A Modest History of the Cornish Flag

The Cornish flag, though perhaps not particularly well-known or important outside of the South West of the UK, is none-the-less significant to Cornwall and the Cornish people.

Saint Piran's flag, as it is also known, is a white cross on a black background, similar in pattern to the English or Devonian flags. This design supposedly originates from the image of tin being melted out of ore during the smelting process, as molten tin is white, and the ore in the South West black; Saint Piran purportedly adopted the two colours after seeing this process himself.

There are also strong similarities between the Cornish flag and the old Breton flag, which is an inversion of the Cornish flag in design: a black cross on a white background. Brittany and Cornwall have always had strong ties, and the Cornish and Breton languages share many words and sounds, supposedly to the point that a speaker of one can understand the speaker of the other.

It is also very similar to the flag of the patron Saint of Wales, Saint David. Again, Wales and Cornwall have strong cultural ties; Saint Petroc was born in Wales and only travelled to Cornwall in later life. During the conquest of Britain by the Romans, the native Celts were driven to Wales and Cornwall, which is where the languages have survived, and they are similar to each other in many ways.

Supposedly, the flag was already being used by the Cornish by 1188 when it was carried into the Crusades. In 1415, it is said to have been carried by the Cornish contingent at the Battle of Agincourt, though this is refuted by some sources.

Rather than being proudly carried into battle, the flag is now proudly displayed in car, shop or house windows, or on the bumpers of vehicles to show that the owner of the building or vehicle is Cornish and proud, or that they enjoyed a holiday to Cornwall once. It's also used by companies based in Cornwall, most famously ‘Ginsters', and by various sports teams and their fans. The colours are also used in plenty of celebrations, especially Saint Piran's day.

This article was written by Tom Sangers on behalf of John Fowler Holidays Parks, whose parks provide excellent Family Holidays.