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Ancaster, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)

image by Peter Orenski, 14 November 2012
based on research and information provided by James Croft and Kevin Harrington

Description of the flag

See also:

Description of the flag

The flag consists of the town crest with a mill and three gold crowns on a Canadian pale.

The flag of Ancaster Ontario is historical as Ancaster is now a part of the city of Hamilton.
Randy Elzinga, 1 August 2003

I don't know the exact source of the three crowns on the Ancaster flag, but they derive from the coat of arms, where crowns also adorning the lion supporters. See http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Ancaster. Quite commonly in southern Ontario a crown (or crowns) is (are) used to represent loyalists who settled in the area in the 18th century. Three crowns are also seen on the flags of Kingston, Guelph and Wellington village.
Rob Raeside, 5 August 2016

The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada treats Ancaster here:
http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1632&ShowAll=1 and
http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1632&ProjectElementID=5467.

The crowns are indeed blazoned as "three Loyalist Civil Coronets Or". The symbolism doesn't seem to be online.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 8 August 2016

The Register seems to have the Letter Patents given that an image of said patent is at the webpage, however it is seemly unreadable. I did a search and came upon a Canadian Heraldic Authority Gazette article about the two United Empire Loyalist Coronets. A county or local government could be granted the coronets on their arms or flags if it was connected to one or more Loyalist.
http://www.uelac.org/UELAC-history/Cdn-Heraldic-Authority-Gazette-1990.pdf
Steve Shumaker, 8 August 2016

The flag and arms of Ancaster were inscribed on 30 December 1992 on the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges, Vol. II, p. 218. The announcement of the Letters Patent was made on November 6, 1993, in Vol. 127, p. 3,406 of the Canada Gazette.

Blazon
Arms
Vert a representation of a Georgian water powered grist mill between three Loyalist civil coronets or.
Crest
Out of a mural coronet or masoned vert bearing a frieze of Wild Blue Iris flowers (Iris versicolor) Proper a demi lion purpure semé of Loyalist civil coronets or holding in its forepaws a staff or flying therefrom a banner of the arms with a bordure compony or and vert on the outer three edges.
Supporters
On a grassy mound rising above barry wavy argent and azure two lions or semé of Loyalist civil coronets vert that on the dexter with the dexter foreleg resting on a garb or that on the sinister with the sinister foreleg resting on an oak sapling or.
Motto
AB INITIO AD FUTURUM. This Latin phrase means "From the beginning unto the world to come" (Sir 24:14)
Flag
Vert a Canadian pale or charged with an escutcheon of the arms

Artist Information
Creator(s): Original concept of Robert D. Watt, Chief Herald of Canada, assisted by the heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority
Painter: Linda Nicholson
Calligrapher: Judith Bainbridge

http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1632 - Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

Ivan Sache, 15 April 2017