHIRE COUNTY FLAG
The County Flag of Staffordshire and Staffordshire
Heritage Group Design County Council Banner
Heritage Group Design County Council Banner
The Staffordshire Heritage Group would like to thank all those who supported our campaign and who helped in the design of the new Staffordshire County Flag, especially in view of the limited time allowed. Well done everyone. This was a great example of how our member groups are able to unite to maintain our heritage.
The Flag Institute, the UK’s national flag charity, maintains the register of County Flags, which can be viewed on their website (www.flaginstitute.org) and works with county organisations to come up with suitable designs. The County Flags are based on the historic counties of the UK, rather than the modern administrative areas, so Staffordshire includes Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, and other parishes falling outside of the Staffordshire County Council’s area.
The Flag Institute received two applications for a County Flag for Staffordshire, one from Staffordshire County Council (SCC) and the other from the Staffordshire Heritage Group (SHG), an umbrella organisation for history based cultural groups in Staffordshire. The Flag Institute decided to give the people of Staffordshire an opportunity to vote for the design they liked best.
Result of the Public Vote:
Staffordshire County Council: 211 (i.e. 5 excluded) – 27.16% of validated votes
Staffordshire Heritage Group: 566 (i.e. 30 excluded) – 72.84% of validated votes
The Staffordshire Heritage Group design was declared the winner and it was recorded in the Flag Registry as the County Flag of Staffordshire. The Staffordshire County Council design will, of course, remain the Council’s own flag, as a banner of their arms.
On the new County Flag of Staffordshire, the gold background and red chevron comes from the coat-of-arms of the de Stafford family and has been used in connection with the county since at least the 17th century. The knot is an ancient symbol of Staffordshire and used by many organizations, including the Staffordshire Regiment, Staffordshire Police and Stafford Morris.
For more details on the history and development of the Staffordshire County Flag please download the article: - https://www.tamworthheritage.org.uk/THMSpecials/THMS01StaffsCountyFlag.pdf
The Flag Institute, the UK’s national flag charity, maintains the register of County Flags, which can be viewed on their website (www.flaginstitute.org) and works with county organisations to come up with suitable designs. The County Flags are based on the historic counties of the UK, rather than the modern administrative areas, so Staffordshire includes Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, and other parishes falling outside of the Staffordshire County Council’s area.
The Flag Institute received two applications for a County Flag for Staffordshire, one from Staffordshire County Council (SCC) and the other from the Staffordshire Heritage Group (SHG), an umbrella organisation for history based cultural groups in Staffordshire. The Flag Institute decided to give the people of Staffordshire an opportunity to vote for the design they liked best.
Result of the Public Vote:
Staffordshire County Council: 211 (i.e. 5 excluded) – 27.16% of validated votes
Staffordshire Heritage Group: 566 (i.e. 30 excluded) – 72.84% of validated votes
The Staffordshire Heritage Group design was declared the winner and it was recorded in the Flag Registry as the County Flag of Staffordshire. The Staffordshire County Council design will, of course, remain the Council’s own flag, as a banner of their arms.
On the new County Flag of Staffordshire, the gold background and red chevron comes from the coat-of-arms of the de Stafford family and has been used in connection with the county since at least the 17th century. The knot is an ancient symbol of Staffordshire and used by many organizations, including the Staffordshire Regiment, Staffordshire Police and Stafford Morris.
For more details on the history and development of the Staffordshire County Flag please download the article: - https://www.tamworthheritage.org.uk/THMSpecials/THMS01StaffsCountyFlag.pdf