Last modified: 2020-11-14 by rob raeside
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image located by Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
This flag is a
commercial flag, not official in any way.
On this page:
Although I was unable to locate any official documentation to indicate this flag has ever been embraced by the city, it seems to be the de facto choice of some residents of the city and ocasionally has been reported displayed in the metropolitan area.
Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
images located by Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
These Leicester City Council logos are found on city documents and correspondence, on their website and advertisements and posters. They have not be used on a flag yet.
Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
image located and modified by Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
The website of the University of Leicester shows the arms of Leicester with the following description: "The Arms of the City of Leicester of the cinquefoil and wyvern were confirmed on the city at the Heraldic Visitation of 1619. The crest is based on earlier motifs of the first Earl of Leicester, Robert De Bellomonte, (the cinquefoil).
When the Duke of Lancaster inherited the Earldom of Leicester he held land within the town and hence the Lancastrian connection. City status was granted in 1919 and following application by the City Council in 1926 the College of Arms
allowed two supporters to be added to the design; the Lancastrian Lions on either side of the cinquefoil and Elizabeth I's motto beneath.
I'm trying to find some information that was once on your website. Basically I hoped to find out about your Coat of Arms and if your city has a flag? Could you
possibly send me the location on your website for these?
[e-mail message sent to Lord Mayor's office same day]
Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
Thank you for your email in respect of the City Coat of Arms and Flag and apologies for the delay in responding. Our web pages were streamlined some time ago and regrettably a lot of the information has now been archived, but I have managed to find the old page about the Coat of Arms, which hopefully will be what you are looking for. I also confirm that the city does not have a flag.
Lord Mayor's Office, 13 November 2020
image located by Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
The City of Leicester arms or shield (not to be confused with the Leicester City Shields Football Club) most in used is this red shield. Officially it is described as Arms of the City of Leicester: Gules, a cinquefoil ermine pierced of the field.
Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
image located by Valentin Poposki, 20 August 2007
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester
This flag is the winner of a competition as announced by http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester. It was designed by Jamie Bott, who says he wanted his flag to be traditional, and to incorporate some of Leicester's key historical elements:
Valentin Poposki, 20 August 2007"Firstly, in the centre, I've placed a large 'cinquefoil' rose, a popular emblem used to represent the city as it's the Leicester City Council logo.
Secondly, there are illustrations of the 'Royal Bengal Tiger' taken from the badge of the Royal Leicestershire Tigers Regiment. They were a key part of both local and world history in the early 20th century for serving in India and Afghanistan, and as I have family members connected to the regiment I thought this to be a must in my design (and I used two Tigers to keep it symmetrical).
And finally, my design uses the colour purple to symbolise Leicester's Roman roots, and the "Semper Eadem" banner from Leicester's coat of arms, which was given to the city by Elizabeth I."
image by Jonathan Dixon, 8 March 2006
The University of Leicester is located in the English East Midlands city of
Leicester. It was founded in 1921 and obtained university status in 1957. Its
site was given as a memorial to the dead of World War I by Thomas Fielding
Johnson, a fact reflected in the motto "Ut Vitam Habeat" - "that they may have
life".
I have seen photos of university buildings flying the university flag on several
promotional posters. This flag is also reported on page 3 of the May 2000
edition of the
Bulletin, the University of Leicester Newsletter, under the heading "Raising
the standard of education":
"NEW University flags have been purchased to fly over the Fielding Johnson
Building. The flags feature the new University crest on an Oxford Blue
background and have a reinforcing strip to extend their life. The old flags had
no such feature and had become very frayed. In order to accommodate the new
crest the flag size has had to be larger than hitherto and is now 3.6 m wide by
2.4 m high. The layout was provided by the University Graphics Department. The
flags have been supplied by Concorde, Nottingham & Leicester, Flag Company from
Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire, who also provide flags for the Admiralty. Two
flags have been provided to allow for a "Sunday Best"."
The new "crest" is a red shield with two (ermine?) flowers above an open book
displaying the motto, above a golden horseshoe. According to the press release
at
http://www.le.ac.uk/press/press/newv-c.html it came into use on 1 October
1999 at the same time as Robert Burgess became Vice Chancellor. The press
release and many other online documents say: "The simplified logo and a new
corporate style is designed to strengthen the University's identity in an
increasingly competitive sector. The amended logo, which is on this Press
Release, is a simplification of the original crest focusing on the Coat of Arms
as the symbol of heritage. It also reinforces the University's link with the
region as it is based upon the coat of arms of the City of Leicester and carries
the Rutland horseshoe. The University motto, Ut Vitam Habeant - that they may
have life - is a permanent memorial to the past whilst looking forward to future
generations."
This text appears at
http://www.le.ac.uk/unilogo.html, which also provides a link to a blazon of
the arms which is not accessible from outside the university. The page at
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/acad-uk.htm has an image of arms for the
university, but I can't see how they relate to the emblem on the flag.
Jonathan Dixon, 8 March 2006
The flag displays the shield of the arms of the University: "Gules, an open
book proper strapped and buckled and inscribed with the words "Ut Vitam Habeant"
in letters Or, between in chief two cinquefoils pierced ermine and in base a
horse shoe also or." Technically the writing should be gold (or yellow) but that
would hardly show up... These were granted 3rd April 1922 to what was then
the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland College. The ermine cinquefoils,
coming the arms of the City of Leicester's arms and represent Leicester City and
the County of Leicestershire, the horseshoe is for Rutland
(qv). These are the same as those shown at
http://www.heraldica.org/topics/acad-uk.htm, but the illustration there
shows the crest (a demi-gryphon holding a book), helm and mantling. the shield
is also slanted, and the size of the graphic is too small to distinguish the
devices on the shield.
Laurence Jones, 10 March 2006
original image by Jonathan Dixon, 8 March 2006 - modified by Colin Dobson, 12 September 2012
Current usage, based on the University's Twitter account now has a red background.
Colin Dobson, 12 September 2012
image from Pete Loeser, 16 October 2020
The Leicester City Unitary Authority is the official name for the Leicester City Council, and as such is responsible for local government in the city of Leicester. It consists of elected 54 council members, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. I discovered this flag is being sold commercially as their flag. I'm not sure it is official.