Cumberland Registers New Flag

Posted by andy on the 1st January 1970 at 11:54

The historic county of Cumberland has had the green, white and blue flag recognised by the flag institute after a campaign by the Historic Counties Trust & local organisations. The design is a re-working of the banner of Arms of the former Cumberland County Council. Granted in 1950 the arms symbolise the coast line, mountains, fells and famous lakes with the blue and white wavy lines, whilst the green upper half with Grass-of-Parnassus flowers recalls the marshy up-lands and fertile plains of the county. The Grass-of-Parnassus flowers have been re-drawn to be both obviously recognisable and stylistically appropriate, rather than the generic looking flowers from the grant of arms. This was done by vexillographer Philip Tibbetts of Penrith, who used an image of a real Cumbric flower to achieve a realisation that is both obviously a Grass-of-Parnassus and as iconic as the heraldic rose. The colours of the final design were chosen to be the best matches in acceptable flag colours to the former council arms. An additional benefit of this is that the green matches that found in the Welsh flag, thus providing an extra element of symbolism as the name Cumberland derives from Cymru-land or land of the Welsh. The flag was registered with the support of a number of regional bodies, including: Bridekirk Parish Council, Cockermouth and District Civic Trust, Cumberland Agricultural Society, Cumberland Football Association, Cumberland Geological Society, Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian Society, Cumbria County History Trust, Federation of Cumbrian Amenity Societies, Holme Low Parish Council, Lakeland Dialect Society, Muncaster Parish Council, Penrith Civic Society, Workington and District Civic Trust and the Workington Twinning Association. It will fly from sites including Cockermouth Castle and Cumbria Military Museum.