A Glasgow neighbourhood has entered the history books with the only flag recognised for urban area in Scotland.
The community of Maryhill came together at the weekend to celebrate the officialisation of the Maryhill flag.
At Maryhill Burgh Halls on Sunday, the Lord Lyon Dr Joseph Morrow - the heraldic authority in Scotland - handed over the Letters Patent of the Maryhill flag to two members of the local community.
This official document was inscribed by a calligrapher with the flag design hand-painted on its surface, and it makes the symbol a legal entity in its own right that can be flown alongside the Saltire.
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Dr Morrow said: “I was delighted to have the honour to launch the new Maryhill Flag by the presentation of the Letters Patent granting the flag to the community.
"The occasion was a celebration of the people of Maryhill and their strong value of community. This Flag is a sign of the future of Maryhill.”
In 2020 a competition was launched to design a flag for Maryhill, with the winning design chosen by the public and unveiled in October 2021.
Since then, the people of the area have embraced their flag using it for everything from displays to protests and even a tattoo design.
The flag was designed to represent a narrowboat on the Forth & Clyde Canal with two blue bands representing the canal and the river Kelvin, red alluding to community passion, and black symbolising Maryhill’s industrial past.
The flag encapsulates the origins of the area which developed as we know it today from the late 18th century when the Firth & Clyde Canal opened. The canal attracted industries and communities to Maryhill, and by 1856 the town became an independent police burgh before being absorbed into Glasgow in 1891.
Melanie Farrow, CEO of Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust: “As the only flag which will be recognised for an urban area in Scotland, Maryhill enters the history books with a symbol to represent the community and we hope to develop further programmes around this.”
The Maryhill Flag Letter Patent will be later displayed at Maryhill Burgh Halls.
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