Sheffield, South Yorkshire (England)

English Town

Last modified: 2021-03-13 by rob raeside
Keywords: sheffield | south yorkshire | england |
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Sheffield City Council Arms

On this page:

• Introduction: City of Sheffield
• Description of the Sheffield Flag
• Sheffield Flags - Commercial Variants
• Proposed Sheffield Flags
• Sheffield Coat of Arms
• Sheffield City Council
• Diocese of Sheffield
• University of Sheffield

• South Yorkshire
• Sheffield University
• Sheffield Wednesday FC
• Sheffield United FC
• English County, Regional and Municipal Flags
• England
• United Kingdom

Introduction: City of Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire. Historically, the area around the city is believed to have been inhabited since the late Upper Paleolithic period, so that makes it over 12,800 years old. In the Iron Age the area was in the territory of a Pennine tribe called the Brigantes, and they are thought to have constructed several hill forts in and around Sheffield. Like the rest of England the area was swallowed up by the Romans, but after their departure a small Anglo-Saxon settlement was built in a clearing where the Don and Sheaf Rivers met, becoming the nucleus of the future city of Sheffield. After the Norman conquest of England, Sheffield Castle was built to protect the local settlements, and a small town grew below it. By the 14th century, Sheffield had grown into a market town noted for the production of knives. This is mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." From 1570 to 1584, Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned in Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor.
Later Sheffield was destined to play a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution, with many significant inventions and technologies developed in the city. The crucible steel process was discovered in Sheffield which allowed the manufacturing of a stronger steel, and a technique was also developed for fusing thin sheets of silver onto copper to produce a silver plating known as Sheffield plate. These innovations speeded up Sheffield's growth, but a growing population led to the construction of crowded back-to-back slum dwellings. This resulted in poor living conditions which caused a cholera epidemic that killed over 450 people in 1832. Despite these setbacks, the growing town was incorporated as a borough in 1842, and was granted city status in 1893 as part of West Riding of Yorkshire.
In the 20th Century the Great Depression hit the city and its manufacturing infrastructure was particularly hard hit, but with the beginning of the Second World War, Sheffield's steel factories were set to work manufacturing weapons and ammunition for the war effort. Unfortunately this also resulted in the city becoming a major target for German bombing raids. Once again however, the city recovered and has seen extensive redevelopment. As in most historic English cities, tourism now plays a major role in the city's economy. The city is also home to two of the world's oldest professional football clubs, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday who share a colorful rivalry, and the Sheffield Steelers are the UK's first professional ice hockey team.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Description of the Sheffield Flag

The City of Sheffield Council has never officially registered a flag with the Flag Institute's UK Flag Registry nor provided one unofficially which has opened the market for commercial flag manufacturers to fill the void. It has been reported occasionally that the city council and others have used flags with the city coat of arms or crest centred on white fields in the past, local sports teams have provided many "fan" flags for their supporters, and occasionally flag enthusiasts have offered their own designs, but the city remains without anything official.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Sheffield Flags
Commercial Variant #1

It is common practice commercially to deface a Union Jack with a city name to provide a community flag for large metropolitan areas or city without an official registered one.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Commercial Variant #2

Placing a coat of arms centered over the Saint George's Cross is also a common way to provide a flag without an officially registered one.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Proposed Sheffield Flags

In the past few years there have been unofficial proposed flags for Sheffield posted on the internet, but none have generated much interest and Sheffield remains a city without a flag. Here are examples and explanations where located:
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Explanations of Designs
(by designers where available)

1. This flag was located on a commercial website without any explanation about it's design.
2. The city colours of blue and grey are used. The crossed grey lines are a stylised version of the crossed arrow sheath, which is a common motif, appearing on the arms of the City Council and the University of Sheffield. The sheaf of arrows was the main motif in the seals of the Burgery of Sheffield and the Twelve Capital Burgesses, the 2 bodies which bore the brunt of local government in Sheffield before the creation of the Borough. The grey lines further represent steel production. Steel was and still is a vital cornerstone of Sheffield's economy, also being a famous source of high quality cutlery. The lines can also be taken to represent the tramlines that typify the modern city centre, meaning they symbolise both the city's past and future. The black pattern represents coal mining, the second of Sheffield's main economies in the past, and industry in general (i.e. the blackened steel crucibles).
3. The blue bands represent the Rivers of Sheffield. The green represents the green nature of the city, the black the industry, and the white peak represents the Peak District neighbouring the city
4. All 5 Blue bands represent the 5 Rivers of Sheffield; The Don, The Porter, The Rivelin, The Sheaf and The Loxley. The green represents the green nature of the city, the black the industry, and the Yorkshire rose denotes the city as being part of Yorkshire.
5. All 5 Blue bands represent the 5 Rivers of Sheffield; the thickest being the Don, and the other 4 being its tributaries within Sheffield: The Porter, The Rivelin, The Sheaf and The Loxley. The green represents the green nature of the city, the black the industry, and the Yorkshire rose denotes the city as being part of Yorkshire.
6. The blue represents the Rivers of Sheffield. The green represents the green nature of the city, the black the industry, and the Yorkshire rose denotes the city as being part of Yorkshire.

Sheffield Coat of Arms

image located by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

These arms were officially granted in 1875, and present to the Sheffield City Council in 1977. "The lion on the crest is taken from the Arms of the Dukes of Norfolk, lords of the manor of Sheffield; it appeared also in the Arms of the Talbot family, their predecessors in the lordship. The sheaf of arrows was the main motif in the seals of the Burgery of Sheffield and the Twelve Capital Burgesses, the two bodies which bore the brunt of local government in Sheffield before the creation of the Borough. The three wheat sheaves on a green field were probably chosen at the College of Arms as a play upon the name Sheffield which means 'the open space by the River Sheaf'.
The two supporters, Vulcan and Thor, were chosen for their aptness to represent a place whose prosperity is almost entirely founded on the working of metal. Vulcan on the left, the smith of the Greek and Roman gods has his hand resting on a hammer, and Thor on the right, the smith of the Scandinavian gods, is standing in front of an anvil and is holding a pair of pincers."

Official Blazon

• Arms: Per fesse Azure and Vert in chief eight Arrows interlaced saltirewise banded Argent and in base three Garbs fesswise Or.
• Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours a Lion rampant Argent gorged with a Collar and holding between the paws an Antique Shield Azure charged with eight Arrows as in the Arms.
• Supporters: On the dexter side a figure habited as Thor resting his exterior hand on a Hammer all proper and on the sinister side a figure habited as Vulcan standing in front of an Anvil and in the dexter hand a pair of Pincers all also proper.
• Motto: Deo Adjuvante Labor Proficit' means "With God's help our labour is successful."

Sheffield Arms/Crest

image by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

I'll attempt to describe this Sheffield shield: An "antique shield" which is divided into two sections vertically. The background of the top section is blue (Azure) and charged with eight upward slanted crossed white arrows divided into two opposing groups of four. The bottom green base section has three gold wheat sheaves in a horizontal line, or "Garbs fesswise Or" using heraldry jargon.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Sheffield City Council

speculative image by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021
* This image is based on a verbal description and not verified.

Sheffield is South Yorkshire's largest city, its county seat and the main service center of the county. The town received its town charter in 1297, was incorporated as a borough in 1842, and was granted city status in 1893. The governing body that administers Sheffield is its city council.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Sheffield City Council Logos

    image located by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Diocese of Sheffield

image by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021
based on this commercial illustration.

The Diocese of Sheffield administers part of the province of York for the Church of England. In its present form it covers South Yorkshire, some of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, including a small part of North Lincolnshire. It is headed by the Bishop of Sheffield and its main cathedral is Sheffield Cathedral (The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul). Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when the diocese was created in 1914 under King George V.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

Diocese of Sheffield Logo and Arms

Logo       Arms/Crest

University of Sheffield
TUOS Flag and Pennant

TUOS Flag    TUOS Pennant
images by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021
based on this illustration. and this photo.

The University of Sheffield (TUOS) traces its history back to the foundation of the Sheffield Medical School in 1828. It was granted a royal charter as University of Sheffield in 1905 by King Edward VII. The university is one of the original red brick universities and has been ranked as one of the top 100 university in the world for last fifteen years. There are eight Nobel Prize winners affiliated with Sheffield, six of whom are alumni and former staff of the university. They are contributors to the development of penicillin, the discovery of the citric acid cycle, the investigation of high-speed chemical reactions, the discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA, the discovery of fullerene, and the development of molecular machines. Alumni also include several heads of state, Home Secretary, Court of Appeal judges, Booker Prize winner, astronaut and Olympic gold medalist.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

University of Sheffield Logo and Arms

UOS Logo      UOS Arms
images located by Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021

"The University Arms, whose background colour is azure, contains a gold-edged open book at its centre, on which is inscribed Disce Doce (Learn and Teach). On either side is a sheaf of eight silver arrows, which is derived from the shield of old Sheffield. The gold crown is the Crown of Success and the White Rose of York denotes the University's home county. The scroll carries the motto of Firth College, Rerum Cognoscere Causas (To Discover the Causes of Things; from Virgil's Georgics II, 490)." according to the University website.
"The coat of arms should not be confused with the University's logo. The logo consists of a redrawn version of the coat of arms set alongside the University's name in the university's own distinctive Stephenson font, on a white background. Introduced in 2005, the University's centenary year, the logo complements but does not supersede the coat of arms, which remains the University's official heraldic symbol," they explain.
Source: Our coat of arms.
Pete Loeser, 1 March 2021