The Street Banners

The Society organises the production and display of medieval banners that brighten the streets of Tewkesbury every summer. Each is based on the arms of a person who was involved in the Battle. They are made from cotton ‘duck’ and then hand-painted using modern acrylic paints.

During the winter months they are part of a rolling programme of refurbishment, to keep them looking fresh. Another one of our aims is, through on going research, to increase the number every year. In 2022 there were 195 on display. Each year many of the town’s traders then rent one or two of them, which we hang outside their premises from mid June to mid September. Whilst deliberately kept at a level easily affordable by even the smallest of the traders the rental income funds the banner project itself and also helps support the Society’s wider work.

All the current banners are available in our Street Banners book along with a brief description of their heraldic construction and a brief synopsis of the owners. Available to purchase via our online shop.

All the work on the banners, from painting at our weekly sessions, on a Monday afternoon in Elizabeth Wyatt House, Barton Road, to erection (a good job for those who enjoy ladders!), marketing and rental collection is carried out by a team of volunteers. If you fancy wielding a paintbrush, or helping in any other aspect of the banners project, why not contact us.

For 2023, our banner choosing and exhibition days will be in the Town Hall on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 May, 10.00am to 5.00pm.

If you would like to display a banner and haven’t done so previously, please read our guidance.