The Bedfordshire flag is the flag of the English county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

. It is based on the banner of the arms of the former

Bedfordshire County Council Bedfordshire County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Bedfordshire in England. It was established on 24 January 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. The county council was based in Bedford. In 1997 Luton Borough ...

, which was granted the arms in 1951 by the

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

. This design was adopted as the flag of the historic county in September 2014, with the support of the High Sheriff of the county. When flying, the top corner, nearest the flagpole, should be gold. __TOC__

History

had its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

created in 1951 as part of the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

celebrations. The coat of arms became the symbol of the county, being placed on many public buildings and signs. The council used the

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag which has the same image as a coat of arms, ''i.e.'' the shield of a full heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag. The term is derived from the terminology of hera ...

as a flag until it was abolished in 2009. In 2014, the Friends of Bedfordshire Society began a successful campaign to have a slightly modified version of the former council's banner of arms 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. The minor modification was to transpose the blue and white wavy lines on the left side of the banner, preventing blue from touching red and white from touching yellow on the adopted flag, in line with the heraldic rule of tincture. The adopted design also has a lighter shade of blue than the banner of arms, to better contrast the parts of the design. The campaign to see the flag registered was supported by the High Sheriff of the county.

Design

The design of the flag is a composite of several symbols significant to the county. In

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

terms the design is ''Quarterly Or and Gules a Fess wavy barry way of four Argent and Azure surmounted by a Pale Sable charged with three Escallops of the third.'' The yellow and red quadrants (''Quarterly Or and Gules'') are taken from the arms of the

Beauchamp family Beauchamp may refer to: People Surname * Alphonse de Beauchamp, French historian * Anne Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick (d. 1449) * Antony Beauchamp (1918–1957), British photographer * Beauchamp, stage name sometimes used by French ...

, powerful in the county after the Norman conquest of England and constructors of Bedford Castle. The blue and white wavy lines (''a Fess wavy barry way of four Argent and Azure'') are symbolic of the Great Ouse, which flows through the county, including the county town of Bedford. The three vertically-arranged shells (or scallops) on a black panel (''a Pale Sable charged with three Escallops'') are taken from the coat of arms of the Dukes of Bedford.

Colours

The Pantone colours for the flag are: *Yellow 109 *Red 485 *Blue 300 *White *Black

Usage

The flag is flown by town and parish councils across Bedfordshire annually on Bedfordshire Day, 28 November.

References

External links

*[ Flag Institute's entry for the flag]
The Friends of Bedfordshire Society

Background on the design and history of the flag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Bedfordshire Flags introduced in 2014, Bedfordshire Bedfordshire Flags of places in England, Bedfordshire