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Curry Mallet, Somerset, England

English Town

Last modified: 2021-02-27 by rob raeside
Keywords: curry mallet | somerset |
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[Flag of Curry Mallet Parish Council, Somerset]
Parish flag image located by Valentin Poposki, 9 August 2019

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Introduction: Curry Mallet Parish
Designated a "Town of the Magna Carta Barons"

Curry Mallet is a village and parish in Somerset about eight miles east of Taunton in what is now the South Somerset district. The village is thought to be about 2,000 years old and existed in Roman times. Evidence of a medieval village there has been well established and the entry for Curry Mallet in the Domesday Book of 1086 shows that the village had a population of thirty-eight households at that time. It was part of a feudal barony held by Roger de Courselles, but later passed into the hands William Mallet, a Norman knight who fought at the Battle of Hastings.
A later descendant also apparently named William (1175-1215) accompanied King Richard the Lionheart on his Crusade to the Holy Lands and took part in the Siege of Acre (1190). Upon returning to England, he served as Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset (1209). Interestingly enough, the Mallets were reputedly related by blood or marriage to both William the Conqueror and King Harold of England.
It was later this William Mallet, the then Lord of Curry Mallet, who was one of twenty-five barons elected to act as guarantor of the Magna Carta, which is widely viewed as establishing the rule of constitutional law and individual freedoms for England.
In 1356 his descendants sold the manor house to Sir Matthew Gourney, then in 1443 the whole estate passed to the king and became part of the Duchy of Cornwall. In fact the Duchy of Cornwall still owns many parts of the village today including three farms; two mixed with large dairy herds and the third having a successful strawberry business growing chosen varieties for the main supermarkets.
Today the village is filled with structures which have been listed by English Heritage as of special architectural and historic interest. There is always a full program of historical entertainment and activities
Sources: Curry Mallet Organization and Mallet Family History
Pete Loeser, 21 February 2021

Curry Mallet Parish Flag
"Village Sign and Flag Design" Contest 2015

Rob Penny of Ashtree House was the winner of a contest for a village sign and flag held by the Curry Mallet Parish Council from October 2014 to June 2015. The design for a pennant uses the red and yellow colors of the Mallet family arms and uses a couple of the ideas from his winning village sign design.
The flag is proportional to the size of the flag pole of the parish Church of St James in Curry Mallet - one yard in flag length for every ten feet of flag pole. The length is four times the width. Thus it was made as a 3x12 foot fish-tailed pennant, dye sub or digitally printed onto poly flag material.
On the hoist side of the flag are the Mallet Arms on a yellow background, on the red fly end of the swallow-tailed pennant "...is the logo for the barons association, but can also be seen as William Mallet." the article explained. The plan is to have the pennant flown from the flag pole next to the 13th-century parish church on special occasions.
Source: Village Sign & Flag - Winning Design on Curry Mallet website, March 19, 2015
Valentin Poposki, 9 August 2019

While the flag has not been registered, it apparently is in use in multiple places. "The flag is now evident in various parts of the village (including the School Church, Village Hall and Mallet Court). The flag shows the Mallet coat of arms on the yellow and the Magna Carta Barons Association logo on the red."
Source: The Magna Carta Trust: 800 Years of the Magna Carta Celebrations.
Pete Loeser, 21 February 2021

Design Elements of Curry Mallet Parish Flag
Malet Coat of Arms

[William Malet's Arms, Somerset] House Mallet of Curry Mallet Arms    [Cadet House of Malet's Arms, Somerset] House of Mallet Arms
images located by Pete Loeser, 21 February 2021

William Mallet (House Mallet of Curry Mallet) arms are used as the first element of the Curry Mallet Parish Flag.
The House of Mallet Arms are not used as an element of the Curry Mallet Parish Flag, but they can be found throughout Curry Mallet Parish. They were from one of two cadet branches (descendants) of the House of Mallet and by the Lords of Graville and Sées.
Pete Loeser, 21 February 2021

Baronial Order of Magna Charta

[Flag of Magna Carta Barons Association, UK] image located by Pete Loeser, 21 February 2021

The Baronial Order of Magna Carta (BOMC) is a scholarly, charitable, and lineage society founded in 1898. The BOMC was originally named the Baronial Order of Runnymede, but the name was subsequently changed to better reflect the organization's purposes relating to the Magna Charta and the promulgation of "freedom of man under the rule of law."
Its logo was used as part of the Curry Mallet Parish Flag design.
Pete Loeser, 21 February 2021