Banffshire

The Banffshire flag was created by Ellie Stewart, a pupil from Portessie Primary School, seen below with the county’s Lord Lieutenant, Andrew Simpson

and unfurled in a ceremony held at 11 AM on October 28th, 2023,

at Castle Hill, Cullen.

Andrew Simpson’s message

“I am delighted to congratulate all the finalists. Their designs captured many qualities of the historic county of Banffshire. However, the winner particularly highlighted some of the key features of Banffshire. The rivers, the sea, the bridges, the golden fields of barley, the whisky, along with the colours of the glorious sunsets, will be recognisable to all. I am confident that the new flag for Banffshire can be used to represent and promote our local identity for individuals, businesses, organisations and activities from across historic Banffshire.”

Andrew Simpson, 28 October 2023

Subsequent raisings of the flag took place in; Fordyce

Macduff;

atop the Macduff War Memorial;

at the Shore Inn, Portsoy;

at Whitehills;

in the grounds of Drummuir Castle

and at Keith

The winning design in a competition, the flag’s white horizontal band recalls the typical form

of the many bridges found in the county which is crossed with rivers, The blue base represents both these rivers and the surrounding sea, whilst the upper orange colour, along with the symbol of a blazing sun symbolises Banffshire’s natural sunsets and its agriculture. Below the white band, the series of orange semi-circles recalls the top view of barrels of the whisky made from the county’s waters, in the orange hue symbolising the amber liquid itself.

The competition to secure a flag for the county was first announced earlier in the year, on January 24th, 2023, by the Lieutenancy of Banffshire and it was launched on February 27th to run for four weeks, alongside a similar competition in neighbouring Moray, with both to close on March 24th. Commenting on the competition, the county’s Lord Lieutenant, Andrew Simpson, seen at left below next to Seymour Munro, his counterpart from Moray,

stated, “Our rich historical, cultural and environmental heritage continues to impact on life in our local communities. The competitions to design flags for the Banffshire and Moray Lieutenancies provide an opportunity to recognise these special qualities.”

The competition’s 424 submissions were whittled down to four finalists by a panel of judges that included the Lord Lieutenant,

at the end of April, for inclusion in a public vote starting June 27th and closing, August 8th to determine the winner.

At this time Andrew Simpson, further commented “For centuries, individuals have shaped the heritage and identity of Banffshire. The competition to design a flag for the historic county of Banffshire gives us all the opportunity to make our mark.”

The rationales for the three other finalists, in the order seen above, were as follows.

The boar’s head is inspired by the possible origins of the name Banff and Banffshire deriving from Gaelic for pig, and also serves as a reference to the famous Deskford carnyx discovered in the county. A boar’s head also features in the arms of the former county council, which is where its blue colouration here is derived. The checked background serves as a reference to and completes the colours of the Shades of Banffshire tartan, where the black was used to symbolise the Aberdeen Angus which was first bred and registered in Banff and gold representing agriculture and whisky industry.

The deep golden colour denotes the whisky industry of the in-land county, whilst the blue recalls the maritime industries of Banffshire’s coast. The diagonal division between the two recalls the shape and orientations of Banffshire. Over the top is a barrel, an item that was key to both industries across the county from maturing whiskies to storing fish landed from the sea.

The two diagonal blue lines represent the two mayor waterways that help to define Banffshire’s boundaries; the Spey and the Deveron. This leaves a single diagonal stripe in between them to reflect the unique orientation and narrowness of the county’s outline. On this is placed the county flower of Banffshire; the Dark Red Helleborine. The Dark Red Helleborine was chosen as the county flag of Banffshire in a national competition organised to mark the Golden Jubilee of HM The Queen in 2002.