Cornwall Flags – St Piran’s Flag, Kernow Bunting & Ensign

The Cornish flag: St Piran’s white cross on black

The Cornwall flag is a white cross on a black field, the banner of St Piran, the fifth-century Irish abbot who is the patron saint of Cornwall and of tin miners. The story is that Piran lit a fire on his black hearthstone and a stream of white tin ran out of it, the white cross on black ever since standing for the metal flowing from the dark rock, or for the light of truth shining out of darkness. The flag is recorded by Davies Gilbert in 1838 as the banner carried by Cornishmen, it was flown on Cornish ships through the nineteenth century, and it has been registered with the Flag Institute as the county flag since the register began. Our Cornwall flag uses a dense black and a clean white cross of the correct width, printed through so the cross reads properly from both sides on a pole.

St Piran’s Day, 5 March

St Piran’s Day on 5 March is the Cornish national day: the procession across the dunes at Perranporth to the saint’s oratory, the parades in Truro, Redruth, Bodmin and Penzance, schools in black and gold, pasty shops under bunting and the Cornish rugby anthem Trelawny sung in every pub that still has a piano. The flag then follows the county calendar: Trevithick Day in Camborne in April, ’Obby ’Oss in Padstow and Flora Day in Helston in May, the Royal Cornwall Show at Wadebridge and Golowan in Penzance in June, Boardmasters at Newquay in August, the Cornish Pirates at the Mennaye and the Cornwall rugby county side, Falmouth Week, the fishing fleets and the lifeboat days. Away from home, the flag is on the Cornish Association dinners in London and Australia, on surf vans and narrowboats, and over every exile’s shed. England, Devon and the other counties are under county flags.

Ensign, Kernow silhouette and the pirate

The Cornwall ensign is a blue ensign with the St Piran’s cross in the canton, flown on Cornish boats, yachts and harbour buildings as an unofficial maritime flag of the Duchy. The Cornwall Silhouette Kernow flag puts the outline of the county on the St Piran’s cross with the Cornish name Kernow, the one for the surf van and the campsite, and comes in 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft woven polyester. The Cornwall Pirate flag crosses the St Piran colours with a skull for the Penzance rugby crowd and beach parties.

Sizes, grades and fittings

The Cornwall flag is stocked in 20x12in for a hand pole or a car, 3ft x 2ft for a shop window or a short pole, 5ft x 3ft for a garden pole, a pub or a float, and 8ft x 5ft for a harbourside flagpole, a hall or a surf club. Flagtex is the woven-polyester print for St Piran’s Day and the show season, Flagtex Nylon is the lighter cloth that still flies in a soft onshore breeze, and DuraFlag is the heavy knitted grade with double-stitched hems built for the salt wind on a coastal pole all year. Eyelets come as standard, with a rope and toggle option on the DuraFlag for a halyard.

Cornwall bunting

Cornwall bunting carries the St Piran’s cross on every pennant in 3m, 5m, 9m and 20m rectangle lengths, a triangle cut for a village hall or a tea room, and a giant 18.25m length with oversized pennants for a high street or a show marquee. A 3m length does a pasty-shop doorway, 9m a harbour cafe or a school hall, and 20m a street in Truro for the fifth of March. The Cornwall ensign bunting comes in 3m and 9m for the sailing club bar.

Hand flags, table flags and windsock

Cornwall hand flags on wooden sticks in 9x6in and 18x12in are what the schools and the parade crowds wave on St Piran’s Day, and the ensign hand flag suits a regatta. The Cornwall table flag with base is the 6x4in desk flag for a council office, a pub bar or a Cornish Association dinner, the satin table flag on a chrome base is the smarter version for a hotel reception, and the Cornwall windsock is the one for the campsite, the beach hut and the boat.

Cornish flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Cornwall Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, 3 grades)from £6.99
• Cornwall Bunting (3m to 20m)from £9.98
• Cornwall Hand Flagsfrom £5.99
• Cornwall Ensign Flagfrom £6.99
• Cornwall Silhouette Kernow Flagfrom £7.99
• Cornwall Table Flag with Basefrom £1.98
• Cornwall Windsock£9.99