Last modified: 2020-08-15 by rob raeside
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Under the Local Government Act 1888, Berkshire County was dissolved and
became Berkshire County Council and Reading Municipal Borough became Reading
County Borough Council. Reading County Borough Council ceased to exist in 1974,
but Berkshire County Council extent its existence until 01 April 1998.
Valentin Poposki, 25
July 2020
A new county flag will soon appear on the UK Flag registry, the county flag
of Berkshire, as seen below and attached. Full details regarding this design are
available at
https://britishcountyflags.wordpress.com/2017/03/05/berkshire-flag/. The flag
is described on the
British Flag Registry.
Jason Saber, 24 May 2017
Flag Type: County Flag
Flag Date: C14th
Flag Designer: Traditional
Adoption Route: Traditional
UK Design Code:
UNKG7456
Aspect Ratio: 3:5
Pantone® Colours: Yellow 109, Green 356, Orange
167, Mid Brown 168, Light Brown 7574, Dark Red 484
Source:
https://www.flaginstitute.org
Valentin Poposki, 27 June 2020
image located by Colin Dobson, 7 October 2010
See also the Department for Communities and Local Government stream on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/communitiesuk/5007949726/in/set-72157624821543799/
where they have a set of county flags. Berkshire is full of unitary authorities
these days, so I'd be interested if anyone knows the genesis of that one, as
there is no authority as such to promote a flag.
Colin Dobson, 7 October 2010
image located by Jason Saber, 8 April 2009
A web page at
http://www.berkshirehistory.com/odds/arms.html displays the county arms and
comments on a flag proposal.
Valentin Poposki, 26 December 2006
From the website:
Berkshire has never had a flag, although the county council occasionally used a stylised monochrome version of the two lions under a crown. Organisations in the county, on the other hand, have always used the white hart beneath its oak, as supposedly used at Agincourt, and this may be seen in logos and flags of various designs and colours, such as those of:David Nash Ford, 29 March 2007Having been approached by a number of organisations concerning this matter, RBH offers the design [on the website] which may be freely used by interested parties. The overall design is loosely based on the Welsh National flag and the Buckinghamshire arms, which both have animals before two coloured bands (although Buckinghamshire's are vertical). The colours of blue and white are taken from the old county arms, but are also used by Reading Football Club and may be seen as representing the River Thames. The circular form of the golden deer and oak is similar to that used by both the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes. The colour of gold on blue (and white) is again mirrored from the old arms and may be seen to represent Royalty as well as the Autumn colours of the oak illuminated by a lightning strike.
- The Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Football Association
- The Berkshire Cricket Board
- The Berkshire Federation of Women's Institutes
- The Berkshire Lawn Tennis Association
- The Reading Rugby Football Club
- The Royal Berkshire Regiment
- The Royal County of Berkshire Bowling Association
The designer of the flag on the web page mentioned above appears to have
taken the device from the helmet plate of the Royal Berkshire Regiment as seen
here:
http://www.arbeia.demon.co.uk/srs/collect/badges/hpcs/hpcs.htm and put it on
a blue and white background. This explains the circular shape of the emblem.
Laurence Jones, 30 December 2006
A web site now exists to promote this flag:
http://www.berkshire-flag.org.uk/comment.htm
Jason Saber, 8 April
2009
image located by Ian MacDonald, 14 July 2010
Source:
http://englishcountyflags.com
This flag is being marketed for Berkshire. The commercially available flag shows
the two lions along with the crown atop them.
Ian MacDonald, 14 July
2010
images located by Valentin Poposki, 25 July 2020
Berkshire County Council gained the status of Royal County in 1957, and the
crest was used on its first flag, which probably was created in 1961, or some
year later. In 1947 the County Council was awarded with the coat of arms, and in
1961, got the supporters.
Official blazon
Arms: Azure two Lions passant
guardant in pale Or a Bordure embattled Ermine.
Crest: On a Wreath of the
Colours upon a Mount Vert a Stag at gaze Or in front of an Oak Tree fructed
proper.
Supporters: On the dexter side a Lion Gules gorged with an ancient
Crown Or and charged on the shoulder with a Tudor Rose proper and on the
sinister side a Horse Argent gorged with a like Crown pendent therefrom a Bezant
charged with a Pile Sable.
Dates: The arms were officially granted
on July 18, 1947, with the supporters being added on April 7, 1961.
images located by Valentin Poposki, 25 July 2020
The
old arms showed the same shield and crest, except that in the new arms the crest
rises from a mural crown, and in the old arms from a wreath. The lion supporter
now wears the crown around its neck, in the old arms the lion was crowned. The
main difference was the horse supporter. The old arms showed a white horse,
referring to the Vale of the White Horse. Instead of a star the horse was
wearing a yellow circle, charged with a black pile (pyramid pointed downwards),
referring to the Harwell Atomic Energy Station.
In 1974 the County
Council was awarded with the new Coat of arms (in fact just slight
modifications), and the flag was changed into the two lions flag,
a banner of arms.
Official blazon
Arms:
Azure two Lions passant guardant in pale each crowned with an ancient Crown Or
within a Bordure embattled Ermine.
Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours upon a
Mount Vert within a Mural Crown Ermine a Stag at gaze Or in front of a hollow
Oak Tree leaved and fructed proper.
Supporters: On the dexter side a Lion
Gules gorged with an ancient Crown Or charged on the shoulder with a Tudor Rose
proper and on the sinister side a Horse Sable gorged with a like crown pendant therefrom a Mullet of six points Gold.
Date: The arms were
officially granted on 1974.
The two lions are the lions of England and
symbolise the fact that Berkshire is a Royal County. The embattled border is
intended to represent the castles in Berkshire, among these is the famous
Windsor Castle.
The lion supporter is also a royal symbol. The lion is
wearing a collar with the rose of Tudor, a symbol for the founding of Eton
College by King Henry VI.
The black horse represents the county's
considerable connections with horse racing. The old local breed of horses was,
according to historical sources, black. The horse wears a collar with a
six-pointed star, referring to the six boroughs and districts in the county. The
star also refers to Sir William Herschel, the famous astronomer (see Slough).
The crest symbolises the stags and forests of Windsor Forest, and has been the
badge of the County since the 14th century.
Coat of arms and blazons from Heraldry of the World
Valentin Poposki, 25 July 2020
Here is the list of all entities on the territory of the former Berkshire
County in the period 1889-1974:
former Berkshire County
1. Berkshire County Council [1889-1998] (Royal County status since 1957)
2. Reading County Borough Council [1889-1974] * [arms granted 1953]
Districts:
1. Abingdon Rural District Council [1894-1974] * [arms granted 1962]
2. Bradfield Rural District Council [1894-1974]
3. Cookham Rural District Council [1894-1974]
4. Easthampstead Rural District Council [1894-1974]
5. Hungerford Rural District Council [1894-1974]
6. Newbury Rural District Council [1894-1974] * [arms granted 1962]
7. Wallingford Rural District Council [1894-1974]
8. Wantage Rural District Council [1894-1974]
9. Windsor Rural District Council [1894-1974]
10. Wokingham Rural District Council [1894-1974]
11. Faringdon Rural District Council [1894-1974]
12. Wantage Urban District Council [1894-1974]
13. Abingdon Municipal Borough Council [1836-1974]
14. Maidenhead Municipal Borough Council [1836-1974]
15. New Windsor Municipal Borough Council [1836-1974]
16. Newbury Municipal Borough Council [1836-1974]
17. Reading Municipal Borough Council [1836-1889]
18. Wallingford Municipal Borough Council [1836-1974] * [arms granted 1962]
19. Wokingham Municipal Borough Council [1885-1974]
Coat of arms and blazons from Heraldry of the World
Valentin Poposki, 25 July 2020