Berkshire Flags – Stag & Oak Flag, Bunting & Table Flags

The Berkshire flag: the stag beneath the oak

The Berkshire flag shows a stag standing beneath an oak tree, the emblem that has stood for the Royal County for generations and that comes straight out of the old royal hunting forest at Windsor, where the deer and the oaks are still there to see. The stag and oak had long been used on the county council’s arms and badges, and after a public vote the design was registered with the Flag Institute in 2017 as the county flag. That registered pattern is our Berkshire flag; the Berkshire Old flag is the earlier drawing of the stag and oak flown around the county beforehand, kept in stock for anyone who wants to match what is already on the pole or on the clubhouse wall.

Where it flies

Berkshire has a busier calendar than most counties its size: the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, Royal Ascot in June, Henley Royal Regatta on the Oxfordshire bank and Reading Festival on the August bank holiday, then the Royal County of Berkshire Show at Newbury in September, the Bracknell, Hungerford and Thatcham carnivals, Newbury Racecourse through the winter and the Madejski on a Saturday. The stag and oak flies on civic poles in Reading, Newbury, Windsor and Maidenhead, outside the village halls of the Downs and the Kennet valley, and in the historic county it also covers Abingdon, Wantage, Faringdon and Didcot, which were Berkshire until 1974. The events calendar keeps the dates.

Sizes, grades and fittings

The registered flag is in 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft, 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft, so there is a size for a desk stand, a wall, a 6m garden pole and a tall fixed mast outside a town hall or a racecourse. Flagtex is the printed woven-polyester grade for show days and regattas; DuraFlag is the heavier knitted grade with reinforced edges for a flag that stays up through the winter on the Downs. Both are finished with eyelets, with a rope and toggle available on the DuraFlag. The Old flag is held in 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft and 5ft x 3ft.

Berkshire bunting

Berkshire bunting puts the stag and oak on each rectangular pennant in 3m and 9m lengths, and the Berkshire Old bunting comes in the same two lengths with the earlier pattern. A 3m length dresses a doorway or a stall, a 9m length runs the length of a village hall or a show marquee, and three or four lengths tied together cross a high street for a carnival.

Hand flags and table flags

Berkshire hand flags are 9x6in on wooden sticks for a carnival procession or a school sports day, with the Old pattern alongside. On the desk there is the Berkshire table flag with base at 6x4in, the 9x6in wooden table flag and the satin table flag for a council chamber, a regimental dinner or a reception, each also in the Old design. Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Surrey are under county flags.

Berkshire flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Berkshire Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, 2 grades)from £7.99
• Berkshire Bunting (3m & 9m)from £9.98
• Berkshire Hand Flags£5.99
• Berkshire Old Flagfrom £7.99
• Berkshire Old Buntingfrom £9.98
• Berkshire Table Flag with Basefrom £1.98
• Berkshire Satin Table Flagfrom £5.00