The Westmorland flag is the flag of the historic county of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. It was registered with the

Flag Institute The Flag Institute is a UK membership organisation headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, England, concerned with researching and promoting the use and design of flags. It documents flags in the UK and internationally, maintains a UK Flag Regi ...

as the flag of the county in 2011. __TOC__

Design

The design was developed in consultation with the

and has been designed in accordance with the precepts of good flag design. The design is based on the shield from the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the former

Westmorland County Council Westmorland County Council was the county council of Westmorland in north west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 1974. The county council was initially based at the Town Hall in Kendal and then, from 19 ...

. This coat of arms was granted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in 1926 and used by the council until its abolition in 1974. Historically Westmorland comprised two baronies: *The

Barony of Kendal The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English historic county of Westmorland. It is one of two ancient baronies that make up the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland (also known as North Westmorland, or the Barony of Apple ...

which covers the southwestern part of the county, including the towns of Kendal and

Kirkby Lonsdale Kirkby Lonsdale () is a town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically in Westmorland, it lies south-east of Kendal on the A65. The parish recorded a population of 1,771 in the 2001 ...

. *The

Barony of Westmorland The Barony of Westmorland (medieval Westmarieland or Westmaringaland) also known as North Westmorland, the Barony of Appleby, Appleshire or the Bottom of Westmorland, was one of two baronies making up the English historical county of Westmorlan ...

which covers the northern part of the county, including

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby was the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. I ...

, the county town. The two red bars on the flag are from the arms of the de Lancaster family, Barons of Kendal. These also featured prominently in the arms of the former

South Westmorland Rural District South Westmorland was a rural district in Westmorland, England from 1894 to 1974. It saw various boundary changes during its existence, particularly in 1935, when it absorbed Kirkby Lonsdale urban district, whilst parts merged with Ambleside ...

Council. The stylised apple tree is from the thirteenth-century seal of the Borough of Appleby. Hence, the flag represents the two parts of the county. It is a recognised symbol of Westmorland, being used in the logos of local organisations such as the

Westmorland County Football Association The Westmorland County Football Association is the governing body of football in the county of Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a ...

Reaction

The MP for

Westmorland and Lonsdale Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

Tim Farron Timothy James Farron (born 27 May 1970) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2017. He has also served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005, before which he worked in ...

said: :"I’d like to congratulate the Westmorland Association for successfully registering the flag. :I hope that it will be enthusiastically adopted by all of us who are lucky enough to live and work in this amazing area. I look forward to seeing it flying high when I am travelling around the South Lakes" The flag was flown outside the offices of the Department for Communities and Local Government in London as part of Westmorland Day celebrations.

References

External links

* Flag Institute – Westmorlandbr>The Westmorland Association – The Westmorland flag
{{Subnational flags of the United Kingdom Westmorland