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Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment DuraFlag
Choose size →2 sizesThe price depends on the options chosen on the product pagefromAs low as £14.99
Shop Bedfordshire in every format
The Bedfordshire flag: shells and the Great Ouse
The Bedfordshire flag is quartered: two quarters of gold crossed by wavy blue and white bars for the Great Ouse, the river that winds through Bedford and the county’s market towns, and two quarters of red carrying three gold scallop shells from the arms of the Russell family, Dukes of Bedford at Woburn since the sixteenth century. The design draws on the county council’s arms and was registered with the Flag Institute in 2014 as the county flag. That registered pattern is our Bedfordshire flag; the Bedfordshire Old flag is the earlier arms-based design that was flown before registration, stocked as a 5ft x 3ft for anyone matching an existing pole.
Where it flies
The shells and wavy bars fly on the Embankment for the Bedford River Festival, over Old Warden for the Shuttleworth air shows, at the Bedfordshire County Show, the Luton International Carnival, the Dunstable Downs kite festival and the Leighton Buzzard canal festival, on village halls from Ampthill to Potton for the summer fete, and at Kenilworth Road and Goldington Road on a match day for Luton Town and the Bedford Blues. Civic poles in Bedford, Luton, Dunstable and Biggleswade fly it through the year, and schools use the hand flags for county sports and the Bedfordshire round of the Youth Games. The events calendar keeps the dates.
Sizes, grades and fittings
The registered flag is held in 20x12in for a hand pole or a desk, 3ft x 2ft for a wall or a short mast, 5ft x 3ft for a 6m garden pole, a pub or a float, and 8ft x 5ft for a town hall or a tall fixed pole. Flagtex is the printed woven-polyester grade for a festival weekend or a show; DuraFlag is the heavier knitted-polyester grade with strengthened hems for a pole that flies the county colours all year. Both have eyelets fitted, and the DuraFlag can be supplied with rope and toggle for a halyard.
Bedfordshire bunting
Bedfordshire bunting repeats the quartered flag on each rectangular pennant in 3m and 9m lengths, and the Bedfordshire Old bunting is in the same two lengths with the earlier design. A 3m run dresses a pub door or a stall, 9m runs along a village hall or a riverside marquee, and a few lengths joined end to end will cross a market square for the carnival.
Hand flags and table flags
Bedfordshire hand flags are 9x6in on wooden sticks for the carnival procession and the river festival, with the Old design alongside. On the desk there is the Bedfordshire table flag with base at 6x4in, the 9x6in wooden table flag and the satin table flag for a council chamber or a reception, with the Old pattern table flag as well. Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire are under county flags.
Bedfordshire flag FAQs
What does the Bedfordshire flag show?
Four quarters: gold with wavy blue and white bars for the Great Ouse, and red with three gold scallop shells from the arms of the Dukes of Bedford. Registration with the Flag Institute came in 2014.
What is the Bedfordshire Old flag?
The earlier arms-based design flown in the county before the 2014 registration. It is stocked as a 5ft x 3ft, with matching Old bunting, hand flags and table flags.
Why scallop shells?
The shells come from the coat of arms of the Russell family, Dukes of Bedford, whose seat at Woburn Abbey has been in the county since the 1540s.
Does the flag cover Luton?
Yes. Luton and Bedford are both unitary authorities now, but both are in the historic county of Bedfordshire and the flag is flown across the whole county.
What size Bedfordshire flag for a garden pole?
A 5ft x 3ft is right for a 6m garden or telescopic pole; go down to 3ft x 2ft on a shorter pole and up to 8ft x 5ft only on a fixed pole of 20ft or more.
Do you have Bedfordshire bunting?
Yes, rectangular bunting in 3m and 9m lengths in both the registered and the Old design.
How quickly do Bedfordshire flags ship?
All of it is stocked in and dispatched from our Stoke-on-Trent warehouse; an order before 2pm leaves the same day and arrives with free 1–2 day UK delivery.