Northern England
Northern England is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. Its extent is often down to personal opinion and many companies or forms of local and national government have differing ideas as to what constitutes
The North.
This is a part of England which has had much interaction with
Ireland and
Scotland.
The
Romans called this region of
Brigantes; "
Britannia Inferior" and ruled from the city of
York. Then known as
Eboracum, the subcapital held sway over the rest of the land north of there, which included for a brief period the part of the
Scottish lowlands between
Hadrian's Wall and the
Antonine Wall.
There were six Northern
Counties:
Cumberland,
Northumberland,
Westmorland,
Durham,
Lancashire and
Yorkshire but modern definitions often include
Cheshire and parts of northern
Lincolnshire;the Peak District of
Derbyshire also has strong connections with
North West England. This region coincides with the
Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of
Northumbria before it expanded into
Gododdin and the Vikings conquered the
Kingdom of Strathclyde.
In elder contexts Northern England is defined by the ecclesiastical
Province of York, which is administered by the
Archbishop of York. The See includes the
Isle of Man, which was at one time a part of
Jorvik in contention with
Dublin over said island and
Galloway. A comparable perception would be the
Province of Liverpool[
1].
The North and East of England was subject to
Danish Law (
Danelaw) during the Viking era, evidence of which can be found in the
etymology of many place names and surnames in the area.
Anglo-Norman aspirations in the
Pale of
Ireland have some routes in the Viking forays on the
Irish Sea and the trade route which ran from York and crossing the
Edinburgh-
Glasgow area, to Dublin in Ireland.
Geographically, the north of England is split into east and west by the
Pennines, a mountain range often referred to as "the backbone of England", stretching from the
Peak District in the
Midlands to the
Cheviot Hills on the border with Scotland. Although the land in the north is generally higher than in the south of England, the Pennines are often referred to as 'hills' rather than 'mountains'. There is more
rainfall in the western counties and more
sunlight in the eastern counties.
As the centre of the industrial revolution, Northern England has long been characterised by its industrial centres, from the mill towns of Lancashire, textile centres of Yorkshire, to the mining towns of the north-east and the bustling fishing ports along both east and west coasts. However, whilst the south of England has prospered economically, the north has, until now, remained relatively poor, although currently there are many
urban regeneration projects happening across northern towns and cities hoping to address this imbalance since five of the top ten most populous cities in the
United Kingdom lie in the north.
[2]The people who live in the north, called "northerners" in colloquial speech, are often subject to
stereotypes in the London-based
media. Stereotypical northern activities include
whippet-racing and
pigeon-breeding, whilst typical northern foods would include
chips with
gravy and
mushy peas. Historically the North used to have a measure of independence and was ruled over by the Council of the North, based at the Kings Monor, York, set up in 1484 by Richard III. However decisions affecting the North of England have been made from London since this institution was abolished in 1641, although there is some measure of regional control in the form of local councils.
"Northerners" is often rejected by many as a term that wrongly asserts a common identity across the geographical area that "Northern England" defines. The United Kingdom goverment accords the northern regions with the same legal status as the prinicipality of Wales. The north of England compsoses several historic counties including Yorksire, Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmoreland and Northumberland and Durham. However, the term "Northern" is often loosely used without any deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Northern England, leading to much confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas.
The major cities amnd intersting towns which feature in probably all definitions of northern England include:
*
Bradford*
Carlisle*
Harrogate*
Halifax*
Haworth*
Hebden Bridge*
Kingston upon Hull*
Lancaster*
Leeds*
Liverpool*
Manchester*
Northallerton*
Newcastle upon Tyne*
Preston*
Todmorden*
Sheffield*
Sunderland*
Wakefield*
YorkOther towns and cities include:
*
Barnsley,
Barrow-in-Furness,
Berwick-upon-Tweed,
Blackburn,
Blackpool,
Bolton,
Burnley,
Bury*
Carlisle*
Darlington,
Doncaster,
Durham*
Gateshead*
Halifax,
Hartlepool,
Harrogate,
Huddersfield*
Jarrow*
Kendal*
Lancaster*
Macclesfield,
Middlesbrough,
Morecambe*
Oldham*
Penrith,
Preston*
Rotherham,
Rochdale,
Ripon*
Scarborough,
Skipton,
Southport,
St Helens,
Stockport,
Stockton-on-Tees*
Wakefield,
Warrington,
Whitby,
Whitehaven,
Widnes,
Wigan,
WorkingtonTowns and cities which feature in some definitions of the north include:
*
Chester,
Cleethorpes,
Crewe*
Ellesmere Port*
Grimsby*
Scunthorpe,
Stoke-on-TrentThe North borders the
Midlands to the south and Scotland to the north.
*
Northumbria*
Council of the North
