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Herefordshire (England)

Commercial flag
Flag competition

Commercial flag

image located by Ian MacDonald, 14 July 2010
Source: http://englishcountyflags.com

This flag is being marketed for Herefordshire.

Herefordshire like many counties does not actually have a flag as such, but it does have a coat of arms. The coat of arms was granted in 1946 and is therefore pretty recent. There is a flag which is available for purchase which features the shield on the arms stretched into a banner. It is a particularly attractive flag for the people of Herefordshire.
Source: http://englishcountyflags.com
Ian MacDonald, 14 July 2010

Flag competition

DESIGN A FLAG FOR HEREFORDSHIRE
Over the past few years dozens of Britain's communities have acquired their own flags. And the list includes all but three of England's 39 historic counties.

Despite its long, proud tradition, Herefordshire is one of the exceptions. Hence the Herefordshire-sized gap on the flag-map of England. We want to close that gap in 2019 and we are holding a competition to design a flag for the county.

A Herefordshire flag will

raise recognition and awareness of the area
express pride in our local community and
celebrate our county's heritage and culture.

And the winning designer will have something to be proud of forever. Anyone can enter the competition: young or old, Herefordian or outsider. You don't need to be a skilled artist.

The winning entry will be chosen by the people of Herefordshire. It will then be officially registered, flown from public buildings and by anyone else who wants to express their love of this beautiful county. There are already some existing "Herefordshire flags" and a coat of arms. But this can only be flown with permission. And the flags you might have seen were chosen only by their designers. Anyone will be able to fly this one. And it will belong to us all.
The Herefordshire Flag Committee

The competition will be open for submissions from 1st March 2019.
Closing date: The competition will close on 15th April 2019.
Individuals, schools and groups may submit entries in line with the rules and guidance set out below. Everyone is eligible, whether they live in Hereford or Hong Kong, Leominster or Lithuania. Entrants can be professional artists or novices who have hardly held a crayon. There is no upper or lower age limit. Entrants may submit as many designs as they wish.

A panel appointed by the Herefordshire Flag Committee will assess the entries, taking into account the following factors:

Does the flag truly represent Herefordshire?
Is the design both simple and attractive?
Is the idea fresh and original?
Will it be instantly recognisable to a small child from ground level in all weathers?

The panel will comprise Herefordshire people of varying backgrounds and skills plus a representative of the Flag Institute who will advise on the designs' technical suitability as flags. The purpose of the assessment is to give the people of Herefordshire a manageable short list of choices. The panel reserves the right to make small changes to potential short-listed entries to ensure that a great idea does not fail on a triviality.

Full details at https://www.the-shire.co.uk/herefordshireflag
Matthew Engel, 15 January 2019

The competition to find an official flag for Herefordshire has produced a bumper entry with 675 designs being submitted before the closing date. Entries came from schools and colleges across the county and from individuals from Checkley to Chile.
The designs are now being anonymised and sifted to go before a panel of local judges who will meet next month with Philip Tibbetts acting as their technical adviser. They will prepare a short list of possibles. Herefordshire people will then make the final decision. The ballot will be restricted to those living within the county but everyone aged five and up will be allowed a say. The plan is for the winning flag to be revealed at a ceremony in Hereford in the autumn.
John Moody, 22 June 2019