The flag of Somerset is the flag of the English county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. A campaign had been running between 2006 and 2009 in support of a flag and subsequently the

Association of British Counties The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a non-party-political society formed in 1989 by television personality Russell Grant to promote the historic counties of the United Kingdom. It argues that the historic counties are an important part ...

had taken up the campaign.Association of British Counties – County Flag proposals
/ref> The

Lord Lieutenant of Somerset This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Somerset. Since 1714, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Somerset. Lord Lieutenants of Somerset * John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1555 * Wil ...

, Elizabeth, Lady Gass, had shown her support as had David Heath MP and the local TV, radio and newspapers. The flag was adopted following a competition in July 2013. This symbol was mentioned in the book "

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection ...

" by T.H. White, and is said to have been worn by

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

during the first joust of Lancelot and Arthur.

History

Late in 2005 enquiries were made as to the potential usage of Somerset County Council's logo as a flag of the county either in its current form or in a modified form without the mace (the symbol of the Council's authority). The response was that the people of Somerset could fly the Council's flag to show their support for both their council and county. This reaffirmed the position that the logo is the property of Somerset County Council and not the county at large. Strong support for a flag subsequently came from David Heath, Lady Gass, as well as coverage from the

Western Daily Press The ''Western Daily Press'' is a regional newspaper covering parts of South West England, mainly Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as the metropolitan areas of Bath and North East Somerset and the Bristol area. It is published Mond ...

, Somerset County Gazette, and

BBC Somerset BBC Radio Somerset is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Somerset. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, AM broadcasting, AM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in ...

in addition to

Orchard FM Heart Somerset (formerly Somerset's Orchard FM) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Somerset, England. Originally owned by (and officially remains licensed to) Orchard Media Ltd, the company was purchased by GWR Group in 1999, and s ...

and

Ivel FM Greatest Hits Radio Somerset (Yeovil) is a local radio station serving Yeovil, South Somerset and West Dorset in England. The station, formerly known as The Breeze (Yeovil and South Somerset), was folded into Greatest Hits Radio South West, as ...

. In 2006, resident Ed Woods set up a website proposing a flag for the county. This version entailed a red wyvern on a yellow background with no mace. However, as of December 2009, the website ceased and the campaign was taken over by the Association of British Counties as part of a wider effort to recognise more county flags. Early in 2013, the Somerset County Gazette reported that local law firm Pardoes had begun flying the county flag from their premises in Taunton. This prompted a response from long time Somerset campaigner Adam Thomas. In his letter, he pointed out the Somerset did not have a county flag, and that the one being flown was in fact the flag of Somerset County Council. As a direct result of this in May 2013, the Somerset County Gazette together with Pardoes, announced a county-wide competition for residents to design a new flag for Somerset, which was subsequently won by the design submitted by Ed Woods.

Somerset County Council Armorial Banner

Somerset County Council was awarded its coat of arms by the

College of Heralds 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 ...

in 1911. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

or heraldic description of Somerset County Council's coat of arms is "Or, a Dragon Rampant Gules holding in the claws a Mace erect Azure", meaning a red upright dragon on a gold background holding an upright blue mace. It has superficial similarities to the gold

wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary winged dragon that has two legs. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, Un ...

on a red background traditionally associated with

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

(of which Somerset was part). With local government reorganisations, Somerset County Council no longer controls the whole of Somerset. This means that the coat of arms not only do not represent the whole county, but are not for public use. The logo that is based on the coat of arms is available for sale, but technically as it bears the mace it still represents the County Council. A commercial version of this armorial banner still currently exists, on a white background with 'Somerset' stenciled on the top of the flag.

References

External links

* Flag Institute – Somersetbr>Somerset
at Flags of the World {{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Somerset

Somerset