List of county days in the United Kingdom explained

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.

CountyDateFirst observedOrigin
BedfordshireDate decided by a public vote organised by The Friends of Bedfordshire society [1]
Black Country Day14 July2012Date chosen as it is considered to be the date of the inception of the Newcomen engine, the first commercially successful engine.[2]
Buckinghamshire2015Date selected to remember the founding of the Paralympic Movement at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury.
Cheshire30 March2021Commemorates the reissuance of the Magna Carta of Chester in 1215.
Cornwall
(St Piran's Day)
(Cornwall)Previously a local holiday, revived as part of Cornish nationalism movement
DevonTraditionalIt is Saint Petroc’s Day
DorsetTraditionalThe Feast Day of St Wite.
DurhamTraditionalThe Feast Day of St Cuthbert.[3]
Hampshire2019Hampshire County Council[4]
Huntingdonshire2002Huntingdonshire Society[5]
KentTraditionalThe feast day of Augustine of Canterbury, first Archbishop of Canterbury
Lancashire1996Friends of Real Lancashire
Lincolnshire
(Lincolnshire Day)
2006Commemorates Lincolnshire Rising 1536
MiddlesexJohn Randall originated early day motion[6]
Norfolk2018A project between BBC Radio Norfolk and the Eastern Daily Press (EDP).[7]
NorthumberlandLast Sunday in May2017A privately run day originally started by Catapult PR and Langley Castle Hotel, after consultation with a variety of key stakeholders and businesses. It is now run by Catapult PR and The County Day Company and has been hugely successful, scooping the national Chartered Institute of Public Relations Excellence Award for the Best Tourism PR Campaign in the UK, in May 2018, as well as other awards thus far. Northumberland Day in 2020 has become the first 'virtual' county day.
Northamptonshire2014The feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, the patron saints of cobblers, date decided by a public vote[8]
Nottinghamshire2021Commemorates the birth of Broc the Great, two-time convenor of the eponymous ‘stowe’, inventor of the cormorant, and distant relative of Jeff Kent (author) and Jacob Zuma
OrkneyTraditionalThe feast day of Saint Magnus
Oxfordshire
(Oxfordshire Day)
?Also called Saint Frideswide's Day.
ShetlandTraditionalCelebrated in the Shetland Isles annually.
ShropshireTraditionalThe feast day of St Milburga, the abbess of Wenlock Priory, Shropshire.
Staffordshire1 May2016Date decided by a public vote organised by Destination Staffordshire
Suffolk21 June2017
Sussex
(Sussex Day, also known as St Richard's Day)
2007The feast day of St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint
Recognised by county councils of East and West Sussex[9]
Yorkshire
(Yorkshire Day)
1975Yorkshire Ridings Society

The Association of British Counties has proposed the 23rd of April as county day for Warwickshire. The date was chosen as the birthday (and date of death) of William Shakespeare.[10]

Proposals exist for various days in Somerset.[11]

There is also a proposal to make the 29th of July Buckinghamshire Day. This date was chosen because of its importance to the founding of the Paralympic Games movement. The games grew from events held at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire for British World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. The Memorial Mob, a Bucks-based group which creates Memorials to Lost & Forgotten events of the Armed & Emergency Services, felt it was appropriate to honour Buckinghamshire.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.friendsofBedfordshire.org.uk/day.php The Friends of Bedfordshire Society - Bedfordshire Day
  2. Web site: Black Country Day (14 July) . 2022-03-05 . Cultural Calendar . en-GB.
  3. Web site: [New] County Durham Flag]. Andy Strangeway, Traditional Counties Campaigner. 24 September 2012. 1 August 2014.
  4. Web site: Celebrating the first 'Hampshire Day' Hampshire County Council . www.hants.gov.uk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191231115428/https://www.hants.gov.uk/news/03julyhampshireday . 2019-12-31.
  5. http://www.rahbarnes.demon.co.uk/hunts/huntsday.htm Huntingdonshire Day page
  6. Web site: UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details . 2007-07-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060721035639/http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=22809 . 2006-07-21 . dead .
  7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-43293847 Prince William backs Norfolk Day county celebration
  8. http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/flag-ceremony-celebrates-northamptonshire-s-first-county-day-1-6379095 Flag ceremony celebrates Northamptonshire’s first County Day
  9. http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/community-and-living/sussex-day/ Sussex day page from West Sussex County Council
  10. Web site: Warwickshire Day – 23rd April. 22 April 2021.
  11. http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-e-som.html Somerset, England