The Yorkshire Ridings Society is a group affiliated to the
Association of British Counties
The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a non-party-political society formed in 1989 by television personality Russell Grant to promote the historic counties of the United Kingdom. It argues that the historic counties are an important part ...
calling for the wider recognition of the
historic borders of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, and its traditional subdivisions, 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 or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
,
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
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 Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
Ridings.
History
The Yorkshire Ridings Society was founded in 1974 in response to 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 ...
, which it saw, alongside subsequent local government reform, as a threat to Yorkshire's identity.
Colin Holt, a founder member, was the long-time chairman of the group until his death in April 2006. The Chairman of 2009 was Councillor Chris Abbott, who died on 8 January 2017.
The group has promoted
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 ...
annually on 1 August since 1975 to raise awareness of its cause. The group dates the founding of the county of Yorkshire to 875 AD.
Associated groups include the
Saddleworth White Rose Society, which handles
Saddleworth (historically in the West Riding, but part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Oldham
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham, The borough had a population of 237,628 making it the seventh-largest district by populati ...
of
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
since 1974), and Unite Craven, who are concerned with the western part of
Craven (including
Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. It is within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, Barnoldswick and the surrounding areas of West Craven have be ...
,
Earby
Earby is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle, Lancashire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, Earby has been administered by Lancashire County Council since 1974 and regularly cel ...
and the former
Bowland Rural District
Bowland was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the Forest of Bowland, which it included.
It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Clitheroe rural sanitary dist ...
) which was made part of the non-metropolitan county of
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 Lancas ...
in 1974.
Aims
In 1977 the society's founding committee published ''What future for Yorkshire?'' in reply to the Government's white paper on devolution. It proposed as a "starting point" :
*The abolition of the county councils created in 1974 as soon as possible.
*The metropolitan boroughs to become "boroughs" or "cities" with the powers of pre-1974
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 te ...
s.
*Retention of the
non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non- ...
s established in 1974.
*Three new cities or boroughs for
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 ...
,
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
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 ...
and their hinterlands.
*Possible introduction of a similar borough covering the
Selby
Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731.
The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...
coalfield.
*County-wide services to be provided by a "consortium" of district councils.
*A Yorkshire Provincial Assembly to cover the pre-1974 Yorkshire Ridings.
According to the society's website, their current aims are:
See also
*
Friends of Real Lancashire
References
Bibliography
*{{cite book, last=Bradford, first=Michael, title=The Fight for Yorkshire, location=East Yorkshire, publisher=Hutton Press, year=1988, isbn=0-907033-66-0
External links
The Yorkshire Ridings Society The Saddleworth White Rose Society
Organisations based in Yorkshire
Yorkshire culture
Political advocacy groups in England