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 2015 Date decided by a public vote organised by The Friends of Bedfordshire society The Friends of Bedfordshire Society - Bedfordshire Day Black Country Day 2012 Date chosen as it is considered to be the date of the inception of the Newcomen engine, the first commercially successful engine. Buckinghamshire 2015 Date selected to remember the founding of the Paralympic Movement at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near Aylesbury. Cheshire 2021 Commemorates the reissuance of Magna Carta of Chester in 1215. Cornwall (St Piran's Day) Previously a local holiday, revived as part of Cornish nationalism movement Devon Saint Petroc's Day Dorset The feast day of St Wite. Durham The feast day of St Cuthbert. Essex 26 October St Cedd's Day Hampshire 2019 The feast day of St Swithun. Designated by Hampshire County Council Huntingdonshire 2002 Huntingdonshire SocietyHuntingdonshire Day page Kent The feast day of Augustine of Canterbury, first Archbishop of Canterbury Lancashire 1996 Friends of Real Lancashire Lincolnshire (Lincolnshire Day) 2006 Commemorates the Lincolnshire Rising of 1536 Middlesex John Randall originated early day motion Norfolk 2018 A project between BBC Radio Norfolk and the Eastern Daily Press (EDP).Prince William backs Norfolk Day county celebration Northamptonshire 2014 The feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian, the patron saints of cobblers, date decided by a public voteFlag ceremony celebrates Northamptonshire’s first County Day Northumberland 2017 A privately run day originally started by Catapult PR and Langley Castle Hotel, after consultation with a variety of key stakeholders and businesses. 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. Northumberland Day in 2020 has become the first 'virtual' county day. Nottinghamshire 2021 Anniversary of the start of the English Civil War, an event triggered by Charles I raising the royal standard at Nottingham Castle in 1642 Orkney The feast day of Saint Magnus Oxfordshire(Oxfordshire Day) ? Also called Saint Frideswide's Day. Shetland Celebrated in the Shetland Isles annually. Shropshire The feast day of St Milburga, the abbess of Wenlock Priory, Shropshire. Staffordshire 2016 Date decided by a public vote organised by Destination Staffordshire Suffolk 2017 Sussex(Sussex Day, also known as St Richard's Day) 2007 The feast day of St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint Recognised by county councils of East and West SussexSussex day page from West Sussex County Council , Hastings Observer, 16 June 2010Wiltshire5 June2007The date the 'Bustard flag' was first flown over County Hall, Trowbridge. Yorkshire(Yorkshire Day) 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.
Proposals exist for various days in Somerset.Somerset, England
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
External links https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/celebrating-the-historic-counties-of-england/celebrating-the-historic-counties-of-england