Flags

Cllr Stan Rooke, is the keeper of the Council’s various flags and is responsible for raising and lowering of the flags throughout the year.

He has agreed to liaise with anyone who wishes to purchase a full-size town flag.

His contact details are cllrsrooke@applebytown.org.uk

Town Flag

Appleby’s Town Flag was raised for the first time on Friday 6^th February 2015 .

The flag with its background of royal blue and striking design of a stylised apple tree was designed by Philip Tibbetts, a vexillologist from the Flag Institute who lives in Langwathby. The design was registered with the Flags Institute in October 2014. The design is available for anyone to use and it is hoped that organisations and business will use the design to identify with and promote the town.

The background colour was taken from the Appleby-in-Westmorland coat-of-arms and the apple tree is from the flag of Westmorland which was originally on the 13^th century seal of Appleby.

Mr Tibbetts said “It is an honour to have supported the registration of a new flag for Appleby. I must commend the Council for being so receptive on the procedural and graphical aspects of the flag design. The result makes for an impressively elegant and fitting flag “.

Councillor, Andy Connell, said, “Appleby is a historic town but history is not all about the past; we are making history with the introduction of the new flag which is a welcome addition to Appleby’s proud and colourful heritage.”

Smaller versions of the new town flag and other items using the design can be purchased from the Tourist Information Centre in the Moot Hall.

Council Flag

Many Councils possess flags bearing the coat of arms or other civic device. It is suggested that the Council’s flag should be flown on the day of a meeting of the Council, Mayor’s or Chairman’s Sunday, whenever the Mayor or Chairman holds an official reception and on other occasions according to local custom.

The Council’s flag should also be flown at half mast on the death of the Mayor or Chairman, the High Steward and a Freeman, from the day of the death until sunset on the day of the funeral. It also may be flown at half mast on the death of a serving member of the Council, the Honorary Recorder or an ex-Mayor or Chairman, on the day of the funeral until sunset.

In 2006 the then Mayor, Cllr Stan Rooke, and former Mayor Cllr Lancelot Thwaytes (now deceased) created the design for the Town Council Flag. It was taken from the shield at the centre of the current Coat of Arms i.e a royal blue background with three lions guardant passant, holden golden apples, surrounded by apple tree leaves. The design was converted by three members of the then Appleby Embroiderers Guild, into an embroidered hanging which can be seen in the Council Chamber of the Moot Hall.

The design was then turned into a roped and toggled flag for flying from the flagpole on the Moot Hall. It is the legal banner and house flag of the Council and, as such, can only be flown by Appleby-in-Westmorland Town Council. The flag was first flown in June 2008 and is normally flown on the day of full Council meetings.

APPLEBY TOWN COUNCIL CREST 11-8-98 JPEG FORMAT (2)

Westmorland Flag

The design is based on the shield from the Coat of Arms of the former Westmorland County Council. This Coat of Arms was by the College of Arms in 1926 and used by the Council until its demise in 1974.

Historically Westmorland was comprised of two baronies:

The Barony of Kendal which covers the southwestern part of the county, including the towns of Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale.
The Barony of Westmorland which covers the northern part of the county, including Appleby-in-Westmorland, the county town.

The two red bars on the flag are from the arms of the de Lancaster family, Barons of Kendal. These also featured prominently in the arms of the former South Westmorland District Council. The stylised and distinctive apple tree is from the thirteenth-century seal of the Borough of Appleby. Hence, the flag represents two parts of the county. This design is already the de-facto symbol of Westmorland as used by many county organisations, and is now the official flag too.