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 authority or metropolitan district and civil parishes. They are also multiple divisions without administrative functions; ceremonial county, emergency services ( fire-and-rescue and police), built-up areas and historic county. The most populous places in the region are Newcastle upon Tyne (city), Middlesbrough, Sunderland (city), Gateshead, Darlington and Hartlepool. Durham also has city status.

History

The region's historic importance is displayed by Northumberland's ancient castles, the two World Heritage Sites of Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, and Hadrian's Wall, one of the frontiers of the Roman Empire. In fact, Roman archaeology can be found widely across the region and a special exhibition based around the Roman Fort of Segedunum at Wallsend and the other forts along Hadrian's Wall are complemented by the numerous artifacts that are displayed in the Great North Museum Hancock in Newcastle. St. Peter's Church in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland and St. Pauls in Jarrow also hold significant historical value and have a joint bid to become a World Heritage Site.

The area has a strong religious past, as can be seen in works such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. The works of Cuthbert (634–687 AD), Bede (673–735 AD) and Hilda of Whitby (614–680 AD) were hugely influential in the early church, and are still venerated by some today. These saints are usually associated with the monasteries on the island of Lindisfarne, Wearmouth-Jarrow, and the Abbey at Whitby, though they are also associated with many other religious sites in the region. Bede is regarded as the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar. He worked at the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, translating some forty books on all areas of knowledge, including nature, history, astronomy, poetry and theological matters such as the lives of the saints. His best known work is " The Ecclesiastical History of the English People". One of the most famous pieces of art and literature created in the region is the '' Lindisfarne Gospels'', thought to be the work of a monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698. This body of work is thought to have been created in honour of Cuthbert, around 710–720.

In 793, the Vikings arrived on the shores of north-east England with a raiding party from Norway who attacked the monastic settlement on Lindisfarne. The monks fled or were slaughtered, and Bishop Higbald sought refuge on the mainland. A chronicler recorded: "On the 8th June, the harrying of the heathen miserably destroyed God's church by rapine and slaughter." There were three hundred years of Viking raids, battles and settlement until William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at Hastings in 1066. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' notes the change from raiding to settlement when it records that in 876 the Vikings "Shared out the land of the Northumbrians and they proceeded to plough and support themselves"

The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria extended from the Scottish borders (then Pictish borders) at the Firth of Forth to the north, and to the south of York, its capital, down to the Humber. The last independent Northumbrian king from 947–8 was Eric Bloodaxe, who died at the Battle of Stainmore, Westmorland, in 954. After Eric Bloodaxe's death, all England was ruled by Eadred, the grandson of Alfred the Great; and so began the machinery of national government. Today the Viking legacy can still be found in the language and place names of north-east England and in the DNA of its people. The name Newcastle comes from the castle built shortly after the conquest in 1080 by Robert Curthose, William the Conqueror's eldest son.

Geography

The region is generally hilly and sparsely populated in the North and West, and urban and arable in the East and South. The highest point in the region is The Cheviot, in the Cheviot Hills, at .

The region contains the urban centres of Tyneside, Wearside, and Teesside and is noted for the rich natural beauty of its coastline, Northumberland National Park, and the section of the Pennines that includes Teesdale and Weardale.

Landmarks

Climate

North East England has a Marine west coast climate (generally found along the west coast of middle latitude continents) with narrower temperature ranges than the south of England and sufficient precipitation in all months. Summers and winters are mild rather than extremely hot or cold, due to the strong maritime influence of the North Atlantic Current of the Gulf Stream. The Met Office operates several weather stations in the region and are able to show the regional variations in temperature and its relation to the distance from the North Sea. The warmest summers in the region are found in Stockton-on-Tees and the Middlesbrough area, with a 1981-2010 July average high of . Precipitation is often low by English standards, in spite of the low levels of sunshine, with Stockton-on-Tees averaging only annually, and with the seaside town of Tynemouth (despite its slightly sunnier climate) recording annually. The summers on the northern coastlines are significantly cooler than in the southern and central inland areas: Tynemouth is only just above in July. Further inland, frosts during winter are more common, due to the higher elevations and distance from the sea.

Local government

The region comprises the following local authorities:

The former Association of North East Councils was based in Newcastle upon Tyne, and the preceding North East Assembly was based in Gateshead until its dissolution in 2009.

Demographics

The North East with Scotland, the South West of England, Wales and Northern Ireland are the British regions to have seen the least immigration in over 50 years. The Northeast of England as a region has the lowest rate of HIV infection in the UK, but has the highest rate of heart attacks among men and of lung cancer among women in England, along with the highest male lung cancer rate in the UK . As of November 2017 the region has the joint highest unemployment rate in the UK at 5.5% and as of April 2013 youth unemployment in the North East is 24.8%, with 51,000 out of work. In 2010 the region had the second highest trade union membership among UK men. Higher education students from the North East are most likely to pick a university in their home region. The Northeast, as part of the "North" demographic region, has the highest proportion of Christians in Great Britain. Last immigration wave before 21st century was in the late 1990s as a result of the government's dispersal policy scheme that broke up refugee communities, asylum seekers in South England, relocating the new arrivals throughout the country. In 2017, most migrants were non-EU born, and about 60.000 EU-born. The North East has the smallest population of all English regions.

Ethnicity

Population genetics

North East England, together with Tweeddale, was the ancient British tribal kingdom of Bernicia (Bryneich) and is notable for providing the stable ancestry of its present indigenous population, which has been identified by DNA analysis to be an offshoot of the group "Scotland, Cumbria and the North of Ireland", but not so closely related to the other peoples of the UK.
In a 2022 study by Joscha Gretzinger et al., the population of North East England was found to be among the groups with the highest amount of Iron Age/Roman period British Isles-related ancestry, being on par with Cornish people in that regard.

Teenage pregnancy

The Office for National Statistics in April 2013 report that the estimated number of conceptions to women aged under 18 in England and Wales in 2011 is the lowest since records began in 1969. Conception statistics include pregnancies that result in either one or more live births or stillbirths or a legal abortion.

A comparison of rates across regions in England shows that the North East had the highest of under 18 conception rates in 2011, with 38.4 per thousand women aged 15–17. The South East had the lowest rate for women aged under 18 in 2011 with 26.1 per thousand women aged 15–17.

Social deprivation

A study into social deprivation was published in 2010 to help the local partners developing a Regional Strategy for the North East better understand the factors influencing deprivation in the region. The study had two main aspects: Firstly to establish if there are different types of deprived neighbourhoods in the Northeast, and if so, how deprived neighbourhoods can be better recognised. Secondly to present a summary of "what works" in tackling deprivation in each of these types of area.

The report discusses the factors influencing deprivation and points out that it is a significant problem for the North East with 34% of the regions Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) are amongst England's 20% most deprived in the 2007 Indices of Deprivation(these indices have been updated in 2010). It takes many years for areas to become deprived, suggesting that the underlying causes of area-based deprivation are long-term such as:

* Major changes in the employment base, which has changed the nature and spatial distribution of jobs in the UK and within specific regions and localities.
* The "residential sorting" effects of the public and private housing markets.
Industrial restructuring has disproportionately affected some communities and groups. In particular:
* Job losses in manufacturing and coalmining were most severely felt in the north of England, Scotland and Wales – and particular communities within these areas.
* As a result of the types of jobs that were lost, some demographic groups – particularly older working age males in skilled manual work – were more likely to be affected than others.

The region's most deprived council districts, as measured by the LSOA data before County Durham and Northumberland became unitary authorities in 2007, are in descending order Easington (7th in England), Middlesbrough (9th), Hartlepool (23rd), Wear Valley (33rd), Sunderland (35th), Newcastle upon Tyne (37th), South Tyneside (38th), Wansbeck (46th), Redcar and Cleveland (50th), Gateshead (52nd), Sedgefield (54th), Derwentside (73rd), Blyth Valley (80th), and Stockton on Tees (98th).

The least deprived council districts in 2007 were, in descending order, Tynedale, Castle Morpeth, Teesdale, then Alnwick. Since the April 2009 abolition of these four districts, Northumberland is the least deprived, followed by North Tyneside.

Unemployment is a severe problem in the North East, where many children grow up in households where no adult works. in 2010 Easington had the highest rate in the country, as 40.3% of its households with children had no working adult, followed by Sedgefield with 34%. In 2013 the Office for National Statistics report issued the statements highlighted below

* Employment rate highest in the South East (74.8%) and lowest in the North East (66.6%).
* Unemployment rate highest in the North East (10.1%) and lowest in the South West (6.2%).
* Inactivity rate highest in the North East (25.8%) and lowest in the South East (19.8%).
* Claimant Count rate highest in the North East (7.2%) and lowest in the South East (2.7%).

In 2020, following George Floyd's murder, it was reported that BAME communities suffered inequalities exacerbated by the poor housing of deprived neighbourhoods.

Regions

ONS ITL

In the ONS International Territorial Levels (ITL), North East England is a level-1 ITL region, coded "UKC", which is subdivided as follows:

Economic data

The latest statistical report from the Office for National Statistics comparing the North East of England to other regions of the United Kingdom, dated May 2012, states:

* The North East has the highest value of goods exports relative to the size of its economy, the highest percentage employed in the public sector and lowest gross household income per head of the English regions.
* The North East's exports of goods, expressed as a percentage of gross value added (GVA), were the highest of all the English regions at 29% in 2010, compared with the UK average of 20%. Over half the region's goods exports were to the EU (55%).
* A quarter of employed people in the region worked in the public sector in Q4 2011 (24.6%), the highest proportion among the English regions, down from 26.9% in Q4 2009. In 2010, at local authority level the highest shares of public sector employee jobs were to be found in Newcastle upon Tyne and Middlesbrough (both over 33% of all employee jobs).
* Gross disposable household income (GDHI) of residents in the North East, at £13,300 per head in 2010, was 15% below the UK average and the lowest of the English regions. It ranged from £12,400 in Sunderland to £16,090 in Northumberland.
*The North East region contributed 3% of the UK's GVA. The region's headline GVA was £41.0 billion in 2010. The latest subregional data (2009) show that Tyneside generated 37% of the region's GVA at £14.6 billion.
*In 2009 manufacturing industries generated 14% of the region's total GVA, which is the largest industry contribution for the region.
* Productivity in 2010 (measured by GVA per hour worked) was 88% of the UK rate: one of the lowest of the English regions. Within the region, Northumberland's productivity was the third lowest in England at 75% of the UK rate in 2009.
* The region's employment rate was the lowest in England at 66.2% for Q4 2011. The latest subregional data for the year ending September 2011 show that North Tyneside had the highest employment rate at 72.6%.
* The North East had the highest rate of economic inactivity of the English regions, 25% of the population aged 16 to 64 in Q4 2011.

The North East is the most affordable region in the UK. Figures from 2017 indicate it is the UK region with lowest cost of living per household.

Local media

Local media include:

Regional television is provided by the BBC North East and Cumbria, which broadcasts the regional evening ''Look North'' programme from Spital Tongues in Newcastle. Its commercial rival, ITV Tyne Tees & Border, broadcasts the evening programme '' ITV News Tyne Tees'' from Gateshead.

BBC Radios Newcastle and Tees. National radio comes from Bilsdale on the North York Moors for Teesside, Pontop Pike in County Durham for Tyne and Wear, and Chatton near Wooler for Northumberland. These transmitters are also the main television transmitters. Commercial radio stations such as Metro, Heart (formally Real radio), Capital (formerly Galaxy), TFM, Greatest Hits Teesside (formally called Magic, then TFM 2), and Sun FM. Digital radio comes from the Bauer Tyne & Wear and Bauer Teesside multiplexes. There are also Nova Radio North East, Radio Hartlepool and Spark FM community radio stations.

Regional newspapers include the ''Evening Chronicle, '' Sunderland Echo'', The Journal,'' '' Evening Gazette'', ''Shields Gazette'', ''Hartlepool Mail'', ''The Northern Echo'' and the ''Darlington and Stockton Times''. There are also free publications such as ''The Ferryhill Chapter'', '' Bishop Press'', ''The Hartlepool Post'' and ''Shildon Town Crier''.

Politics

The region was created in 1994 and was originally defined as the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle upon Tyne; Gateshead; North Tyneside; South Tyneside and City of Sunderland, together with the ceremonial counties of County Durham and Cleveland. A reform of local government abolished Cleveland and splitting the former area between County Durham and North Yorkshire. However, the former Cleveland area has a series of local authorities, making the technical relocation of places in the region purely ceremonial.

Elections

The North East has a strong tendency to vote Labour. In the 2015 election, 47% of the electorate voted Labour, while 25% voted Conservative, 17% UKIP, 6% Liberal Democrat and 4% Green. At the 2009 European election, Labour got 25% of the region's vote, the Conservatives 20%, the Liberal Democrats 18%, and UK Independence Party 15%. However, in recent years, the North East has seen a significant swing away from Labour. In the 2019 election, many constituencies were targeted by the Conservatives and their representation increased to 10 MPs. The region wide vote shares were 43% for Labour and 38% for the Conservatives, with the Brexit Party a distant third on 8%.

2004 regional assembly referendum

In November 2004, a referendum on whether a directly elected regional assembly should be set up for North East England resulted in a decisive "no" vote. The number of people who voted against the plans was 696,519 (78%), while 197,310 (22%) voted in favour. John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister at the time, admitted that his plans for regional devolution had suffered an "emphatic defeat" to the no campaign, spearheaded by Dominic Cummings. Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative spokesman for the regions, said the vote would mean the end of plans for a North East Assembly. He told the BBC: "The whole idea of regional government has been blown out of the water by this vote".

Combined authorities

The North East Combined Authority was established in 2014 and covered much of the region. North of Tyne authorities later split off, leaving south Tyne and Wear County and Durham County authorities.

The Tees Valley boroughs were not a part of the authority (Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar & Cleveland, and Middlesbrough) and established the Tees Valley Combined Authority in 2016.

Industrial heritage

After more than 2,000 years of industrial activity as a result of abundant minerals such as salt and coal, the chemical industry of the Northeast England is today spread across the whole of the region, with pharmaceuticals being primarily produced in the north of the region, speciality and fine chemicals spread across the middle of the region and commodity chemicals and petrochemicals on Teesside.

These companies are members of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC). The early chemical industry in this region, however, was primarily Tyneside based and associated with the manufacture of soap and glass. The most important chemical activity in the 18th and 19th centuries was the manufacture of alkali to make soap, which was when mixed with lime and sand and used to make glass. The effects of the industrial revolution could be seen through an economy dominated by iron and steel, coal mining and shipbuilding. Rationalisation of chemical firms in 1891 left only four works on Tyneside.

Alkali manufacturing

Before the industrial revolution alkali was mostly used to aid the bleaching process of cloth. As the industrial revolution took hold, increasing demand for alkali came from higher production of dyestuffs, and bleach. In 1798 John Losh and the Earl of Dundonald took out a lease for a rich supply of brine pumped from a nearby coal mine, the Walker pit, becoming the supplier of raw material for The Losh, Wilson & Bell Alkali works. The works were established at Walker-on-Tyne in 1807 and bleaching powder manufacture began there in 1830, Losh Brothers soon manufactured half the soda in England. By 1814 the Leblanc process of making alkali from common salt was introduced to Britain. Alkali works using this process opened at Tyne Dock 1822, Felling shore Tyneside 1826, Friars Goose Gateshead 1828 and again on Felling Shore in 1834. Such works also produced soda, alum and Epsom salts.
The river frontage at South Shore of the River Tyne at Gateshead was one of the main locations for the chemical industry such that in the 19th century, which led to a cluster of iron, soap and alkali manufacturing. By 1828 the alkali works had a large problem controlling emissions of hydrochloric acid fumes which devastated the neighbouring countryside. One solution was to build tall chimneys to drive the fumes further away and in 1833 the tallest chimney in England was built at the Friars Goose Alkali Works. The passing of the Alkali Act of 1863 in the UK Parliament brought about a further reduced pollution from these processes and was the first industrial environmental legislation to come into practice globally.

Salt making

Salt-making in and around Greatham (between Hartlepool and Billingham) had been important in Roman and medieval times, and salt was also produced on Wearside from the 1580s, but by the 16th century the industry had been eclipsed by South Shields on the Tyne. In 1894 the industry returned to Greatham with the establishment of the Greatham Salt and Brine Company by George Weddell. The works was later purchased by the famous salt-making company Cerebos in 1903. By the mid-20th century, Cerebos was owned by the food conglomerate Rank Hovis McDougall, and the factory closed in 2002.

Glass

Glass manufacture has been an important industry in the Northeast of England since stained glass glaziers worked on the Wearmouth and Jarrow monasteries in 674 AD. Sunderland and Tyneside were noted for glass-making between the 17th and 19th centuries. In 1827 about two fifths of all English glass was made in the Tyneside area and in 1845 South Shields was making more plate glass than anywhere else in England. Sunderland was also rising to prominence as a glass-making centre, with James Hartley's Wear Glass Works opening in 1836, and by 1865 one third of the sheet glass in England was supplied by his Sunderland works.
The Candlish Glass Bottleworks was the largest in Europe, managed by John Candlish

William Beilby produced decorative glass items in Newcastle during the mid 1700s.

Coal mining

Coal mining was one of the first industrial activities in Northeast England because the region was fortunate to have shallow seams of coal near the coast, which meant that material could be transported in and out by sea. This led to the growth of ports in Sunderland, Newcastle, Teesport Middlesbrough, Seaham, Hartlepool and Blyth. The energy from coal underpinned the development of many of the industries around these ports. As discussed in the classic historical review of "Victorian Cities"