Horningsea (Cambridgeshire)

The Horningsea Flag is a community flag proclaiming the unique identity of this Cambridgeshire village.

The flag consists of a field divided vertically white and red.

At the centre is an emblem of a potter at his wheel.

Horningsea adopted this emblem for its village sign in 1982, and the residents association also use it as their logo.

The Romans had numerous kilns here to exploit the local grey clay, shipping finished pots by boat to Peterborough.

From there the pots continued across the Roman Empire — including Pompeii, where a Horningsea pot is reputedly on display.

Residents still find shards of pottery and occasionally a whole pot.

A swallow-tailed variant of this flag also exists and flies in the village.

Note that since 2014 Horningsea also has a specific event flag in addition to its village flag.

In 1214 the Bishop of Ely granted the parish to the Hospital of St John the Evangelist, now St John’s College, Cambridge.

The flag commemorates the 800th anniversary of this event.

A red field edged in gold denotes Lady Margaret Beaufort, Founder of St John’s College.

Upon it is the bird shown on the Hospital’s waxed seal, over the crossed keys of St Peter.