List of county days in the United Kingdom
County days in the United Kingdom are relatively recent observances, formed to celebrate the cultural heritage of a particular British county. County days may be selected to coincide with the observance of a Saint's Day that has local significance.
County | Date | First observed | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
Bedfordshire | 28 November | 2015 | Date decided by a public vote organised by The Friends of Bedfordshire society [1] |
Buckinghamshire | 29 July | 2015 | Date selected to remember the founding of the Paralympic Movement at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury. |
Cornwall (St Piran's Day) |
5 March | c1900 (Cornwall) | Previously a local holiday, revived as part of Cornish nationalism movement |
Devon | 4 June | Traditional | It is Saint Petroc’s Day |
Dorset | 1 June | Traditional | The Feast Day of St Wite. |
Durham | 20 March | Traditional | The Feast Day of St Cuthbert.[2] |
Huntingdonshire | 25 April | 2002 | Huntingdonshire Society[3] |
Kent | 26 May | Traditional | The feast day of Augustine of Canterbury, first Archbishop of Canterbury |
Lancashire | 27 November | 1996 | Friends of Real Lancashire |
Lincolnshire (Lincolnshire Day) |
1 October | 2006 | Commemorates Lincolnshire Rising 1536 |
Middlesex | 16 May | c2003 | John Randall originated early day motion[4] |
Norfolk | 27 July | 2018 | Norfolk Day is a project between BBC Radio Norfolk and the Eastern Daily Press (EDP).[5] |
Northamptonshire | 25 October | 2014 | The feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, the patron saints of cobblers, date decided by a public vote[6] |
Orkney | 16 April | Traditional | The feast day of Saint Magnus |
Oxfordshire (Oxfordshire Day) |
19 October | ? | Also called Saint Frideswide's Day. |
Shetland | 21 June | Traditional | Celebrated in the Shetland Isles annually. |
Shropshire | 23 February | Traditional | The feast day of St Milburga, the abbess of Wenlock Priory, Shropshire. |
Staffordshire | 1 May | 2016 | Date decided by a public vote organised by Destination Staffordshire |
Suffolk | 21 June | 2017 | |
Sussex (Sussex Day, also known as St Richard's Day) |
16 June | 2007 | The feast day of St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint Recognised by county councils of East and West Sussex[7] |
Yorkshire (Yorkshire Day) |
1 August | 1975 | Yorkshire Ridings Society |
Proposals exist for various days in Somerset.[8]
A proposal also exists to make the 29th of July Buckinghamshire Day. The date was chosen as a truly Global event can be traced back to this date, the founding of the Paralympic Games which goes from strength to strength and started in Stoke Maderville in Buckinghamshire. Although in 2015 as the 29th of July falls in midweek, events are taking place on the 18th and 26 July across the county.
The Memorial Mob a Bucks-based group who create Memorials to Lost & Forgotten events of the Armed & Emergency Services, felt it was appropriate to honour Buckinghamshire.
References
- ↑ The Friends of Bedfordshire Society - Bedfordshire Day Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "[New] County Durham Flag". Andy Strangeway, Traditional Counties Campaigner. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ↑ Huntingdonshire Day page
- ↑ UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details
- ↑ Prince William backs Norfolk Day county celebration
- ↑ Flag ceremony celebrates Northamptonshire’s first County Day
- ↑ Sussex day page from West Sussex County Council Archived 2009-09-07 at the Wayback Machine., Hastings Observer, 16 June 2010
- ↑ Somerset, England