The Hampshire county flag was conceived in 2008 by Jason Saber who substituted the highly restricted royal crown used by the county council with a Saxon style crown to recall Hampshire’s history as the home of Alfred the Great’s capital, Winchester. The form of rose was revised by Brady Ells in 2017. The design flag retains the rose and crown pattern used in the county for several centuries in various guises.
In the Great Hall in Winchester a round mediaeval table is positioned on a wall
bearing a Tudor rose and in 1895 Hampshire County Council (HCC) adopted the recognised county badge of combined rose and crown symbol as a heraldic badge (similar to a company logo)
although without legal sanction, before it received a formal grant of arms in 1992
The rose used by the council has sepal pointing straight down, an orientation retained in the county flag which also indicates the county of SOUTH-hampton.
One theory regarding the combination of rose and crown suggests that it came about because of Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, brother of King Edward. He brought Somborne Hundred in the county, into the Earldom of Lancaster, establishing a connection between Lancashire and Hampshire. He is believed to have changed his father, Henry III’s original golden rose to a red one. This symbol subsequently passed down through descent and marriage, to Henry of Bolingbroke who took the crown as Henry IV and converted the Duchy of Lancaster into an appendage of the Crown, as the personal fief of the reigning monarch in 1399, this being symbolised by the adding of the crown to the rose emblem.
3 thoughts on “Hampshire”
We like the red and white tudor rose by Micheal Jacob are the avaliable to buy
Hi Tracey, I ordered mine from Mr. Flag. If you contact them, I’m sure that they will be able to help you.
Hi Tracey,
I’m glad you like the flag! I had mine made for me by Mr. Flag. He did a great job for a very reasonable price.