Flag of County Durham facts for kids
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| Proportion | 3:5 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 2013 |
| Designed by | Katie, Holly and James Moffat |
The Flag of County Durham is the official flag for the historic area of County Durham in England. It was officially recognized by the Flag Institute in 2013. This happened after a fun online competition to choose the best design for the county's flag.
The Old Flag Design
For a long time, people in County Durham used a different flag. This flag belonged to the Durham County Council. It was based on the old symbols of the Bishops of Durham.
The original design had a gold cross on a blue background. It also featured four silver lions. In 1961, the council added five black diamond shapes, called lozenges. These represented the important coal mining history of the county.
Later, in 1972, some county borders changed. The council's flag was updated. One of the black diamond shapes was replaced with a White Rose of York. This change showed that a part of North Riding of Yorkshire had joined County Durham.
Creating a New Flag
In July 2013, a competition began to design a brand new flag for County Durham. This idea came from Andy Strangeway, who had helped create flags for other areas. At that time, County Durham was the only traditional county in the North of England without its own flag. Other counties like Cumberland and Westmorland had already adopted their flags.
The competition had six final designs. The winning flag was created by twins Katie and Holly Moffatt and their dad, James Moffatt. They were from Chilton, County Durham.
Their winning design features the Cross of St Cuthbert. This cross is a famous symbol from the area. The flag uses the county's traditional colours: blue and gold. The colours are "counterchanged," which means they swap places on different parts of the cross.
- Learn more about the flag at the Flag Institute
Images for kids
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The unfurling of the county flag at Durham Cathedral in November 2013. James Moffat, the designer of the flag, is seen on the right holding the flag
