The flag was designed by Mike Prior and daughter Helen Pocock. At its centre, the flag features the bustard, a bird that was native to the county, until it became extinct in the country in 1832. However, since 2004, the Great Bustard Group has released many chicks on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Having a bustard in gold as the centre of the flag shows the significance placed on having this previously lost species back within our county borders.
Other elements of the flag include the solid green circle, to represent the open grassland of Wiltshire, which is bordered by a circle of alternating green and white to represent the famous stone circles of Averbury and Stonehenge. These alternating portions also represent the 6 counties that border our own: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Dorset, and Somerset.
The photo on the left shows the flag in action at County Hall, Trowbridge.
Custard the bustard
Custard the bustard lives at the Trowbridge branch of the Wiltshrie library. This sculpture was created after Councillor Jane Scott commissioned it for Wiltshire Council after seeing a collection of similar sculptures during the Queen's visit to Salisbury.
A competition commenced during September and October 2012, for under 12s to name the sculpture. Out of 40 entries, James Coles and Freya Mitchell won, when they both submitted "Custard" as their name choice.
Amesbury Artist, Anna Marie Anderson, painted the sculpture in colours matching the Wiltshire flag.
Custard the bustard was officially unveiled during November 2012.
You can visit Custard yourself during library open hours!
The engraved plaque that sits on the sculpture plinth. |
References:
The Flag Institute. 2018. Wiltshire - The Flag Institute. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/flags/wiltshire/. [Accessed 19 July 2018].
Wiltshire Times. 2018. Custard the Bustard unveiled at Trowbridge County Hall | Wiltshire Times. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/10079818.Custard_the_Bustard_unveiled_at_Trowbridge_County_Hall/?ref=arc. [Accessed 19 July 2018].