The Union Flag flying from The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 29/08/17.

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flags, Greenwich., Old Royal Naval College, Sir Christopher Wren, The Painted Hall, Union Flag

Somewhat dwarfed by the architecture of Sir Christopher Wren all around them, Union flags hang, outside of The Painted Hall and The Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College and add some much needed colour to a largely white World Heritage Site.

The Painted Hall has had a colourful history; in 1806 it witnessed the laying-in-state of Admiral Nelson, it became the first National Gallery of Naval Art in 1824 and served as a rather grand dining room for trainee Royal Navy officers between 1937 and 1997.

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The Union Flag flying over George Irvin’s Helter Skelter, Greenwich, 29/08/17.

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flags, Greenwich., helter-skelter, London, Union Flag

Baner Cymru or Y Ddraig Goch, Eastgate, Lincoln, 13/07/16.

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bricks, Cathedral Quarter Lincoln, Eastgate Lincoln, flags, Lincoln, The Red Dragon, Wales

“The flag of Wales” or “The Red Dragon”, which ever description is more appropriate. This example can be seen flying proudly at the heart of the Cathedral Quarter.

The Union Flag flying over a Building Site, Cornhill, Lincoln, 08/09/16.

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building site, Cornhill Lincoln, flags, Lincoln, Union Flag

The Union Jack on the Jack-Staff of HMS M. 33, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth, 29/08/16.

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camouflage., dazzle camouflage, Flag Institute, flags, HMS M33, M33, Portsmouth, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Royal Navy, Union Flag

To quote from a pdf published on-line by the Flag Institute:

“Controversy persists about whether the British national flag should be called “the Union Flag” or “the Union Jack”. Among those who are informed about the matter, it is generally accepted that either name may be used. However, some people are convinced that “Union Flag” is the only correct term and that “Union Jack” should be used only when the flag is flown from the jack-staff in the bows of a Royal Naval vessel or, at least when it refers to the use of the flag by the Royal Navy. The general public almost universally uses the term “Union Jack”. Today some people claim to perceive that this usage is being eroded by persons who deliberately adopt an unjustified pedantry. It must be acknowledged, however, that the origins and relationships of the names “Union Flag” and “Union Jack” are historically far from clear“.

I suppose, as I have previously refereed to Union Flags hanging from buildings I have photographed on my travels, I should refer to this as a Union Jack, especially as it is being flown from a “jack-staff in the bows of a Royal Naval vessel” – but I could be wrong.  

The M. 33 has made an appearance on the Antic Roadshow, back in 2014, so if you would like to see what it looked like then or learn a bit more about its history follow this link.  

The Union flag flying from The Grand Hotel and Spa, Station Rise, York, 15/08/15.

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badges, British Rail, British Rail Eastern Region, coat of arms, flags, North Eastern Railway, ornamental detail, railways, Station Rise York, The Grand Hotel and Spa York, Union Flag, York

Note the badges of the North Eastern Railway under the bay window.

Not all visitors to arrive in York, I’ve noticed recently, head into town, having passed through the historic city walls, having turned into Station Rise; in fact I’m probably in the minority. Station Rise has always been, in my lifetime, home to The North Eastern Railway Memorial, dedicated to the 2236 men of the company who lost their lives in the Great War, buses coming out of George Hudson Street (named after “The Railway King” George Hudson, railway pioneer, Conservative politician, dubious businessman and debtor) and this impressive Edwardian red brick building, which is now The Grand Hotel and Spa.

A plaque, a piece of history in itself, informed me that, “This building, now the headquarters of British Rail, Eastern Region, was head office of the North Eastern Railway from 1906“. I think I’m right in saying that York became the headquarters of the Eastern Region when it amalgamated with the North Eastern Region in 1967 and ceased to exist in 1992 [but if you’re an expert in these matters, feel free to correct me], so the plaque was already something of a curiosity when I started to notice the plaque when I was a much younger man than I an today!

The badge of the York and North Midland Railway (Top), the badge of the Leeds Northern Railway (left) and the badge of the York Newcastle and Berwick Railway, which formed the North Eastern Railway in 1854.

The plaque also describes the different elements of the North Eastern Railway badge, which is one of the most noticeable ornamental details and can just be seen below the bay window in first photograph and in detail above.

The View from the Roof of The Keep Military Museum, Bridport Road, Dorchester, 07/07/15.

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British Army, Castle, Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, Dorchester, Dorset, Dorset Regiment, flags, Military History, military museums, Museums, The Keep Military Museum, The Rifles, Union Flag, views

The view looking towards the junction of Bridport Road and Cornwall Road.

Heights have been something of a theme recently. The Keep is an impressive, in terms of its scale, Portland stone construction, dating from 1879 and, if you are willing to pay the admission price for the military museum that now occupies the building, you can climb the spiral stairs all the way up to the roof. Once informed by the ladies stationed at the entrance that I could go up onto the roof I thought to myself, “It would be rude not to!”

On the roof of The Keep.

The Keep Military Museum’s own website quotes a description of the building by the well know art and architectural historian Pevsner, who describes it in less than favourable terms: “The monumental gatehouse is a knock-down affair. Two round towers to the front, the archway between. Three storeys of long slit windows. Rock faced with a vengeance. Today it is a grade 2 listed building. The designer was probably Major AC Seddon R.E, head of the War Office Design branch at this time…The barracks behind were humble by comparison“. As somebody who grew up by the seaside, The Keep reminds me of the castle shaped plastic buckets and the resulting crenelated sand castles they produced.

The Keep is topped with two flags, the Union flag and the flag of The Rifles. In 1958 the Devonshire Regiment and the Dorset Regiment amalgamated to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. In 2007 the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment was amalgamated with a number of other regiments to form The Rifles, which still has a Reserve Company [the Territorial Army as was] based Dorchester.

The flag of The Rifles.

The spiral staircases in the towers give access to the museums galleries on three floors and then you are invited carry on and step out onto the roof. It was a rather windy day and the situation was unique in my experience, in that the area of the roof is very large, but the battlements around it are very short. The two gentlemen working on the maintenance of the tower didn’t seem to mind climbing up even higher and out onto the scaffolding you can see on my photographs, but one of them did remark to me that, “It was a bit windy”.

The Keep is tall enough for you to get a unique perspective on a number of tree tops  and the comings and goings of the Bridport Road. The military museum itself is very interesting and, if you like heights, I would recommend a walk on the roof.

The Keep.

Furled Union Flag Hanging Over Gieves and Hawkes, 20 Old Bond Street, Bath, 28/04/15.

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architecture, bath, British, flags, Gieves and Hawkes, Gieves and Hawkes Bath, Neo Classical Architecture, Neo-Classical, tayloring, taylors, Union Flag, Union Jack

Statue of Queen Victoria, Victoria Square, Birmingham, 25/04/15.

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architecture, Birmingham, British Monarchy, Council House Birmingham, Flag of Birmingham, flags, public art, Queen Victoria, sculpture, statue, Victoria Square Birmingham, Victorian., Victoriana

Note the civic flag of the city of Birmingham flying over Council House.

“The Good Ship Lollipop”, Cleethorpes, 22/09/14.

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Cleethorpes, flags, flower arrangements, flowers, gardening, The Good Ship Lollipop, Union Flag

I don’t visit this section of the seafront very often, so this lovely flower arrangement came as something of a surprise! The flower arrangement forms part of the terminus for the Cleethorpes land train, which is driven down from The Pier, along the Central Promenade and around the short semicircular section of seawall that stop Cleethorpes Leisure Centre’s car park falling into the Humber Estuary.

Beyond “The Good Ship Lollipop” you will find the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway (which is a 15 inch gauge railway, in case you were wondering), Cleethorpes Boating Lake and the Parkway Cinema.