Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a
historic county in
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to
periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographic territory and
cultural region
In anthropology and geography, a cultural region, cultural sphere, cultural area or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associated ...
.
The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
, and also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration such as
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
In N ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
and the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
.
Within the borders of the historic county of Yorkshire are large stretches of countryside, including the
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.
The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...
,
North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
and
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
national parks. Yorkshire has been
nicknamed
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
"God's Own Country" or "God's Own County" by its inhabitants.
The emblem of Yorkshire is the
White Rose
The White Rose (german: Weiße Rose, ) was a Nonviolence, non-violent, intellectual German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students (and one professor) at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, ...
of the English royal
House of York
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, ...
, and the most commonly used flag representative of Yorkshire is the white rose on a blue
field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
which, after nearly fifty years of use, was recognised by the
Flag Institute
The Flag Institute is a UK membership organisation headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, England, concerned with researching and promoting the use and design of flags. It documents flags in the UK and internationally, maintains a UK Flag Registr ...
on 29 July 2008.
Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day is a yearly celebration on 1 August to promote the historic county of Yorkshire, England. It was celebrated by the Yorkshire Ridings Society in 1975, initially in Beverley, as "a protest movement against the local government re- ...
, held annually on 1 August, is a celebration of the general
culture of Yorkshire
The culture of Yorkshire has developed over the county's history, influenced by the cultures of those who came to control the region, including the Celts ( Brigantes and Parisii), Romans, Angles, Vikings and Normans. Yorkshire people are said ...
, ranging from its
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
to its
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
.
Yorkshire is covered by different
Government Office Regions. Most of the county falls within
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
while the extreme northern part of the county, such as
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
,
Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
,
Holwick
Holwick is a small village in Teesdale, north-east England. Located in the Pennine hills, it consists of a few houses spread along a road in the pattern of a linear settlement. As the population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100, details ...
and
Startforth
Startforth is a village on the Pennines end of south Teesdale, England. The population of Startforth taken at the 2011 Census was 1,361. It is Historic counties of England, historically located in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the ...
, falls within
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
. Small areas in the west of the county are covered by the
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
region.
Etymology
Yorkshire or the County of York was so named as it is the
shire
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...
(administrative area or county) of the city of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
or York's Shire. "York" comes from the Viking name for the city,
Jórvík
Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...
. The word "
Shire
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...
" is either from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
word ''skyr'' or from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''scir'' meaning share, care or official charge. The "shire" suffix is locally pronounced "shuh", or occasionally , a homophone of "sheer".
History
Ancient–500: Hen Ogledd
Early: Celtic Brigantes and Parisi
Early inhabitants of what is now Yorkshire were
Hen Ogledd
Yr Hen Ogledd (), in English the Old North, is the historical region which is now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands that was inhabited by the Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages. Its population spo ...
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
(old north British Celts), who formed separate tribes, the
Brigantes
The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...
(known to be in the
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
west
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
ridings of now Yorkshire) and the
Parisi,
East Riding. The Brigantes controlled territory which later became all of
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
and more territory than most Celtic tribes on the isle of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. Six of the nine Brigantian ''
poleis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
'' described by
Claudius Ptolemaeus
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
in the ''
Geographia
The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...
'' fall within the historic county.
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, ''Geographia
The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...
'
2.1
The Parisi, who controlled the area that would become the
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
, might have been related to the
Parisii of ''
Lutetia
The Gallo-Roman town of ''Lutetia'' (''Lutetia Parisiorum'' in Latin, in French ''Lutèce'') was the predecessor of the modern-day city of Paris. It was founded in about the middle of the 3rd century BCE by the Parisii, a Gallic tribe. Tra ...
Parisiorum'',
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
(known today as Paris, France).
Their capital was at
Petuaria
Petuaria (or Petuaria Parisorum) was originally a Roman fort situated where the town of Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire now stands. Petuaria means something like 'quarter' or 'fourth part', incorporating the archaic Brythonic *''petuar'', ...
, close to the Humber Estuary.
43–400s: Britannia Inferior
![Constantine York Minster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Constantine_York_Minster.jpg)
Although the
Roman conquest of Britain
The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Staneg ...
began in 43 AD, the Brigantes remained in control of their kingdom as a
client state
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
for an extended period, reigned over by the Brigantian monarchs
Cartimandua
Cartimandua or Cartismandua (reigned ) was a 1st-century queen of the Brigantes, a Celtic people living in what is now northern England. She came to power around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, and formed a large tribal agglomeration t ...
and her husband
Venutius
Venutius was a 1st-century king of the Brigantes in northern Britain at the time of the Roman conquest. Some have suggested he may have belonged to the Carvetii, a tribe that probably formed part of the Brigantes confederation.
History first b ...
. The capital was between the north and west ridings ''
Isurium Brigantum
Isurium or Isurium of the Brigantes ( la, Isurium Brigantum) was a Roman fort and town in the province of Britannia at the site of present-day Aldborough in North Yorkshire, England, in the United Kingdom. Its remains—the Aldborough Roman ...
'' (near
Aldborough) ''
civitas
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...
'' under Roman rule. Initially, this situation suited both the Romans and the Brigantes, who were known as the most
militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
tribe in Britain.
Queen Cartimandua left her husband
Venutius
Venutius was a 1st-century king of the Brigantes in northern Britain at the time of the Roman conquest. Some have suggested he may have belonged to the Carvetii, a tribe that probably formed part of the Brigantes confederation.
History first b ...
for his armour bearer,
Vellocatus
Vellocatus was a first-century king of the Brigantes tribe of northern Britain.
He was originally armour-bearer to Venutius, husband of Cartimandua, the queen of the Brigantes and an ally of Rome. Some time after 51 AD Cartimandua split with Ve ...
, setting off a chain of events which changed control of the region. Cartimandua, due to her good relationship with the Romans, was able to keep control of the kingdom; however, her former husband staged
rebellion
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
s against her and her Roman allies. At the second attempt, Venutius seized the kingdom, but the Romans, under general
Petillius Cerialis, conquered the Brigantes in 71 AD.
The fortified city of
Eboracum
Eboracum () was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimate ...
(now known as
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
) was named as capital of ''
Britannia Inferior
Britannia Inferior (Latin for "Lower Britain") was a new province carved out of Roman Britain probably around AD 197 during the reforms of Septimius Severus although the division may have occurred later, between 211 and 220, under Caracall ...
'' and joint capital of all
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...
. The emperor
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
ruled the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
from Eboracum for the two years before his death.
Another emperor,
Constantius Chlorus
Flavius Valerius Constantius "Chlorus" ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 t ...
, died in Eboracum during a visit in 306 AD. Thereafter his son
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
, who became renowned for his acceptance of Christianity, was proclaimed emperor in the city. In the early 5th century, the
Roman rule ceased with the withdrawal of the last active Roman troops. By this stage, the Western Empire was in intermittent decline.
500s–1000s: Germanic landings
500s–800s: Celtic-Anglo kingdoms of Ebrauc, Elmet, Deira and Northumbria
After the Romans left, small Celtic kingdoms arose in the region, including kingdoms of
Deira
Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom.
Etymology
The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...
to the east (domain of a settlements near
Malton on
Derwent),
Ebrauc
The history of York, England, as a city dates to the beginning of the first millennium AD but archaeological evidence for the presence of people in the region of York dates back much further to between 8000 and 7000 BC. As York was a town i ...
(domain of York) around the north and
Elmet
Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...
to the west. The latter two were successors of land south-west and north-east of the former
Brigantia capital.
Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...
(hailing from southern
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
and northern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, probably along with Swedish
Geats
The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of th ...
) consolidated (merging
Ebrauc
The history of York, England, as a city dates to the beginning of the first millennium AD but archaeological evidence for the presence of people in the region of York dates back much further to between 8000 and 7000 BC. As York was a town i ...
) under
Deira
Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom.
Etymology
The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...
,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
as capital. This was in turn was grouped with
Bernicia
Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.
The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...
, another former Celtic-
Brigantes
The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...
kingdom that was north of the
River Tees
The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
and had come to be headed by
Bamburgh
Bamburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It had a population of 454 in 2001, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census.
The village is notable for the nearby Bamburgh Castle, a castle which was the seat of ...
, to form
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
.
Elmet
Elmet ( cy, Elfed), sometimes Elmed or Elmete, was an independent Brittonic kingdom between about the 5th century and early 7th century, in what later became the smaller area of the West Riding of Yorkshire then West Yorkshire, South Yorkshir ...
had remained independent from the
Germanic Angles until some time in the early 7th century, when King
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin ( ang, Ēadwine; c. 586 – 12 October 632/633), also known as Eadwine or Æduinus, was the List of monarchs of Northumbria, King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until hi ...
expelled its last king, Certic, and annexed the region to his
Deira
Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom.
Etymology
The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...
region. The Celts never went away, but were assimilated. This explains the existence of many
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
place names in Yorkshire today, such as
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
and
Pen-y-ghent
Pen-y-ghent or Penyghent is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is the lowest of Yorkshire's Three Peaks at ; the other two being Ingleborough and Whernside. It lies east of Horton in Ribblesdale. It has a number of interesting geologic ...
.
As well as the Angles and Geats, other settlers included
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...
(thought to have founded
Fryston and
Frizinghall
Frizinghall is a district in the Heaton ward of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, lying north of the city centre close to the town of Shipley, itself a part of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District along with such other nearby towns ...
),
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
,
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
and
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
.
At its greatest extent,
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
stretched from the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
to the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and from
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
down to
Hallamshire
Hallamshire (or Hallam) is the historical name for an area of South Yorkshire, England, approximating to the current City of Sheffield local government area.
The origin of the name is uncertain. The English Place-Name Society describe "Halla ...
in the south.
800s–900s: Jórvík
Scandinavian York (also referred to as Jórvík) or Danish/Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
(modern day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was dominated by Norse warrior-kings; in particular, used to refer to
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, the city controlled by these kings.
Norse monarchy controlled varying amounts of Northumbria from 875 to 954, however the area was invaded and conquered for short periods by
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
between 927 and 954 before eventually being annexed into England in 954. It was closely associated with the much longer-lived
Kingdom of Dublin
Vikings invaded the territory around Dublin in the 9th century, establishing the Norse Kingdom of Dublin, the earliest and longest-lasting Norse kingdom in Ireland. Its territory corresponded to most of present-day County Dublin. The Norse refe ...
throughout this period.
![EricBloodaxeCoin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/EricBloodaxeCoin.png)
An army of
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s, the
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...
as its enemies often referred to it, invaded Northumbrian territory in 866 AD. The Danes conquered and assumed what is now York and renamed it
Jórvík
Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...
, making it the capital city of a new Danish kingdom under the same name. The area which this kingdom covered included most of Southern Northumbria, roughly equivalent to the borders of Yorkshire extending further West.
The Danes went on to conquer an even larger area of England that afterwards became known as the
Danelaw
The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...
; but whereas most of the Danelaw was still English land, albeit in submission to Viking overlords, it was in the
Kingdom of Jórvík that the only truly Viking territory on mainland Britain was ever established. The Kingdom prospered, taking advantage of the vast trading network of the Viking nations, and established commercial ties with the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, North-West Europe, the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
and the Middle East.
Founded by the Dane
Halfdan Ragnarsson
Halfdan Ragnarsson ( non, Hálfdan; oe, Halfdene or ''Healfdene''; sga, Albann; died 877) was a Viking leader and a commander of the Great Heathen Army which invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, starting in 865.
One of six sons of Ra ...
in 875,
ruled for the great part by Danish kings, and populated by the families and subsequent descendants of Danish Vikings, the leadership of the kingdom nonetheless passed into Norwegian hands during its twilight years.
Eric Bloodaxe
Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...
, an ex-king of Norway who was the last independent Viking king of Jórvík, is a particularly noted figure in history, and his bloodthirsty approach towards leadership may have been at least partly responsible for convincing the Danish inhabitants of the region to accept English sovereignty so readily in the years that followed.
800s–1000s: Yorkshire
After around 100 years of its volatile existence, the Kingdom of Jorvik finally came to an end. The
Kingdom of Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
was now in its ascendancy and established its dominance over the North in general, placing Yorkshire again within
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
, which retained a certain amount of autonomy as an almost-independent
earl
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
dom rather than a separate kingdom. The Wessex
Kings of England
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
were reputed to have respected the Norse customs in Yorkshire and left law-making in the hands of the local aristocracy.
1000s–1400s: Normans
1000s–1100s: Harrying of the north
![Doomsday Book - Counties of England - 1086](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Doomsday_Book_-_Counties_of_England_-_1086.png)
In the weeks leading up to the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...
in 1066 AD,
Harold II of England
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Co ...
was distracted by pushing back efforts to reinstate the kingdom of Jorvik and Danelaw. His brother
Tostig
Tostig Godwinson ( 102925 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was kille ...
and
Harald Hardrada
Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...
,
King of Norway
The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...
, having won the
Battle of Fulford
The Battle of Fulford was fought on the outskirts of the village of Fulford just south of York in England, on 20 September 1066, when King Harald III of Norway, also known as ''Harald Hardrada'' ("harðráði" in Old Norse, meaning "hard rule ...
. The King of England marched north where the two armies met at the
Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge ( ang, Gefeoht æt Stanfordbrycge) took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading N ...
. Tostig and Hardrada were both killed and their army was defeated decisively.
Harold Godwinson was forced immediately to march his army south, where
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
was landing. The King was defeated in what is now known as the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...
, which led to the
Norman conquest of England
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
.
The people of the North rebelled against the Normans in September 1069 AD, enlisting
Sweyn II of Denmark
Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson ( on, Sveinn Ástríðarson, da, Svend Estridsen; – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson ...
. They tried to take back York, but the Normans burnt it before they could. What followed was the
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate northern England, where the presence of the last House of Wessex, Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encouraged An ...
ordered by William. From York to
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
, crops, domestic animals, and farming tools were
scorched. Many villages between the towns were burnt and local northerners were indiscriminately murdered. During the winter that followed, families starved to death and thousands of peasants died of cold and hunger.
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
estimated that "more than 100,000" people from the North died from hunger.
![YorkMinsterWest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/YorkMinsterWest.jpg)
In the centuries following, many
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
s and
priories
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...
were built in Yorkshire. Norman landowners increased their revenues and established new towns such as
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
,
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
,
Hull,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
and
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, among others. Of towns founded before the conquest, only
Bridlington
Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...
,
Pocklington
Pocklington is a market town and civil parish situated at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 8,337. It is east of York and northwest of Hull.
The town's sk ...
, and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
continued at a prominent level.
In the early 12th century, people of Yorkshire had to contend with the
Battle of the Standard
The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King David ...
at
Northallerton
Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...
with the
Scots. Representing the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On 1 ...
led by
Archbishop Thurstan of York, soldiers from Yorkshire defeated the more numerous Scots.
1300s: Mass deaths
The population of Yorkshire boomed until it was hit by the
Great Famine of 1315 until 1322.
The
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
reached Yorkshire by 1349, killing around a third of the population.
1400s–1600s: Royal revolts
1400s: Wars of the Roses
![King Richard III from NPG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/King_Richard_III_from_NPG.jpg)
When King
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
was overthrown in 1399, antagonism between the
House of York
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, ...
and the
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 126 ...
, both branches of the royal
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...
, began to emerge. Eventually the two houses fought for the throne of England in a series of civil wars, commonly known as the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
. Some of the battles took place in Yorkshire, such as those at
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and
Towton
Towton is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.
History
In 2010 and 2011 a pair of gold torcs dating ...
, the latter of which is known as the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil.
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
was the last Yorkist king.
Henry Tudor, sympathiser to the House of Lancaster, defeated and killed Richard at the
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...
. He then became King
Henry VII and married
Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which ma ...
, daughter of Yorkist
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
, ending the wars. The two roses of white and red, emblems of the Houses of York and Lancaster respectively, were combined to form the
Tudor Rose
The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic badge, heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor ...
of England. This rivalry between the royal houses of York and Lancaster has passed into popular culture as a rivalry between the counties of Yorkshire and
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, particularly in sport (for example the
Roses Match
The Roses Match refers to any game of cricket played between Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club. Yorkshire's emblem is the white rose, while Lancashire's is the red rose. The associations go back to the Wars of the R ...
played in
County Cricket
Inter-county cricket matches are known to have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Since the late 19th century, there have been two county championship ...
), although the House of Lancaster was based in York and the House of York in London.
1500: Catholic-Protestant dissolution
The
English Reformation
The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
began under
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
and the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 led to a popular uprising known as
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...
, started in Yorkshire as a protest. Some
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in Yorkshire continued to practise their religion and those caught were executed during the reign of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
. One such person was a York woman named
Margaret Clitherow
Margaret Clitherow (1556 – 25 March 1586) was an English saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, known as "the Pearl of York". She was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea to the charge of harbouring Catholic priests. She was c ...
who was later
canonised
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
.
1600s: Civil war
![Battle of Marston Moor, 1644](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Battle_of_Marston_Moor%2C_1644.png)
During the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, which started in 1642, Yorkshire had divided loyalties;
Hull (full name
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
) famously shut the gates of the city on the king when he came to enter a few months before fighting began, while the
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres).
From the Restoration it was used as ...
in particular was strongly
royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
. York was the base for Royalists, and from there they captured
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
only to have them recaptured a few months later. The royalists won the
Battle of Adwalton Moor
The Battle of Adwalton Moor occurred on 30 June 1643 at Adwalton, West Yorkshire, during the First English Civil War. In the battle, the Royalists loyal to King Charles led by the Earl of Newcastle soundly defeated the Parliamentarians co ...
meaning they controlled Yorkshire (with the exception of Hull). From their base in Hull the Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") fought back, re-taking Yorkshire town by town, until they won the
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...
and with it control of all of the
North of England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
.
1500s–1900s: Industry
1500-1600s: Explorative growth
![Saltaire from Leeds and Liverpool Canal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Saltaire_from_Leeds_and_Liverpool_Canal.jpg)
In the 16th and 17th centuries Leeds and other wool-industry-centred towns continued to grow, along with Huddersfield, Hull and Sheffield, while coal mining first came into prominence in the
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
. The
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
textile industry, which had previously been a cottage industry, centred on the old market towns moved to the
West Riding
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
where entrepreneurs were building mills that took advantage of water power gained by harnessing the rivers and streams flowing from the
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
. The developing
textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturi ...
helped
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and
Halifax grow.
1800s: Victorian revolution
The 19th century saw Yorkshire's continued growth, with the population growing and the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
continuing with prominent industries in coal, textile and steel (especially in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
and
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
). However, despite the booming industry, living conditions declined in the industrial towns due to overcrowding. This saw bouts of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
in both 1832 and 1848. However, advances were made by the end of the century with the introduction of modern
sewers and
water supplies
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
. Several
Yorkshire railway networks were introduced as railways spread across the country to reach remote areas.
![Number 4468 Mallard in York](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Number_4468_Mallard_in_York.jpg)
As Yorkshire was too large and unwieldy to have its own
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
, separate county councils were created for the three ridings in 1889, but their area of control did not include the large towns, which became
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
s, and included an increasingly large part of the population.
Canals and
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
roads were introduced in the late 18th century. In the following century the
spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...
s of
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
and
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
flourished, due to people believing
mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
had curative properties.
Early 1900s: World wars
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Yorkshire became an important base for
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
and brought the county & it's productive industries into the cutting edge of the war, and thus in the targets of Luftwaffe
bombers
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraf ...
during the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
.
1950s–present: Divided
The
County Borough of Teesside
Teesside was, from 1968 to 1974, a local government district in northern England. It comprised a conurbation that spanned both sides of the River Tees from which it took its name. Teesside had the status of a county borough and was independent ...
was created in 1968, drafted by the North Eastern General Review Area from 1962 to 1963 and executed under the
Local Government Act 1958
The Local Government Act 1958 (6 & 7 Eliz.2 c.55) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local Government Commissio ...
, adding settlements to the North Riding's north eastern edges, notably Stockton and Billingham. Twelve in total were placed into a county borough council area. This was the last county borough made and first county to use the local river and '-side' suffix before similar cross river focused counties were created in 1974.
In 1974, they were large
local government reforms throughout the United Kingdom. Some of the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
changes were unpopular, historic boundaries of Yorkshire and its ridings lost notability status as entities.
In 1996, the 'East Riding of Yorkshire' was created from Yorkshire parts of abolished Humberside
Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West ...
and North Yorkshire gained Yorkshire parts of Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
.[Arnold-Baker, C., ''Local Government Act 1972'', (1973)] The Government Office
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
entity currently containing most of Yorkshire is the Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of England.[ This region includes the north-eastern part of ]Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, but not northern parts of Yorkshire, as these areas, located around the River Tees
The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
, are in the North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
region. Parts in the North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
region are:
*Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the west side of the Pennine hills.
Areas include Austerlands, Delph, ...
(Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
)
*Forest of Bowland
The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...
(Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
)
*Sedbergh
Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, no ...
and Dent
Dent may refer to:
People
* Dent (surname)
* Dent May (active 2007), American musician
* Dent Mowrey (1888–1960), American composer, musician and music teacher
* Dent Oliver (1918–1973), international speedway rider
Places France
* Dent d' ...
(Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
) .[HMSO, ''Aspects of Britain: Local Government'', (1996)]
One Yorkshire Devolved Deal proposal
In 2018, eighteen of the twenty-two local councils in the Yorkshire and Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL (UK), ITL for Office for National Statistics, statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, She ...
region voted to elect a mayor to represent the county, including a devolved deal
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a Subnational administrative division, subnational level, such as a regional or local government, local level. It is a form of a ...
for Yorkshire that would in some regards reunite the county under one deal and mayor. The proposal would allow the mayor similar powers to those possessed by the Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
over Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
. This would also allow Yorkshire to create up to 200,000 jobs across the county and provide similar funding and autonomy to that enjoyed by Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
.
Toponymy
Geology
Historically, the northern boundary of Yorkshire was the River Tees
The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
, the eastern boundary was the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
coast and the southern boundary was the Humber Estuary
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
and Rivers Don and Sheaf
Sheaf may refer to:
* Sheaf (agriculture), a bundle of harvested cereal stems
* Sheaf (mathematics), a mathematical tool
* Sheaf toss, a Scottish sport
* River Sheaf, a tributary of River Don in England
* ''The Sheaf'', a student-run newspaper ser ...
. The western boundary meandered along the western slopes of the Pennine Hills to again meet the River Tees. It is bordered by several other historic counties: the county of Durham
The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northum ...
, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
, Derbyshire, Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, Lancashire and Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
. In Yorkshire there is a very close relationship between the major topographical
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
areas and the geological period in which they were formed. The Pennine chain of hills in the west is of Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
origin. The central vale is Permo-Triassic. The North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
in the north-east of the county are Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
in age while the Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
to the south east are Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
chalk uplands.
Yorkshire is drained by several rivers. In western and central Yorkshire the many rivers empty their waters into the River Ouse which reaches the North Sea via the Humber Estuary
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
. The most northerly of the rivers in the Ouse system is the River Swale
The River Swale in Yorkshire, England, is a major tributary of the River Ure, which becomes the River Ouse, that empties into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The river gives its name to Swaledale, the valley through which it flows.
Th ...
, which drains Swaledale
Swaledale is one of the northernmost dales (valleys) in Yorkshire Dales National Park, located in northern England. It is the dale of the River Swale on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire.
Geographical overview
Swaledale runs ...
before passing through Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
and meandering across the Vale of Mowbray
The Vale of Mowbray (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Vale of York) is a stretch of low-lying land between the North York Moors and the Hambleton Hills to the east and the Yorkshire Dales to the west. To the north lie the Cleveland lowla ...
. Next, draining Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England.
It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...
, is the River Ure
The River Ure in North Yorkshire, England is approximately long from its source to the point where it becomes the River Ouse. It is the principal river of Wensleydale, which is the only major dale now named after a village rather than its ...
, which the Swale joins east of Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...
. Near Great Ouseburn
Great Ouseburn is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated south-east of Boroughbridge. The village of Aldwark is to the north-east. It had a population of 598 according to the 2011 cens ...
the Ure is joined by the small Ouse Gill Beck, and below the confluence the river is known as the Ouse. The River Nidd
The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir, which attract a total of aroun ...
rises on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designat ...
and flows along Nidderdale
Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then ...
before reaching the Vale of York
The Vale of York is an area of flat land in the northeast of England. The vale is a major agricultural area and serves as the main north–south transport corridor for Northern England.
The Vale of York is often supposed to stretch from the R ...
and the Ouse. The River Wharfe
The River Wharfe ( ) is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.
...
, which drains Wharfedale
Wharfedale ( ) is the valley of the upper parts of the River Wharfe and one of the Yorkshire Dales. It is situated within the districts of Craven and Harrogate in North Yorkshire, and the cities of Leeds and Bradford in West Yorkshire. It is ...
, joins the Ouse upstream of Cawood
Cawood (other names: ''Carwood'') is a large village (formerly a market town) and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England that is notable as the finding-place of the Cawood sword. It was historically part of the West Rid ...
. The Rivers Aire
Aire may refer to:
Music
* ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987
* ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997
*''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy
Places
*Aire-sur-la-Lys, a town in the Pas-de-Calais département in France
*Aire-la-Ville, a municip ...
and Calder are more southerly contributors to the River Ouse and the most southerly Yorkshire tributary is the River Don, which flows northwards to join the main river at Goole
Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire.
According to the 2011 UK census, Goole parish had a population of 19,518, an increa ...
. Further north and east the River Derwent rises on the North York Moors, flows south then westwards through the Vale of Pickering
The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic ...
then turns south again to drain the eastern part of the Vale of York. It empties into the River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh
Barmby on the Marsh is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of the market town of Howden. It lies on the east bank of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River ...
.
In the far north of the county the River Tees flows eastwards through Teesdale
Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven.
Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls ...
and empties its waters into the North Sea downstream of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
. The smaller River Esk flows from west to east at the northern foot of the North York Moors to reach the sea at Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
. To the east of the Yorkshire Wolds the River Hull
The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops of ...
flows southwards to join the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
.
The western Pennines are drained by the River Ribble
The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...
which flows westwards, eventually reaching the Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
close to Lytham St Annes
Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...
.
Geography
The countryside
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, ...
of Yorkshire has been called "God's Own County" by its inhabitants. Yorkshire includes the North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
and Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954.
The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills ri ...
National Parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
, and part of the Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
National Park. Nidderdale
Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales (although outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park) in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south underground and then ...
and the Howardian Hills
The Howardian Hills are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors National Park, and the Vale of York. They take their name from the Howard family who still own local lands.
Topography
Th ...
are designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...
, as is the North Pennines
The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and ...
(a part of which lies within the county). Spurn
Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent co ...
Point, Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...
and the coastal North York Moors are designated Heritage Coast areas, and are noted for their scenic views with rugged cliffs such as the jet cliffs at Whitby, the limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
cliffs at Filey
Filey () is a seaside town and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing ...
and the chalk cliffs at Flamborough Head. Moor House – Upper Teesdale, most of which is part of the former North Riding of Yorkshire, is one of England's largest national nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserves. At High Force on the border with County Durham, the River Tees
The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...
plunges over the Whin Sill (an intrusion of igneous rock). High Force is not, as is sometimes claimed, the highest waterfall in England (Hardraw Force in Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England.
It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...
, also in Yorkshire, has a drop for example). However, High Force is unusual in being on a major river and carries a greater volume of water than any higher waterfall in England.
The highest mountains in Yorkshire all lie in the Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
on the western side of the county, with Millstone Grit, millstone grit and limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
forming the underlying geology and producing distinctive layered hills. The county top is the remote Mickle Fell (height above sea level) in the North Pennines southwest of Teesdale, which is also the highest point in the North Riding. The highest point in the West Riding is Whernside (height ) near to Ingleton, North Yorkshire, Ingleton in the Yorkshire Dales. Together with nearby Ingleborough (height ) and Pen-y-Ghent (height ), Whernside forms a trio of very prominent and popular summits (the Yorkshire Three Peaks) which can be climbed in a challenging single day's walk. The highest point in the Yorkshire part of the Peak District is Black Hill (Peak District), Black Hill (height ) on the border with historic Cheshire (which also forms the historic county top of that county). The hill ranges along the eastern side of Yorkshire are lower than those of the west. The highest point of the North York Moors is Urra Moor (height ). The highest point of the Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
, a range of low chalk downlands east of York, is Bishop Wilton Wold (height ), which is also the highest point of the East Riding. The view from Sutton Bank at the southeastern edge of the North York Moors near Thirsk encompasses a vast expanse of the Yorkshire lowlands with the Pennines forming a backdrop. It was called the "finest view in England" by local author and veterinary surgeon James Herriot in his 1979 guidebook ''James Herriot's Yorkshire''.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds runs nature reserves such as the one at Bempton Cliffs with coastal wildlife such as the northern gannet, Atlantic puffin and razorbill. Spurn Point is a narrow long sand spit (landform), spit. It is a national nature reserve owned by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is noted for its cyclical nature whereby the spit is destroyed and re-created approximately once every 250 years. There are seaside resorts in Yorkshire with sandy beaches; Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
is Britain's oldest seaside resort dating back to the spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...
-era in the 17th century, while Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
has been voted as the United Kingdom's best beach, with a "postcard-perfect harbour".
The northern extent of Yorkshire is the River Tees, Tees and the southern extent was the River Humber, Humber. East is the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and west are the Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...
and the Aire Gap.
Cities
York has historically been recognised as a city "by ancient prescriptive right", having been the seat of a bishop for many centuries, rather than through specific charters or declarations. Its status as a city was reaffirmed as part of the administrative reforms in 1974 and again in 1996. The smallest city in Yorkshire is Ripon which associated its City status in the United Kingdom, city status with the establishment of Church of England dioceses. When the Diocese of Ripon was created in 1836 the corporation of Ripon assumed that this inferred city status, however, uncertainty surrounding this led to its status being clarified by a parliamentary bill in 1865 known as the City of Ripon Act.
In 1871, Wakefield had a population of around 28,000, less than half the size of the towns of Huddersfield and Halifax, yet when the Ripon diocese was divided to create a diocese for the West Riding it was the Wakefield Cathedral, Church of All Saints, Wakefield that was chosen to be the cathedral and upon the establishment of the Diocese of Wakefield, new diocese in 1888 Wakefield petitioned for city status with letters patent being granted soon after. Bradford, Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
, Leeds and Sheffield became cities in the 1890s. They had all seen significant growth throughout the 19th century and were all larger than any of the preceding cities in Yorkshire. More recently city status was conferred through local government reform in 1974 to the metropolitan boroughs created at that time, some of which were already based on existing city areas (such as Leeds and Sheffield).
In May 2022 it was announced that, as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours, Doncaster would receive city status by letters patent later in 2022.
Towns
Administration
The local government administration has changed over time, with legislation created and abolished, redrawning administrative boundaries. During these changes the boundaries of Yorkshire and its ridings remain as non-administrative, geographical and historic areas, in contrast with the four counties with Yorkshire in their name and region of Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
, the latter does not match the boundaries of the historic county: North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
includes Startforth
Startforth is a village on the Pennines end of south Teesdale, England. The population of Startforth taken at the 2011 Census was 1,361. It is Historic counties of England, historically located in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the ...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and Guisborough; North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
includes Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the west side of the Pennine hills.
Areas include Austerlands, Delph, ...
, Barnoldswick and Sedbergh
Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, no ...
while Yorkshire and the Humber Includes the Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
towns of Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Immingham.
Historic
Historically, Yorkshire was divided into three ridings and the Ainsty, Ainsty of York. The term 'riding' is of Viking origin and derives from ''Threthingr'' (equivalent to third-ing) meaning one acting part of three to York's share. The three ridings in Yorkshire were named the East Riding, West Riding
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, and North Riding of Yorkshire, North Riding. The North Riding bordering on the Derwent to the East Riding. The East Riding and west Riding the west and north parts are bordered by the River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Ure, Ure/River Nidd, Nidd watershed. Each historic riding included wapentakes, local meeting points.
Current
Local government reform in 1974 saw the three ridings reformed with the present day Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of the East Riding, North Yorkshire, North, South Yorkshire, South and West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, with York incorporated into North Yorkshire. County boroughs disbanded and became smaller unitary authorities, independent of the county authority however included in the new counties.
The 1996 reform split Humberside
Humberside () was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East Riding of Yorkshire, West ...
with East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
created (the East Yorkshire district pre-reform meant the older name was used) and part of the County of Cleveland became part of North Yorkshire. Certain legal functions (such as policing) still exist under the old county names from before the 1996 reform, for example Cleveland Fire Brigade, as are the 1993-created regional boundaries.
Economy
Yorkshire has been the focus of various industrial promotion and development initiatives, such as Yorkshire Forward, and today various local enterprise partnerships. There are also a number of innovation centres belonging to leading companies, and a range of spin-off companies linked to major universities.
Many large British companies are based in Yorkshire or were founded there. Yorkshire has a mixed economy, accounting for about 8% of UK GDP.
South and West
The City of Leeds is Yorkshire's largest city and the leading centre of trade and commerce. Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
is also one of the UK's larger financial centres. Leeds' traditional industries were mixed; service-based industries, textile manufacturing and coal mining being examples. Tourism is also significant and a growing sector in the city. In 2015, the value of tourism was in excess of £7 billion. Businesses of Leeds are Wharfedale (company), Wharfedale, Asda, Jet2.com, Optare, Yorkshire Bank, Marks and Spencer, Burton (clothing), Burtons, First Direct, Tetley's Brewery and Good Hair Day, GHD.
Bradford, Halifax, Keighley and Huddersfield once were centres of wool milling. Areas such as Bradford, Dewsbury and Keighley have suffered a decline in their economy since. Notable companies in the area are Jaeger (clothing), Jaeger (Ilkley), Magnet Kitchens (Keighley), Timothy Taylor Brewery (Keighley), Bradford and Bingley (Bingley). Morrisons, Yorkshire Building Society, Provident Financial are based in Bradford. Halifax (United Kingdom bank), Halifax Bank is notably from Halifax.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
once had heavy industries, such as coal mining and the steel industry. Since the decline of such industries Sheffield has attracted tertiary and administrative businesses including more retail trade; Meadowhall Centre, Meadowhall being an example. However, while Sheffield's heavy industry has declined, the region has reinvented itself as a centre for specialist engineering companies such as Boeing and Maclaren. A cluster of hi-tech facilities including The Welding Institute and the Boeing partnered Advanced Manufacturing Park, Advanced Materials Research Centre have all helped to raise the region's profile and to bring significant investment into Yorkshire. In Sheffield large companies include HSBC, Ronseal, Little Chef, Plusnet, Quidco.
Coal mining was extremely active in the south of the county during the 19th century and for most of the 20th century, particularly around Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
and Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
. As late as the 1970s, the number of miners working in the area was still in six figures. The industry was placed under threat on 6 March 1984 when the National Coal Board announced the closure of 20 pits nationwide (some of them in South Yorkshire). By March 2004, a mere three coalpits remained open in the area. Three years later, the only remaining coal pit in the region was Maltby Colliery near Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
. Maltby Colliery closed in 2013.
East Riding and North
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
has an established tourist industry, supported by the presence of two national parks (Yorkshire Dales National Park
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a national park in England covering most of the Yorkshire Dales. Most of the park is in North Yorkshire, with a sizeable area in Westmorland (Cumbria) and a small part in Lancashire. The park was designat ...
, North York Moors National Park), Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
, York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
.
Tourism is a huge part of the economy of York with a value of over £765 million to the city and supporting 24,000 jobs in 2019. Harrogate draws numerous visitors because of its conference facilities. In 2016 such events alone attracted 300,000 visitors to Harrogate.
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
is Yorkshire's largest port and has a large manufacturing base, its fishing industry has however declined somewhat in recent years. Businesses in Hull are Aunt Bessie's, Birds Eye, Seven Seas (company), Seven Seas, Fenner (company), Fenner, Rank Organisation, William Jackson Food Group, Reckitt and Sons, KCOM Group and SGS Europe.
Harrogate and Knaresborough both have small legal and financial sectors. Harrogate is a European conference and exhibition destination with both the Great Yorkshire Showground and Harrogate International Centre in the town. Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate is a notable company from Harrogate.
PD Ports owns and operates Teesport, between Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and Redcar
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough.
The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...
. The company also operates the Hull Container Terminal at the Port of Hull and owns a short river port in Howdendyke (near Howden).
Other businesses in the two counties are Plaxton (Scarborough), McCains (Scarborough), Ebuyer (Howden) and Skipton Building Society (Skipton).
Education
Yorkshire has a large base of primary and secondary schools operated by both local authorities and private bodies, and a dozen universities, along with a wide range of colleges and further education facilities. Five universities are based in Leeds, two in Sheffield, two in York, and one each in Bradford, Hull, Middlesbrough and Huddersfield. The largest universities by enrolment are Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Leeds, each with over 31,000 students, followed by Leeds Beckett University, and the most recent to attain university status is the Leeds Arts University. There are also branches of institutions headquartered in other parts of England, such as the Open University and Britain's first for-profit university (since 2012), the University of Law. The tertiary sector is in active cooperation with industry, and a number of spin-off companies have been launched.
Transport
The most prominent road in Yorkshire, historically called the A1 road (Great Britain), Great North Road, is known as the A1. This trunk road passes through the centre of the county and is the prime route from London to Edinburgh. Another important road is the more easterly A19 road which starts in Doncaster and ends just north of Newcastle upon Tyne at Seaton Burn. The M62 motorway crosses the county from east to west from Hull towards Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
and Merseyside. The M1 motorway, M1 carries traffic from London and the south of England to Yorkshire. In 1999, about was added to make it swing east of Leeds and connect to the A1. The East Coast Main Line rail link between London and Scotland runs roughly parallel with the A1 through Yorkshire and the TransPennine Express, Trans Pennine rail link runs east to west from Hull to Liverpool via Leeds.
Before the advent of rail transport, the seaports of Hull and Whitby played an important role in transporting goods. Historically canals were used, including the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which is the longest canal in England. Mainland Europe (the Netherlands and Belgium) can be reached from Hull via regular ferry services from P&O Ferries. Yorkshire also has air transport services from Leeds Bradford Airport. This airport has experienced significant and rapid growth in both terminal size and passenger facilities since 1996, when improvements began, until the present day. From 2005 until 2022, South Yorkshire was served by Doncaster Sheffield Airport in Finningley. Sheffield City Airport opened in 1997 after years of Sheffield having no airport, due to a council decision in the 1960s not to develop one because of the city's good rail links with London and the development of airports in other nearby areas. The newly opened airport never managed to compete with larger airports such as Leeds Bradford Airport and East Midlands Airport and attracted only a few scheduled flights, while the runway was too short to support low cost carriers. The opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport effectively made the airport redundant and it officially closed in April 2008.
Public transport statistics
The average amount of time people spend on public transport in Yorkshire on a weekday is 77 minutes. 26.6% of public transport users travel for more than two hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transport is 16 minutes, while 24.9% of passengers wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transport is 7 km, while 10% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.
Architecture
Fortifications
Throughout Yorkshire many castles were built during the Norman-Breton period, particularly after the Harrying of the North. These included Bowes Castle, Pickering Castle, Richmond Castle, Skipton Castle, York Castle and others. Later medieval castles at Helmsley Castle, Helmsley, Middleham Castle, Middleham and Scarborough Castle, Scarborough were built as a means of defence against the invading Scots. Middleham is notable because Richard III of England spent his childhood there. The remains of these castles, some being English Heritage sites, are popular tourist destinations.
Stately
There are stately homes in Yorkshire that carry the name "castle" in a similar way to the non-distinctive use of chateau in French. The most notable examples are Allerton Castle and Castle Howard, both linked to the Howard family. Castle Howard and the Earl of Harewood's residence, Harewood House, are included amongst the nine Treasure Houses of England.
Large estates with significant buildings were constructed at Brodsworth Hall, Temple Newsam, Wentworth Woodhouse (the largest fronted private home in Europe), and Wentworth Castle. There are properties which are conserved and managed by the National Trust, such as Nunnington Hall, Ormesby Hall, the Rievaulx Terrace & Temples and Studley Royal Park.
Industrial
Buildings built for industry during the Victorian era are found throughout the region; West Yorkshire has various List of cotton mills in Yorkshire, cotton mills, the Leeds Corn Exchange and the Halifax Piece Hall.
Municipal
There are various buildings built for local authorities:
*Grade I listed building, listed; Leeds Town Hall, Sheffield Town Hall, Wakefield County Hall and York Guildhall
*Grade II* listed; Middlesbrough Town Hall, Leeds Civic Hall, Hull Guildhall, Hull City Hall and Sheffield City Hall.
Religious
Religious architecture includes extant cathedrals as well as the ruins of monastery, monasteries and abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
s. Many of these prominent buildings suffered from the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
; these include Bolton Abbey, Fountains Abbey, Gisborough Priory, Rievaulx Abbey, St Mary's Abbey, York, St Mary's Abbey and Whitby Abbey among others. Notable religious buildings of historic origin still in use include York Minster, the largest Gothic architecture, Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, Beverley Minster, Bradford Cathedral, Rotherham Minster and Ripon Cathedral.
Culture
The culture of the people of Yorkshire is an accumulated product of a number of different civilisations who have influenced its history, including; the Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
(Brigantes
The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...
and Parisii (Yorkshire), Parisii), Ancient Rome, Romans, Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...
, Norsemen, Norse Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s, and Normans amongst others. The western part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire, North Riding had an additional infusion of Breton people, Breton culture due to the Honour of Richmond being occupied by Alain Le Roux, grandson of Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany. The people of Yorkshire are immensely proud of their county and local culture, and it is sometimes suggested they identify more strongly with their county than they do with their country. Yorkshire people have their own Yorkshire dialects and accents and are, or rather were, known as Broad Yorkshire or ''Tykes'', with its roots in Old English and Old Norse.
The British Library provides a four minute long voice recording made in 1955, by a "female housekeeper", Miss Madge Dibnahon, on its web site and an example of the a Yorkshire dialect used at that time, in an unstated location. "Much of her speech remains part of the local dialect to this day", according to the Library. Yorkshire is a massive territory and the dialects are not identical in all areas. In fact, the dialect in North Yorkshire and Humberside/East Yorkshire is "quite different [than in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire] and has a much stronger Scandinavian influence".
One report explains the geographic difference in detail:This distinction was first recognised formally at the turn of the 19th / 20th centuries, when linguists drew an isophone diagonally across the county from the northwest to the southeast, separating these two broadly distinguishable ways of speaking. It can be extended westwards through Lancashire to the estuary of the River Lune, and is sometimes called the Humber-Lune Line. Strictly speaking, the dialects spoken south and west of this isophone are Midland dialects, whereas the dialects spoken north and east of it are truly Northern. It is possible that the Midland form moved up into the region with people gravitating towards the manufacturing districts of the West Riding during the Industrial Revolution.
Though distinct accents remain, dialects are no longer in everyday use. Some have argued the dialect was a fully fledged language in its own right. The county has also produced a set of Yorkshire colloquialisms, which are in use in the county. Among Yorkshire's traditions is the Long Sword dance. The most famous traditional song of Yorkshire is ''On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at'' ("On Ilkley Moor without a hat"), it is considered the unofficial anthem of the county.
Literature and art
Although the first Professor of English Literature at Leeds University, F.W. Moorman, claimed the first extant work of English literature, ''Beowulf'', was written in Yorkshire, this view does not have common acceptance today. However, when Yorkshire formed the southern part of the kingdom of Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
there were several notable poets, scholars and ecclesiastics, including Alcuin, Cædmon and Wilfrid. The most esteemed literary family from the county are the three Brontë sisters, with part of the county around Haworth being nicknamed Brontë Country in their honour. Their novels, written in the mid-19th century, caused a sensation when they were first published, yet were subsequently accepted into the canon of great English literature. Among the most celebrated novels written by the sisters are Anne Brontë's ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'', Charlotte Brontë's ''Jane Eyre'' and Emily Brontë's ''Wuthering Heights''. ''Wuthering Heights'' was almost a source used to depict life in Yorkshire, illustrating the type of people that reside there in its characters, and emphasising the use of the stormy Yorkshire moors. Nowadays, the parsonage which was their former home is now a museum in their honour. Bram Stoker authored ''Dracula'' while living in Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
and it includes several elements of local folklore including the beaching of the Russian ship ''Dmitri'', which became the basis of Demeter in the book.
The novelist tradition in Yorkshire continued into the 20th and 21st centuries, with authors such as J. B. Priestley, Alan Bennett, Stan Barstow, Dame Margaret Drabble, Winifred Holtby (''South Riding (novel), South Riding, The Crowded Street''), A S Byatt, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Marina Lewycka and Sunjeev Sahota being prominent examples. Taylor Bradford is noted for ''A Woman of Substance (novel), A Woman of Substance'' which was one of the top-ten best selling novels in history. Another well-known author was children's writer Arthur Ransome, who penned the Swallows and Amazons series, ''Swallows and Amazons'' series. James Herriot, the best selling author of over 60 million copies of books about his experiences of some 50 years as a veterinarian in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, the town which he refers to as Darrowby in his books (although born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sunderland), has been admired for his easy reading style and interesting characters.
Poets include Ted Hughes, W. H. Auden, William Empson, Simon Armitage, David Miedzianik and Andrew Marvell.
Three well known sculptors emerged in the 20th century; contemporaries Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and Leeds-raised eco artist Andy Goldsworthy. Some of their works are available for public viewing at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. There are several art gallery, art galleries in Yorkshire featuring extensive collections, such as Ferens Art Gallery, Leeds Art Gallery, Millennium Galleries and York Art Gallery. Some of the better known local painters are William Etty and David Hockney; many works by the latter are housed at Salts Mill 1853 Gallery in Saltaire.
Cuisine
The traditional cuisine of Yorkshire, in common with the North of England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
in general, is known for using rich-tasting ingredients, especially with regard to sweet dishes, which were affordable for the majority of people. There are several dishes which originated in Yorkshire or are heavily associated with it. Yorkshire pudding, a savoury batter dish, is by far the best known of Yorkshire foods, and is eaten throughout England. It is commonly served with roast beef and vegetables to form part of the Sunday roast but is traditionally served as a starter dish filled with onion gravy within Yorkshire. Yorkshire pudding is the base for toad in the hole, a dish containing sausage.
Other foods associated with the county include Yorkshire curd tart, a curd tart recipe with rosewater; Parkin (cake), parkin, a sweet gingerbread, ginger cake which is different from standard ginger cakes in that it includes oatmeal and treacle; and Wensleydale (cheese), Wensleydale cheese, a cheese made with milk from Wensleydale
Wensleydale is the dale or upper valley of the River Ure on the east side of the Pennines, one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England.
It is one of only a few Yorkshire Dales not currently named after its principal river, but th ...
and often eaten as an accompaniment to sweet foods. The beverage ginger beer, flavoured with ginger, came from Yorkshire and has existed since the mid-18th century. Liquorice (confectionery), Liquorice sweet was first created by George Dunhill from Pontefract, who in the 1760s thought to mix the liquorice plant with sugar. Yorkshire and in particular the city of York played a prominent role in the confectionery industry, with chocolate factory, chocolate factories owned by companies such as Rowntree's, Terry's and Thorntons inventing many of Britain's most popular Candy, sweets. Another traditional Yorkshire food is pikelets, which are similar to crumpets but much thinner. The Rhubarb Triangle is a location within Yorkshire which supplies most of the rhubarb to locals.
In recent years curries have become popular in the county, largely due to the immigration and successful integration of Asian families. There are many famous curry empires with their origins in Yorkshire, including the 850-seater Aakash restaurant in Cleckheaton, which has been described as "the world's largest curry house".
Beer and brewing
Yorkshire has a number of breweries including Black Sheep Brewery, Black Sheep, Copper Dragon Brewery, Copper Dragon, Cropton Brewery, John Smith's, Sam Smith's, Kelham Island Brewery, Theakston (brewer), Theakstons, Timothy Taylor Brewery, Timothy Taylor, Wharfedale Brewery, Harrogate Brewery and Leeds Brewery.[
]
The beer style most associated with the county is Bitter (beer), bitter. As elsewhere in the North of England, when served through a Beer engine, handpump, a sparkler is used giving a tighter, more solid head.
Brewing has taken place on a large scale since at least the 12th century, for example at the now derelict Fountains Abbey which at its height produced 60 barrels of strong ale every ten days. Most current Yorkshire breweries date from the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
of the late 18th and early 19th century.[
]
Music
Yorkshire has a heritage of folk music and folk dance including the Long Sword dance. Yorkshire folk song was distinguished by the use of dialect, particularly in the West Riding and exemplified by the song 'On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at', probably written in the late 19th century, using a Kent folk tune (almost certainly borrowed via a Methodist hymnal), seen as an unofficial Yorkshire anthem. Famous folk performers from the county include the Watersons from Hull, who began recording Yorkshire versions of folk songs from 1965; Heather Wood (born 1945) of the Young Tradition; the short-lived electric folk group Mr Fox (1970–72), The Deighton Family; Julie Matthews; Kathryn Roberts; and Kate Rusby. Yorkshire has a flourishing folk music culture, with over forty folk clubs and thirty annual folk festival, folk music festivals. The 1982 Eurovision Song Contest 1982, Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Harrogate International Centre. In 2007 the Yorkshire Garland Group was formed to make Yorkshire folk songs accessible online and in schools.
In the field of classical music, Yorkshire has produced some major and minor composers, including Frederick Delius, George Dyson (composer), George Dyson, Philip Wilby, Edward Bairstow, William Baines, Kenneth Leighton, Eric Fenby, Haydn Wood, Arthur Wood (composer), Arthur Wood, Arnold Cooke, Gavin Bryars, John Casken, and in the area of TV, film and radio music, John Barry (composer), John Barry and Wally Stott. Opera North is based at the Grand Theatre, Leeds. Leeds is also home to the Leeds International Piano Competition. The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival takes place annually in November. Huddersfield Choral Society is one of the UK's most celebrated amateur choirs. The National Centre for Early Music is located in York.
The county is home to successful brass bands such as Black Dyke Band, Black Dyke, Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, Brighouse & Rastrick, Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, Carlton Main Frickley, Hammonds Saltaire Band, Hammonds Saltaire, and Yorkshire Imperial Band, Yorkshire Imperial.
During the 1970s David Bowie, himself of a father from Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, hired three musicians from Hull: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey; together they recorded ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'', an album considered by a magazine article as one of a 100 greatest and most influential of all time. In the following decade, Def Leppard, from Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, achieved worldwide fame, particularly in America. Their 1983 album ''Pyromania (album), Pyromania'' and 1987 album ''Hysteria (Def Leppard album), Hysteria'' are among the most successful albums of all time. Yorkshire had a very strong post-punk scene which went on to achieve widespread acclaim and success, including: The Sisters of Mercy, The Cult, Vardis, Gang of Four (band), Gang of Four, ABC (band), ABC, The Human League, New Model Army (band), New Model Army, Soft Cell, Chumbawamba, The Wedding Present and The Mission (band), The Mission. Pulp (band), Pulp from Sheffield had a massive hit in "Common People (song), Common People" during 1995; the song focuses on working-class northern life. In the 21st century, indie rock and post-punk revival bands from the area gained popularity, including the Kaiser Chiefs, The Cribs and the Arctic Monkeys, the last-named holding the record for the fastest-selling debut album in British music history with ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not''.
Influenced by the local post punk scene, but also by national and international extreme metal acts such as Celtic Frost, Candlemass (band), Candlemass, and Morbid Angel, Yorkshire-based bands Paradise Lost (band), Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride laid the foundations of what would become the Gothic Metal genre in the early to mid-1990s.
Film and television productions
Among prominent British television shows filmed in (and based on) Yorkshire are the sitcom ''Last of the Summer Wine'', the drama series ''Heartbeat (UK TV series), Heartbeat'', and the soap opera ''Emmerdale.'' ''Last of the Summer Wine'' in particular is noted for holding the record of longest-running comedy series in the world, from 1973 until 2010. Other notable television series set in Yorkshire include ''Downton Abbey'', ''All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series), All Creatures Great and Small'', ''The Beiderbecke Trilogy'', ''Rising Damp'', ''Open All Hours'', ''Band of Gold (TV series), Band Of Gold'', ''Dalziel and Pascoe'', ''Fat Friends'', ''The Syndicate'', ''No Angels'', ''Drifters (TV series), Drifters'' and ''The Royal''. During the first three series of the sitcom ''The New Statesman (1987 TV series), The New Statesman'', Alan B'Stard represented as MP the fictional constituency of Haltenprice in North Yorkshire. Several noted films are set in Yorkshire, including ''Kes (film), Kes'', ''This Sporting Life'', ''Room at the Top (1959 film), Room at the Top'', ''Brassed Off'', ''Mischief Night (2006 film), Mischief Night'', ''Rita, Sue and Bob Too'', ''The Damned United'', ''Four Lions'', ''God's Own Country (2017 film), God's Own Country'' and ''Calendar Girls''. ''The Full Monty'', a comedy film set in Sheffield, won an Academy Award and was voted the second-best British film of all time by Asian News International.
Yorkshire has remained a popular location for filming in more recent times. For example, much of ITV's highly acclaimed ''Victoria (UK TV series), Victoria'' was filmed in the region, at locations such as Harewood House in Leeds and Beverley Minster (with the latter being used to depict Westminster Abbey and St James’ Palace), whilst Channel 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5 has programmed numerous Yorkshire-themed documentary series such as ''Our Yorkshire Farm'' and ''The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard'' across its schedule.
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
has particularly benefited from a great deal of production activity. For example, portions of the BBC television series ''Happy Valley (TV series), Happy Valley'' and ''Last Tango in Halifax'' were filmed in the area, in Huddersfield and other cities; in addition to exteriors, some of the studio filming for ''Happy Valley'' was done at North Light Film Studios at Brookes Mill, Huddersfield. Although set in the fictional town of Denton, popular ITV detective series ''A Touch Of Frost'' was filmed in Yorkshire, mainly in and around Leeds. The BBC's ''Jamaica Inn (2014 TV series), Jamaica Inn'' and ''Remember Me (TV series), Remember Me'' and the ITV series ''Black Work'' were also filmed at the studios and in nearby West Yorkshire locations. More recently, many of the exteriors of the BBC series ''Jericho (2016 TV series), Jericho'' were filmed at the nearby Rockingstone Quarry, and some interior work was done at North Light Film Studios.
Sport
Yorkshire has a long tradition in the field of sports, with participation in cricket, association football, football, rugby league and horse racing being the most established sporting ventures.
Cricket
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county in the domestic first-class cricket, first class cricket County Championship; with a total of 33 championship titles (including one shared), 13 more than any other county, Yorkshire is the most decorated county cricket club. Some of the most highly regarded figures in the game were born in the county, amongst them:
*Geoffrey Boycott
*Brian Close
*George Hirst
*Len Hutton
*Stanley Jackson
*Ray Illingworth
*Wilfred Rhodes
*Jonny Bairstow
*Joe Root
*Herbert Sutcliffe
*Fred Trueman
*Hedley Verity
The four ECB Premier Leagues in the county are: Bradford Cricket League, Bradford, North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League, North-Yorkshire-&-South-Durham, Yorkshire Premier League North, Yorkshire North and Yorkshire South Premier League, Yorkshire South. The league winners qualify to take part in a yearly Yorkshire Championship, the highest NYSD club based in Yorkshire qualifies if a Durham side wins.
Football
Association
Football clubs founded in Yorkshire include, four of which have been English football champions, league champions:
*Barnsley F.C., Barnsley
*Bradford City A.F.C., Bradford City
*Doncaster Rovers F.C., Doncaster Rovers
*FC Halifax Town, Halifax Town
*Harrogate Town A.F.C., Harrogate Town
*Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Huddersfield Town
*Hull City A.F.C., Hull City
*Leeds United F.C., Leeds United
*Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough
*Rotherham United F.C., Rotherham United
*Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United
*Sheffield Wednesday F.C., Sheffield Wednesday
*York City F.C., York City
Yorkshire is officially recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club association football, football, as Sheffield F.C., Sheffield FC founded in 1857 are certified as the oldest association football club in the world. The world's first inter-club match and local derby was competed in the county, at the world's oldest ground Sandygate Road. The Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, used worldwide, were drafted by Ebenezer Cobb Morley from Hull.
Huddersfield were the first club to win three consecutive league titles. Leeds United reached the 2001 UEFA Champions League semi-finals and had a dominance period in the 1970s. Sheffield Wednesday who have had similar spells of dominance, such as the early 1990s. Middlesbrough won the 2004 League Cup and reach the 2006 UEFA Cup Final.
Noted players from Yorkshire who have influenced the game include 1966 FIFA World Cup, World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks and two time European Footballer of the Year award winner Kevin Keegan. Prominent managers include Herbert Chapman, Brian Clough, Bill Nicholson (footballer), Bill Nicholson, George Raynor and Don Revie.
The Yorkshire football team, controlled by the Yorkshire International Football Association (YIFA), represents Yorkshire in CONIFA matches. The team was founded in 2017, joined CONIFA on 6 January 2018 and plays at various venues throughout Yorkshire.
Rugby Union
Yorkshire has along history of rugby union in the county with Leeds Tykes (formerly Yorkshire Carnegie) featuring in the Premiership Rugby, Aviva Premiership for eight seasons between 2001 and 2011 when they were relegated to the Championship. From 2020 the teams has reverted to its amateur status and plays in National League 1. Rotherham Titans also played in the top tier of English rugby in 2000–01 Premiership Rugby, 2000–01 and 2003–04 Premiership Rugby, 2003–04.
Many England international players have emerged from Yorkshire including World Cup winners Jason Robinson (rugby), Jason Robinson and Mike Tindall. Other successful players from the region include Rob Andrew, Tim Rodber, Brian Moore (rugby union), Brian Moore, Danny Care, Rory Underwood and Ian McGeechan, Sir Ian McGeechan.
Rugby League
The Rugby Football League and with it the sport of rugby league was founded in 1895 at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, George Hotel, Huddersfield, after a North-South divide in the United Kingdom, North-South History of rugby league#The schism in England, schism within the Rugby Football Union. The top league is the Super League and the most decorated Yorkshire clubs are Huddersfield Giants, Hull F.C., Hull FC, Bradford Bulls, Hull Kingston Rovers, Wakefield Trinity, Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos. In total six Yorkshiremen have been inducted into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame amongst them is Roger Millward, Jonty Parkin and Harold Wagstaff.
Multi-sport events
In the area of boxing Naseem Hamed, "Prince" Naseem Hamed from Sheffield achieved title success and widespread fame, in what the BBC describes as "one of British boxing's most illustrious careers". Along with Leeds-born Nicola Adams who in 2012 became the first female athlete to win a boxing gold medal at the Olympics.
A number of athletes from or associated with Yorkshire took part in the 2012 Summer Olympics as members of Team GB; the ''Yorkshire Post'' stated that Yorkshire's athletes alone secured more gold medals than those of Spain.
Notable Yorkshire athletes include Jessica Ennis-Hill and the Brownlee brothers, Jonathan Brownlee, Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee, Alistair. Jessica Ennis-Hill is from Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and won gold at the 2012 Olympics in London and silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Rio. Triathlon, Triathletes Alastair and Jonny Brownlee have won two golds and a silver and bronze respectively.
Animal related
Yorkshire also has an array of racecourses: in North Yorkshire there are Catterick Racecourse, Catterick, Redcar Racecourse, Redcar, Ripon Racecourse, Ripon, Thirsk Racecourse, Thirsk and York Racecourse, York; in the East Riding of Yorkshire there is Beverley Racecourse, Beverley; in West Yorkshire there are Pontefract Racecourse, Pontefract and Wetherby Racecourse, Wetherby; while in South Yorkshire there is Doncaster Racecourse, Doncaster.
England's oldest horse race, which began in 1519, is run each year at Kiplingcotes Derby, Kiplingcotes near Market Weighton. Continuing this tradition in the field of horse racing, there are currently :Horse racing venues in Yorkshire, nine established racecourses in the county. Britain's oldest organised fox hunt is the Bilsdale, founded in 1668.
Knurr and Spell
The sport of Knurr and Spell was unique to the region, being one of the most popular sports in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries, before a decline in the 20th century to virtual obscurity.
Cycling
Yorkshire is considered to be particularly fond of cycling. In 2014 the County hosted the Grand Depart of the Tour de France. Spectator crowds over the two days were estimated to be of the order of 2.5 million people, making it the highest attended event in the UK. The inaugural Tour de Yorkshire was held from 1–3 May 2015, with start and finishes in Bridlington
Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...
, Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
, Selby, Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, watched by 1.2 million. Yorkshire hosted the 2019 UCI Road World Championships between 22 and 29 September, which were held in Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...
. Notable racing cyclists from Yorkshire include Brian Robinson (cyclist), Brian Robinson, Lizzie Deignan and Beryl Burton.
Hockey
Field
Field Hockey is a popular game in the county with 58 clubs running 271 organised teams in the historical county. The largest clubs include City of York HC (16 teams), Doncaster Hockey Club, Doncaster HC, Leeds Hockey Club, Leeds HC and Sheffield Hockey Club, Sheffield Hallam HC (all 14 teams). The most recent team from Yorkshire to have played in the EH Premier League was Sheffield Hallam Hockey Club, Sheffield Hallam who finished in 9th place in 2013–14 England Hockey League season, 2013–14. England and Great Britain's most capped player of all time Barry Middleton hails from the town of Doncaster in the county. Hockey in the county was formerly organised by the Yorkshire Hockey Association but is now run by Yorkshire & North East Hockey who have run leagues and organised representative teams since September 2021.
Other professional sports franchise teams
Sheffield is home to the Sheffield Sharks who play in the British Basketball League and, from 2021, Leeds Rhinos Netball, Leeds Rhinos have featured in the Netball Superleague.
Politics and identity
Representation
From 1290, Yorkshire was represented by two members of parliament of the British House of Commons, House of Commons of the Parliament of England. After the union with Scotland, two members represented the county in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. In 1832 the county benefited from the disfranchisement of Grampound (UK Parliament constituency), Grampound by taking an additional two members. Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), Yorkshire was represented at this time as one single, large, United Kingdom constituencies, county constituency. Like other counties, there were also some county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
s within Yorkshire, the oldest of which was the City of York (UK Parliament constituency), City of York, which had existed since the ancient Montfort's Parliament of 1265. After the Reform Act 1832, Yorkshire's political representation in parliament was drawn from its subdivisions, with members of parliament representing each of the three historic Ridings of Yorkshire; East Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), East Riding, North Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), North Riding, and West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), West Riding constituencies.
For the 1865 United Kingdom general election, 1865 general elections and onwards, the West Riding was further divided into Northern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), Northern, Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), Eastern and Southern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency), Southern parliamentary constituencies, though these only lasted until the major Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. This act saw more localisation of government in the United Kingdom, with the introduction of 26 List of UK Parliamentary constituencies (1885-1918), new parliamentary constituencies within Yorkshire, while the Local Government Act 1888 introduced some reforms for the county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
s, of which there were eight in Yorkshire by the end of the 19th century.
With the Representation of the People Act 1918 there was some reshuffling on a local level for the 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 general election, revised again during the List of UK Parliamentary constituencies (1955-1974), 1950s. The most controversial History of local government in Yorkshire, reorganisation of local government in Yorkshire was the Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, put into practice in 1974. Under the act, the Ridings lost their lieutenancies, shrievalties, and administrative counties. County boroughs and their councils were abolished, to be replaced by metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties with vastly changed borders. Although some government officials and Charles III of the United Kingdom, Prince Charles have asserted such reform is not meant to alter the ancient boundaries or cultural loyalties, there are pressure groups such as the Yorkshire Ridings Society who want greater recognition for the historic boundaries. In 1996 the East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
was reformed as a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area and together with the adjoining unitary authority of Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
forms a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county. The Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
region of Government Office
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
covers most, but not all of the Historic counties of England, historic county.
Distinctive identity and devolution campaigns
A number of claims have been made for the distinctiveness of Yorkshire, as a geographical, cultural and political entity, and these have been used to demand increased political autonomy. In the early twentieth century, F. W. Moorman, the first professor of English Language at Leeds University, claimed Yorkshire was not settled by Angles
The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ' ...
or Saxons following the end of Roman rule in Britain, but by a different Germanic tribe, the Geats
The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of th ...
. As a consequence, he claimed, it is possible the first work of English literature, ''Beowulf'', believed to have been composed by Geats, was written in Yorkshire, and this distinctive ethnic and cultural origin is the root of the unique status of Yorkshire today. One of Moorman's students at Leeds University, Herbert Read, was greatly influenced by Moorman's ideas on Yorkshire identity, and claimed that until recent times Yorkshire was effectively an island, cut off from the rest of England by rivers, fens, moors and mountains. This distancing of Yorkshire from England led Read to question whether Yorkshire people were really English at all. Combined with the suggested ethnic difference from the rest of England, Read quoted Frederic Pearson, who wrote:
During the premiership of William Pitt the Younger the hypothetical idea of Yorkshire becoming independent was raised in the British parliament in relation to the question whether Ireland should become part of the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom. This resulted in an anonymous pamphlet being published in London in 1799 arguing at length that Yorkshire could never be an independent state as it would always be reliant on the rest of the United Kingdom to provide it with essential resources.
Although in the devolution debates in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the late 1960s, which paved the way for the 1979 referendums on the creation of a Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly, parallel devolution for Yorkshire was suggested, this was opposed by the Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for Hamilton, Winifred Ewing. Ewing argued that it was offensive to Scots to argue that an English region had the same status as an 'ancient nation' such as Scotland.
The relationship between Yorkshire and Scottish devolution was again made in 1975 by Richard Wainwright, MP for Colne Valley, who claimed in a speech in the House of Commons:
In more recent years, in 1998 the Campaign for Yorkshire was established to push for the creation of a Yorkshire regional assembly, sometimes dubbed the Yorkshire Parliament. In its defining statement, the Campaign for Yorkshire made reference to the historical notions that Yorkshire had a distinctive identity:
The Campaign for Yorkshire was led by Jane Thomas as Director and Paul Jagger as chairman. Jagger claimed in 1999 that Yorkshire had as much right to a regional parliament or assembly as Scotland and Wales because Yorkshire 'has as clear a sense of identity as Scotland or Wales.' One of those brought into the Campaign for Yorkshire by Jane Thomas was Herbert Read scholar Michael Paraskos, who organised a series of events in 2000 to highlight the distinctiveness of Yorkshire culture. This included a major exhibition of Yorkshire artists. Paraskos also founded a Yorkshire Studies degree course at Hull University. Interviewed by ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Paraskos linked the start of this course to the contemporary devolution debates in Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales, claiming:
In March 2013, the Yorkshire Devolution Movement was founded as an active campaign group by Nigel Sollitt, who had administrated the social media group by that name since 2011, Gareth Shanks, a member of the social media group, and Stewart Arnold, former Chair of the Campaign for Yorkshire. In September 2013, the executive committee was joined by Richard Honnoraty and Richard Carter (as an advisor), who had also been involved in the Campaign for Yorkshire. The Movement campaigns for a directly elected parliament for the whole of the traditional county of Yorkshire with powers second to no other devolved administration in the UK.
Two Combined authority, Combined Authorities, which serve to devolve certain powers, have been established in Yorkshire, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, Sheffield Combined Authority, in South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
In N ...
. A Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, mayoralty has been established in the Sheffield City Region, and 2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election, elections for the Mayor of West Yorkshire are due to take place in 2021 United Kingdom local elections, 2021. An alternative proposal was also made for a cross-Yorkshire Authority, dubbed "One Yorkshire", which was supported by 18 of the 20 Yorkshire councils, with Sheffield and Rotherham both preferring the South Yorkshire alternative. The government rejected the devolution deal, and alongside the two existing authorities, further proposals have been made in North Yorkshire and the East Riding, although some support for the whole Yorkshire deal has continued.
In 2014, Richard Carter, Stewart Arnold and Richard Honnoraty, founded Yorkshire First, a political party campaigning for the creation of a Yorkshire parliament by 2050 based on the Scottish Parliament. It was later renamed the Yorkshire Party. A Social democratic party, it has parish, town, district and county councillors, and stood in 28 constituencies in the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 2019 general election. Yorkshire Party candidates have also run for the position of Directly elected mayors in England and Wales, directly elected mayors in Mayor of Doncaster, Doncaster in 2017 (receiving 3,235 votes, 5.04%) and the Sheffield City Region in 2018 Sheffield City Region mayoral election, 2018 (receiving 22,318 votes, 8.6).
Monarchy and peerage
When the territory of Yorkshire began to take shape as a result of the invasion of the Danish vikings, they instituted a monarchy based at the settlement of Jórvík, York. The reign of the Viking kings came to an end with the last king Eric Bloodaxe
Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from ...
dying in battle in 954 after the invasion and conquest by the Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On 1 ...
from the south. Jórvík was the last of the independent kingdoms to be taken to form part of the Kingdom of England and thus the local monarchal title became defunct.
Though the monarchal title became defunct, it was succeeded by the creation of the Earl of York title of nobility by king of England Edgar the Peaceful in 960. (The earl
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
dom covered the general area of Yorkshire and is sometimes referred to as the ''Earl of Yorkshire''.) The title passed through the hands of various nobles, decided upon by the king of England. The last man to hold the title was William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle, William le Gros, however the earldom was abolished by Henry II of England, Henry II as a result of a troubled period known as ''The Anarchy''.
The peerage was recreated by Edward III of England, Edward III in 1385, this time in the form of the prestigious title of Duke of York which he gave to his son Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, Edmund of Langley. Edmund founded the House of York; later the title was merged with that of the King of England. Much of the modern-day symbolism of Yorkshire, such as the White Rose of York, is derived from the Yorkists, giving the house a special affinity within the culture of Yorkshire
The culture of Yorkshire has developed over the county's history, influenced by the cultures of those who came to control the region, including the Celts ( Brigantes and Parisii), Romans, Angles, Vikings and Normans. Yorkshire people are said ...
. Especially celebrated is the Yorkist king Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
who spent much of his life at Middleham Castle in Yorkshire. Since that time the title has passed through the hands of many, being merged with the crown and then recreated several times. The title of Duke of York is given to the second son of the British monarch.
Notable people
See also
* Outline of England
* List of collieries in Yorkshire (1984–2015)
* List of Commissioners' churches in Yorkshire
* List of Jewish communities in the United Kingdom#Yorkshire, List of Jewish communities in Yorkshire
* Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire
* Yorkshire Ambulance Service
* Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
* Yorkshire coast fishery
* Yorkshire Forward
* Yorkshire Pudding
* Yorkshire Regiment
* Yorkshire Society
* Yorkshire Terrier
* Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in north-eastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie.
On the western edge, the Wolds rise to an escarpment wh ...
* Yorkshire Air Ambulance
* Historic counties of England
Notes
: Though the Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
were fought between royal houses bearing the names of York and Lancaster, the wars took place over a wide area of England. They were a dynastic clash between cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...
. The most prominent family in Yorkshire, below the monarchy, the Nevilles of Sheriff Hutton and Middleham, fought for the Yorkists, as did the Scropes of Bolton, East Riding of Yorkshire, Bolton, the Latimers of Danby, North Yorkshire, Danby and Snape, North Yorkshire, Snape, as well as the Mowbrays of Thirsk and Burton in Lonsdale. Yet some fought for the Lancastrians, such as the Percies, the Cliffords of Skipton, Ros of Helmsley, Greystock of Henderskelfe, Stafford of Holderness, and Talbot of Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
.
References
External links
Images of Yorkshire
The History of Yorkshire
Samples of Yorkshire Dialect
Yorkshire Inquisitions 1275–1295
Yorkshire
historical and genealogical information at GENUKI
John Speed's proof map of Yorkshire
made between 1603 and 1611, in Cambridge Digital Library
Welcome to Yorkshire
{{coord, 54, N, 2, W, display=title, region:GB_type:adm2nd_source:GNS-enwiki
Yorkshire, *
Counties of England established in antiquity
Counties of England disestablished in 1974
Articles containing video clips