Church launches competition to design new flag for historic village

A South Lanarkshire church is today launching a competition to create a new official flag for the historic village it serves.

Bothwell Parish Church has teamed up with a local development charity, Bothwell Futures, and Phillip Tibbetts, Scotland's official flags expert, to select a winning design that the whole community can rally behind and be proud of.

The church, part medieval and part Victorian, is celebrating its 625-year anniversary this year and the new flag will be flown from its tower and hopefully used by local businesses and at community events.

People of all ages are encouraged to enter the free competition and an information pack sets out guidelines on what to think about when creating a design and how to submit it.

The village boasts a long and dramatic history that parallels the history of the nation and the Romans had a camp at nearby Bothwellhaugh.

St. Mungo, the founder and patron saint of Glasgow, sent out his acolytes in the 6th century to establish a Christian settlement on an already pagan, holy shrine.

The Battle of Bothwell Bridge took place on 22 June 1679 and was fought between government troops and militant Presbyterian Covenanters.

Bothwell Castle is the largest and finest 13th century stone castle in Scotland but despite all this rich history, the village has never had an official flag.

Community cohesion

Rev Iain Majcher, minister of Bothwell Parish Church, said: "This is a special year as we celebrate 625 years of worship in our building.

"I am delighted that the church is working with the whole community to create a piece of history that will fly not only on the top of our tower but be used by all.

"Throughout my time as minister at Bothwell Parish Church, I have worked to bring people together.

"Unfortunately, it became clear that whatever flag we flew from the tower, whether it was the Saltire or the Union flag, it sadly didn't create unity.

"Like the church, Bothwell Futures has very much the same ethos of working together for the good of all and bringing the community together.

"We hope the new flag will celebrate the heritage and culture of our corner of the country and be a source of pride ."

Mr Majcher said the Kirk Session made the decision to commission a new flag for the tower and the Flag Institute put him in contact with Mr Tibbetts, the first ever ‘Honorary Vexillologist' at the Lyon Court.

The flag expert helped put together the competition pack and took care of the registration process at the Lyon Court.

Entries to the competition will be whittled down by a committee made up of Mr Majcher, Mr Tibbetts, a representative from Bothwell Futures and key community partners.

Four entries will be shortlisted and members of the local community will vote for their favourite design and a winner will be chosen.

The winning entry will be kept under-wraps until the official unveiling at the end of this year and local dignities and community representatives will be invited to attend.

The cost of the flag will be met by Bothwell Futures along with donations.

Mr Majcher said: "The winner of the new flag will be creating history as once it is registered at the Lyon Court it becomes the flag for our village.

"As the world around us changes this will be a constant for years to come, long after we have gone.

"The flag on our tower is such an iconic image in our village and it will be a delight to see the new community flag flying.

"I would encourage everyone to take part and have a go, who knows yours might be the one that wins."

Mr Tibbetts undertakes scholarly investigations of flags on behalf of the Court of the Lord Lyon, Scotland's Heraldic Authority.

He said: "Bothwell is a town of such rich history of castles, battles and industry, each with their own symbols to draw on.

"I very much look forward to seeing the designs that the community come up with"

Kieron Goodman, acting chair of Bothwell Futures , said: "When we recently opened our new ‘community hub' in the village we ran a small competition to design the new logo for this space with local residents, community groups and schools.

"It was amazing to see the incredible effort put into the entries, and it was extremely rewarding to see the winner and runners-up being celebrated for their talent.

"Bothwell Futures are delighted to support this unique competition, and we have no doubt that the same amazing effort and talent will be on show with aspiring designs from our local community."