Flags and symbols of Yorkshire have been used to identify

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and its related councils through

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

s and

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

s (including

coats 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 i ...

). This article also includes flags and symbols used by the present and former local authorities covering Yorkshire.

Yorkshire

The Ridings – three traditional geographic and culturally historic areas of Yorkshire

Councils

Administrative county councils prior to 1974

The administrative county councils prior to 1974 covered the traditional geographic historical Ridings of Yorkshire, subject to minor boundary changes of administrative areas in the 1960s along the River Tees area. In each case the councils were granted by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

issued by the officers at 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 Sover ...

. The councils of the administrative counties were abolished in 1974 and the coats of arms became obsolete.

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan county councils 1974–1986 / 1974–1996

Following the reorganisation of the administrative county council areas by the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, the established three county councils were replaced on 1 April 1974 by four new county council areas: the metropolitan counties of South Yorkshire (centred on Barnsley), and West Yorkshire (centred on Wakefield), and the

non-metropolitan counties A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoff ...

of North Yorkshire (centred on Northallerton) together with the non-Yorkshire named Humberside (centred on

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

). All four of the new 1974 county councils received grants of complete "achievements" of arms consisting of a shield, crest and

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the c ...

. On 1 April 1986 the two metropolitan county councils in Yorkshire were abolished under the Local Government Act 1985. Administratively, the new county areas legally remained in existence and were from that date administered by the former lower tier metropolitan district councils (City of Wakefield, City of Leeds, City of Bradford, Calderdale (Halifax), Kirkless (Huddersfield), for West Yorkshire, and Barnsley, City of Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster, for South Yorkshire). On 1 April 1996 the non-metropolitan county of Humberside was also abolished, being replaced north of the River Humber by new administrative unitary councils, The

East Riding of Yorkshire Council East Riding of Yorkshire Council is the local authority of the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government serv ...

(which despite the name did not share the traditional geographic historic area of the former East Riding County Council) centred at

Yorkshire

The Ridings – three traditional geographic and culturally historic areas of Yorkshire

Councils

Administrative county councils prior to 1974

Metropolitan and non-metropolitan county councils 1974–1986 / 1974–1996

Non-metropolitan district council (unitary authority) from 1996

British Army

See also

References