 | |
| Proportion | 3:5 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 11 September 2014 |
| Design | Gold cross fimbriated in black on a maroon background with a rose in the centre |
| Designed by | Brady Ells and Ian Chadwick |
TheNorthamptonshire flag is used to represent thehistoric county ofNorthamptonshire, England. It was registered by theFlag Institute on 11 September 2014, the design being a gold cross fimbriated in black on a maroon background with a rose in the centre.
The flag is a gold cross,fimbriated in black on a maroon field, with a maroon rose in the centre.
The colours on the flag are:[1]
| Scheme | Black | Maroon | Gold | Maroon | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pantone (paper) | Black | 201 C | 123 C | 222 C | 354 C |
| HEX | #000000 | #9d2235 | #ffc72c | #6c1d45 | #00b140 |
| CMYK | 0, 0, 0, 100 | 0, 78, 66, 38 | 0, 22, 83, 0 | 0, 73, 36, 58 | 100, 0, 64, 31 |
| RGB | 0, 0, 0 | 158, 35, 54 | 255, 199, 43 | 107, 29, 69 | 0, 177, 64 |
The red rose is a common symbol of Northamptonshire, with the county's nickname being "The Red Rose of the Shires". It was apparently first used to represent Northamptonshire in 1665 by the magistrates in theCourt of quarter sessions,[2] chosen asElizabeth Woodville, wife ofEdward IV, was born inGrafton Regis. It was used for centuries as a symbol of Northamptonshire by locally based organisations, including the local council, who used it prior to and following their official awarding of arms in 1939.
The flag was designed by Brady Ells and Ian Chadwick and consists of a gold cross fimbriated in black on a maroon field and a rose in the centre.[1] It was the winning design of a shortlist of four put forward for a public vote.[3] The cross represents the county's location as a crossroads in England, the colours were inspired by the county'scricket team and county town'sfootball team, and the black border represents the county's leather industry.[4][5] A rose was selected for the centre as it has long been a symbol for the county. The rose design was created based on research into roses used in the past to represent the county, and a final design included elements of these historic depictions.[1][5] The shortlist of designs was:
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The rose was deliberately designed to be unique to Northamptonshire, as theflag of Hampshire features a similarTudor rose. Emma Rayif altered the design so as to adopt the maroon colour used by the local cricket club and thecinquefoil shape from the council emblem. It also points upwards, to representNorthamptonshire and contrast it with the down-pointing rose of the Hampshire flag. The winning design was unveiled at a ceremony inCounty Hall on September 11th 2014 and was registered by theFlag Institute. The ceremony was attended by local dignitaries like the Lord Lieutenant, David Laing.
The flag was unveiled at a special ceremony at the Northamptonshire County Hall byNorthamptonshire County Council.[6] It was raised above the building on 25 October 2014 to coincide with the newly created County Day, held onSt Crispin's Day.[5]
