SOMERSET Council will be represented by a dragon when it launches in April – but some people have asked why it was chosen over a wyvern.
The logo depicts a dragon's head inside a teal pentagon that represents the five councils set to be replaced by the unitary authority.
The new logo was unveiled and approved last month and will be rolled out gradually to keep costs down by avoiding a “‘big bang’ approach”.
Somerset County Council leader Bill Revans has provided some extra context behind the new authority's branding based on the county's existing symbols.
They include the coat of arms and flag, which both depict a creature with four legs and wings. Dragons have four legs, while wyverns have two.
Cllr Revans said: “Even before the first pen was put to paper, the in-house team who produced the new branding were given a lecture on the Somerset Coat of Arms and its history from Tom Maybury of the South West Heritage Trust.
“In heraldic terms a dragon has four limbs plus wings, a wyvern has two legs plus wings.
“So Somerset’s flag, coat of arms, county cricket team and indeed new council are all represented by a dragon.
“Like the county’s T20 team, Somerset’s dragon is anything but ‘armless….”
The flag of Wessex (the Anglo-Saxon kingdom that included Somerset) depicts a golden wyvern. A wyvern also featured on Wessex military uniforms in the army.
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