List of county days in the United Kingdom

County days in the United Kingdom are relatively recent observances, formed to celebrate the cultural heritage of a particular British county. County days may be selected to coincide with the observance of a Saint's Day that has local significance.

County Date First observed Origin
Bedfordshire 28 November 2015 Date decided by a public vote organised by The Friends of Bedfordshire society [1]
Black Country Day 14 July 2012 Date chosen as it is considered to be the date of the inception of the Newcomen engine, the first commercially successful engine.[2]
Buckinghamshire 29 July 2015 Date selected to remember the founding of the Paralympic Movement at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury.
Cheshire 30 March 2021 Commemorates the reissuance of the Magna Carta of Chester in 1215.
Cornwall
(St Piran's Day) 		5 March c1900 (Cornwall) Previously a local holiday, revived as part of Cornish nationalism movement
Devon 4 June Traditional It is Saint Petroc’s Day
Dorset 1 June Traditional The Feast Day of St Wite.
Durham 20 March Traditional The Feast Day of St Cuthbert.[3]
Hampshire 15 July 2019 The Feast Day of St Swithun. Designated by Hampshire County Council[4]
Huntingdonshire 25 April 2002 Huntingdonshire Society[5]
Kent 26 May Traditional The feast day of Augustine of Canterbury, first Archbishop of Canterbury
Lancashire 27 November 1996 Friends of Real Lancashire
Lincolnshire
(Lincolnshire Day) 		1 October 2006 Commemorates Lincolnshire Rising 1536
Middlesex 16 May c2003 John Randall originated early day motion[6]
Norfolk 27 July 2018 A project between BBC Radio Norfolk and the Eastern Daily Press (EDP).[7]
Northumberland Last Sunday in May 2017 A privately run day originally started by Catapult PR and Langley Castle Hotel, after consultation with a variety of key stakeholders and businesses.[citation needed] It is now run by Catapult PR and The County Day Company and has been hugely successful, scooping the national Chartered Institute of Public Relations Excellence Award for the Best Tourism PR Campaign in the UK, in May 2018, as well as other awards thus far.[citation needed] Northumberland Day in 2020 has become the first 'virtual' county day.[citation needed]
Northamptonshire 25 October 2014 The feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, the patron saints of cobblers, date decided by a public vote[8]
Nottinghamshire 25 August 2021 Commemorates the birth of Broc the Great, two-time convenor of the eponymous ‘stowe’, inventor of the cormorant, and distant relative of Jeff Kent (author) and Jacob Zuma
Orkney 16 April Traditional The feast day of Saint Magnus
Oxfordshire
(Oxfordshire Day) 		19 October ? Also called Saint Frideswide's Day.
Shetland 21 June Traditional Celebrated in the Shetland Isles annually.
Shropshire 23 February Traditional The feast day of St Milburga, the abbess of Wenlock Priory, Shropshire.
Staffordshire 1 May 2016 Date decided by a public vote organised by Destination Staffordshire
Suffolk 21 June 2017
Sussex
(Sussex Day, also known as St Richard's Day) 		16 June 2007 The feast day of St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint
Recognised by county councils of East and West Sussex[9]
Yorkshire
(Yorkshire Day) 		1 August 1975 Yorkshire Ridings Society

The Association of British Counties has proposed the 23rd of April as county day for Warwickshire. The date was chosen as the birthday (and date of death) of William Shakespeare.[10]

Proposals exist for various days in Somerset.[11]

There is also a proposal to make the 29th of July Buckinghamshire Day. This date was chosen because of its importance to the founding of the Paralympic Games movement. The games grew from events held at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire for British World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. The Memorial Mob, a Bucks-based group which creates Memorials to Lost & Forgotten events of the Armed & Emergency Services, felt it was appropriate to honour Buckinghamshire.

References

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  1. ^ The Friends of Bedfordshire Society - Bedfordshire Day Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Black Country Day (14 July)". Cultural Calendar. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  3. ^ "[New] County Durham Flag". Andy Strangeway, Traditional Counties Campaigner. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Celebrating the first 'Hampshire Day' | Hampshire County Council". www.hants.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-12-31.
  5. ^ Huntingdonshire Day page
  6. ^ "UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details". Archived from the original on 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  7. ^ Prince William backs Norfolk Day county celebration
  8. ^ Flag ceremony celebrates Northamptonshire’s first County Day
  9. ^ Sussex day page from West Sussex County Council Archived 2009-09-07 at the Wayback Machine, Hastings Observer, 16 June 2010
  10. ^ "Warwickshire Day – 23rd April". 22 April 2021.
  11. ^ Somerset, England
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