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Worcester (England)

Last modified: 2019-11-11 by rob raeside
Keywords: worcester |
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[Flag of Worcester] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 October 2019
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Flag Description

The flag is green with a white shield fimbriated blue, displaying modified arms of the city of Worcester.
Source: I spotted this flag on many houses in the city on 15 September 2014.


Coat of arms

[Arms of Worcester] image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 October 2019

Coat of Arms:
1)Shield quartered of Sable and Gules, a castle Argent masoned Sable with half opened portcullis Argent and three embattled towers.
2) Shield Argent, a fess Sable surrounded by three pears Sable ordered 2:1.
Mottos :
“FLOREAT SEMPER FIDELIS CIVITAS” - The faithful city may ever flourish.
“CIVITAS IN BELLO ET PACE FIDELI”' - In war and peace the faithful city.
'SEMPER FIDELIS MUTARE SPERNO' - Ever faithful, I scorn to change.

Meaning
There has always been a lot of controversy surrounding Worcester's coat of arms and there have been many variations made during its long history. In 1864 the coat of arms was described as such;
"A quarterly Sable and Gules, over all a castle triple towered Argent, on a canton of the last a fess between three pears sable".
However until the beginning of the 17th Century the coat of arms displayed the castle alone but in 1634 these arms were registered along with the coat bearing the black pears and were described as the ancient and modern arms of the City of Worcester.
Tradition claims that it happened during the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to Worcester in 1575, when Worcester acquired its second coat of arms featuring the black pears. It is said that during her procession through the streets of Worcester the Queen saw a pear tree, which had been planted in a front garden, just to honour her. She was so pleased at the appropriateness of the tree growing right in the heart of a fruit growing region, that she bade the city add the emblem of pears to its coat of arms.
It may be legend too that the Worcester archers rallied under the pear trees before the battle of Agincourt (1415).It is interesting to note that the pear blossom was borne as a badge by the Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry from the beginning of this century until 1956.
The city's motto “Civitas in Bello et Pace Fidelis” is thought to refer to the city's support of the Stuart cause. In 1621 Worcester was granted a charter by James I, declaring the City to be a county in itself, separate from the County of Worcestershire: The County of the City of Worcester. This distinction came to an end with the reform of the local government in 1974.
Other versions display both shields either in fess or in bend and bend sinister with additional wreaths of laurel and palm and a scroll bearing the motto, the quartered shield at dexter and the pear shield at sinister.
The flag displayed here is no official city flag, perhaps an event flag. The original pear shield has no blue fimbriation, and on flag the black fess has been replaced by five black horizontal lines.
Source: https://heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Worcester_(England)

The shield on the county flag displays the pear shield, but without fess and the pears in bend, not in bend sinister!
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 October 2019