St Petroc's Cross

Flag of Devon is the flag of the English county of Devon. It is dedicated to Saint Petroc, a local saint with numerous dedications throughout the West Country and particularly in Devon. It is notable for its creation through two web-based polls.^[1] Image File history File links Flag_of_Devon. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Devon. ... It has been suggested that the section intro from the article Civil flag be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Part of the seafront of Torquay, south Devon, at high tide Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, and Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... Saint Petroc (sometimes spelt Petrock, also Pedrog in Welsh and Perreux in French) (c. ... The West Country is an informal term for the area of south-western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. ... Look up poll in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

History

The flag was created in 2003 after two polls run by the BBC Devon website, the winning design taking 49% of the votes cast. ^[2] The design was created by student Ryan Sealey.

Since its launch in 2003, the Devon Flag has gained popularity, and in October 2006 it gained "official" recognition when Devon County Council raised the flag outside County Hall. ^[3]

Although the Devon Flag is a new invention, the colours of the flag are those popularly identified with Devon (e.g. the colours of its Rugby Union team and Plymouth Argyle F.C.). Lord Exmouth flew a Green and White Flag at the Bombardment of Algiers (now on view at the Teign Valley Museum). For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... Plymouth Argyle Football Club (commonly known as the Pilgrims, the Greens, Langers Army, the Green Army or simply Argyle) are an English football team, playing in the Championship league. ... Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth (April 9, 1757 – January 23, 1833) was a British naval officer. ... The Bombardment of Algiers took place on August 27, 1816. ...

The Devon Flag is made of three colours — green (Pantone 348), black and white. The green represents the colour of the rolling and lush Devon hills, the black represents the high and windswept moors (Dartmoor and Exmoor) and the white represents both the salt spray of Devon's two coastlines and the China Clay industry (and mining in general). The placement of the colours (specifically placing sable on vert) violates the heraldic rule of tincture. High Willhays, the highest point on Dartmoor and southern England at 621 m (2037 ft) above sea level, with Yes Tor beyond. ... Dunkery Beacon, with heather in bloom Exmoor National Park is a national park situated on the Bristol Channel coast of Devon and Somerset in South West England. ... Kaolin redirects here. ... The first rule of heraldry is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour (Humphrey Llwyd, 1568). ...

In April 2004 Rodney Lock of Ottery St Mary in East Devon was threatened with legal action for flying a Devon flag in his back garden, as he required planning permission to fly non-national flags. Since then the Minister for Housing, Keith Hill, has said local authorities can officially "turn a blind eye" to the practice of flying the county flag from poles. ^[4]

Criticism

The creation of the flag has drawn particular criticism from Cornish nationalists, who accuse it of being an attempt to 'hijack' their culture. ^[5] It is also claimed the flag is too similar to Cornish flag, however the flag also bears resemblance to other flags of the United Kingdom. Another issue is its identification with St Petroc, who is also associated with Cornwall (though not with the Cornish Flag). For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... Saint Pirans Flag Saint Pirans Flag is the flag of Cornwall. ... Saint Petroc (sometimes spelt Petrock, also Pedrog in Welsh and Perreux in French) (c. ...

Indeed Bob Burns who started the original debate cited the visibility of the Cornish Flag as one of his reasons, "Devonians are only too aware of the ubiquitous Cornish Flag, which can often be seen in the form of car bumper stickers, on vehicles entering Devon from Cornwall." ^[6]

Dr Mark Stoyle, a Devon historian noted that "People are quite aware in Devon that the Cornish make political capital by claiming to be different." He also claiming the new-found Devonian identity was a backlash against city-dwellers. ^[7]

When to fly the Devon Flag

The Devon flag group have suggested the following dates as days when it is appropriate for the Devon flag to be flown. Most of them are either the days of local events or the feast days of Devons Saints.

• 4 January - St Rumon of Tavistock and Romansleigh
• 7 January - St Brannock of Braunton
• 5 March - St Piran, patron saint of tin miners
• 7 April - St Brannock, as celebrated in Exeter
• May Bank Holiday, Anniversary of first time Devon Flag Flown at World Gig Championship 2003, Isles of Scilly
• May/June - Devon County Show
• 3 June - St Kevin
• 4 June - St Petroc, for whom the flag is dedicated
• 5 June - St Boniface of Crediton
• 6 June - St Gudwal, hermit of Devon
• 17 June - St Nectan
• 21/22 June - Midsummers day
• 8 July - St Urith
• 13 July - St Juthware
• 30 July - Anniversary of battle against Spanish Armada
• 1 August - St Sidwell, virgin of Exeter
• 10 August - St Geraint of Dumnonia
• 30 August - St Rumon
• 26 September - Anniversary of Sir Francis Drake's Circumnavigation of the World
• 2 November - St Cumgar
• 5 November - St Kea
• 7 November - St Congar
• 8 December - St Budoc (St Budeaux) of Plymouth
• 12 December - St Corentin
• 21/22 December - Midwinter
• 31 Dec to 6 Jan - New Years Eve to Twelfth Night

There are at least twelve saints called Saint Ronan. ... Tavistock is a town in Devon, England, lying on the River Tavy on the edge of Dartmoor. ... Saint Brynach was a 6th century Welsh saint. ... Braunton is situated 4 miles west of Barnstaple in north Devon, and is claimed to be the largest village in England (although Kidlington is several times bigger). ... Saint Piran is the patron saint of tin-miners. ... Saint Brynach was a 6th century Welsh saint. ... The city of Exeter is the county town of Devon, in the southwest of England, also known as the West Country. ... The colourful lignup of gigs on St. ... St Martins taken from the helicopter to Penzance View from Tresco, the second largest member of the Isles of Scilly For the area of Surrey, see Scilly Isles, Surrey. ... Saint Kevin of Glendalough (c. ... Saint Petroc (sometimes spelt Petrock, also Pedrog in Welsh and Perreux in French) (c. ... For the Roman general of this name, see Bonifacius. ... Crediton (Credington, Cryditon, Kirton) is a town in Devon, England about 12 km north west of Exeter, with a population of about 6,500. ... Church of St Nectan at Stoke by Hartland Saint Nectan, sometimes styled Saint Nectan of Hartland was a 5th century Celtic holyman who lived in Stoke-by-Hartland, in the English county of Devon, where the prominent parish church is dedicated to him. ... Midsummer may refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice and the diverse celebrations of it around the world, but more often refers to European celebrations that accompany the summer solstice, or to Western festivals that take place in June and are usually related to Saint John... Urith (more properly in Welsh Iwerydd, but also known in Latin as Hieritha and occasionally currupted to Erth), was a south-western Brythonic maiden, slain, possibly in the early 8th century and subsequently revered as a saint. ... Saint Juthwara was a Brythonic virgin and martyr from Dorset, who probably lived in the 6th century. ... For the modern navy of Spain, see Armada Española. ... Sidwell (called in Latin Sativola) was a virgin saint from the English county of Devon, possibly of Brythonic or Anglo-Saxon origin. ... The city of Exeter is the county town of Devon, in the southwest of England, also known as the West Country. ... Geraint, with his wife Enid, from The Idylls of the King Geraint is a character from Welsh folklore and Arthurian legend, a king of Dumnonia and a valiant warrior. ... Dumnonia was a Brythonic kingdom of sub-Roman Britain, located in the south-west peninsula of modern England and covering Cornwall, Devon, most of Somerset and possibly part of Dorset. ... There are at least twelve saints called Saint Ronan. ... This article is about the Elizabethan naval commander. ... Saint Kea (Cornish: Ke; French: Ké) was a late 5th century Cumbric saint who lived mostly in Southwest Britain and Brittany. ... Saint Budoc of Dol (also St Budeaux) is a saint from Brittany, France. ... , Plymouth (Cornish: ) is a city of 243,795 inhabitants (2001 census) in the south-west of England, or alternatively the West Country, and is situated within the traditional and ceremonial county of Devon at the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar and at the head of one of the... Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the northern hemisphere winter solstice Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of the southern hemisphere winter solstice In astronomy, the winter solstice is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is... New Years Eve is a celebration held the day before New Years Day, on December 31, the final day of the year. ... Twelfth Night is a holiday in some branches of Christianity marking the coming of the Epiphany, concluding the Twelve Days of Christmas, and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day...

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ BBC - Devon Community Life - Devon gets its own flag
3. ^ This is Devon: Nest Flies The Flag For Devon With Her Poem
4. ^ [2]
5. ^ BBC - Devon - In a Flap Over Our New Flag
6. ^ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/community_life/features/devon_flag.shtml}
7. ^ BBC - Devon - In a Flap Over Our New Flag

External links

• BBC article on flag
• www.DevonFlag.co.uk - Devon based e-tailer
• Flags of the World - The origins of the flag
• Devon Flag Group
• Flagman - Article on the Devon flag