Learning to Read Lundy Through Its Flags

Learning to notice

When I first arrived on Lundy, I saw what every visitor sees: puffins, dramatic cliffs, Highland cattle and breathtaking views. But when your life becomes an island, that is just three miles long and half a mile wide, you begin to notice the smaller things. What would probably pass unnoticed on the mainland, suddenly become part of everyday life.

Writing this blog each week, has made me realise how many of those small details have become larger. Living and working here, means I interact with the same places, paths and landmarks every day, yet they continue to offer something new.

Which brings me rather unexpectedly to the subject of flags! I have realised that here on the Island, I look at flags every day. At my mainland home, I can’t even tell you where the nearest flag flies! Yet on Lundy, I notice them not because I’m a vexillophile, but because they tell me where to walk, whether it’s worth packing my swimming things and which side of the island might offer a little shelter.

Reading the Wind

When I lived in the delightfully named ‘Paradise Row’ – known only by the Post Office as that, simply called ‘Pigs’ by everyone else – I could see the flag on St Helen’s Church, from the moment I woke up. On a day off of work or when on a later shift, the flag helped me plan the day.

The flag showing an easterly wind usually sends me to the west of the Island, in search of shelter, The Battery or Earthquake. If it’s blowing from the north, Benjamin’s Chair suddenly becomes the perfect place for a picnic. Without really thinking about it, I’d learnt to plan my day from the direction of a flag. Rather like the man who windsurfed to Lundy, the wind becomes you navigator.

Since moving house on Lundy, to the colloquially named ‘Millionaires Row’, the flag I can see is the one at The Ugly. This is the flag that tells me whether the Landing Bay might be calm enough for a swim. It’s amazing how something as ordinary as a flag dictates my day. On the mainland, I never look at a flag.

More than a piece of cloth

It also made me realise that flags do far more than show the direction of the wind – They tell stories.

Some tell us about the weather. The flags are usually taken down when very high winds are forecast – I’m not sure how many we’ve lost over the years to the wind. Others speak of Lundy’s history. The Cross of St George flying above St Helen’s Church claims that the ground the church is built on and the area immediately around it, is owned by the Church of England not the National Trust.

Marting Coles Harman Flags

Researching the Lundy Flag, what I thought was quite a modern design, turned out to have a history stretching back to Martin Coles Harman. That shouldn’t really have surprised me, If Harman could create his own coins and his own stamps, then designing his own flag seems like the next logical step. I have enjoyed reading the stories about this flag and how it was hoisted whenever Harman visited the Island, no wonder he was named the Lord of Lundy, he certainly wanted everyone to know he was in residence on the Island.

The Lundy flag is currently hoisted at The Ugly, on ‘High Days and Holidays’. The white and blue flag itself, to my mind, is a little boring, Its predecessor a puffin flag would have been more fun! One detail I particularly like at this flagpole, is the carved Merchant mark at the bottom of the pole. A replica, made by Roger Fursden. It is a copy of an original carving which was found, when digging was taking place to rebuild this area. A mark that travels through history, simply because one Lundy staff member, took the time to recreate something found.

There are also the maritime flags flown on MS Oldenburg, reminding us that Lundy has always been connected to the sea. The ‘Red Duster’ is always in my eyeline when I sit on my favourite seat when crossing to and from the Island.

Stories from the Tavern

During our daily staff “Toast Break” in the Tavern (it happens every morning at 9.30), I asked Farmer Tom about the Lundy flag. One of the pleasures of living on Lundy is that every question seems to have several answers. If I want a colourful version of events, I usually ask Tom. Somewhere beneath the embellishments, there is nearly always a surprising amount of truth. If I want a straight answer, I speed dial Michael Williams ( who provided me the information of the Merchant Marks). For the purpose of Flags I refer to the knowledge of André Coutanche and his online article on Flags of Lundy.

Inside the Marisco Tavern hangs another collection of flags, each with its own story. Tom tells me only one is an original: Apparently, there was lots of controversy with the first Trinity Flag in the Tavern. According to one of my ‘well-informed’ island sources, the original was reclaimed by Trinity House, so the one hanging today is a replacement.

The others have acquired a rather unexpected history of their own. Apparently one of our staff members collected the Royal Navy – White Ensign, from the Marine Barracks at Chivenor (a gig i would not have refused!). I am also told that during one winter shutdown they were all washed together, with unfortunate consequences – now they are tinged pink. In January shutdown, when deep cleaning the Tavern. We are under strict instructions to NEVER touch the flags! This July the flagpoles found yet another purpose, becoming favourite perches for the racing pigeons, who decided the Tavern was home for several weeks. I do fear that some of them will now have dirty white stains as well as being tinged pink!

If you visit the Marisco Tavern, have a look up and see how many of the flags you can identify. Answers at the bottom of this post.

One Last Mystery

And then there’s one final mystery.

Every year on 4th May, a Star Wars flag mysteriously appears on The Ugly flagpole. Nobody seems willing to admit responsibility. It simply appears. I have my suspicions!! But some mysteries are probably best left unsolved.

Before writing this, I hadn’t realised quite how often I looked at Lundy’s flags. They help me decide where to walk, whether it’s calm enough for a swim and where I might find a sheltered spot for lunch. They’ve also introduced me to stories about Martin Coles Harman, Trinity House, island traditions and even a few unexplained mysteries.

As I approach my fifth anniversary of living on Lundy, perhaps it’s time to hoist the Lundy flag again!!! Not just because it’s also my birthday but because these last five years have taught me things, i might have otherwise taken for granted.

The way a simple piece of cloth can tell you where to walk, whether to swim and quietly remind you of the island’s history. Perhaps that’s one of the greatest things about living here on Lundy It teaches you to notice.

Marisco Tavern Flags

• HM Coastguard
• Sea Cadets
• Trinity House
• RNLI
• The White Ensign of the Royal Navy

Reference

Lundy Island, England (no date). [Online]. Available at https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-en-lu.html. [Accessed on 07/08/2026]