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'Northern England', 'The North' or 'North of England' is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. Its extent may be subject to personal opinion and many companies or organisations have differing definitions as to what it constitutes.

Contents

Geography

People

Definitions

Government Office Regions

Ancient counties

Ecclesiastical

History

See also

References

Geography

In some of the largest geographic definitions, 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'. This part of England has had much interaction with both Ireland and Scotland.

People

The term "Northerners" is often rejected by many in that it asserts a common identity across certain geographical areas that "northern England" defines. The term "northern" is often loosely used without any deeper consideration of the geographical identities of northern England, leading to confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas.

Definitions

Government Office Regions

In some of the larger definitions, the north may be considered to constitute the three Government Office Regions of North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber. This area consists of the ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire,
Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire and part of Lincolnshire. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Ancient counties

In some of the larger definitions, the north may be considered to constitute the six ancient counties of Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmorland, Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire. This region coincides with the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria before it expanded into Gododdin and the Vikings conquered the Kingdom of Strathclyde.

Ecclesiastical

In elder contexts northern England is sometimes 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 in Roman Catholicism would be the Province of Liverpool. ^[4]

History

The Romans called an area similar to some current definitions of northern England "Britannia Inferior" (Lower Britain) and ruled from the city of ''Eboracum'' (modern York). Brigantes occupied the region between the rivers Tyne and Humber. The sub capital 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.
After the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, the North was divided into rival kingdoms: Bernicia and Deira. Bernicia covered lands north of the Tees, whilst Deira corresponded roughly to modern-day Yorkshire. Bernicia and Deira were first united as Northumbria by Aethelfrith, a king of Bernicia who conquered Deira around the year 604.
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 roots in the Viking forays on the Irish Sea and the trade route which ran from York and crossing the Edinburgh-Glasgow area in Scotland, to Dublin in Ireland.
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.
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, shipyards of the North East to the mining towns found throughout the North and the 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 ten most populous cities in the United Kingdom lie in the North.

See also

★ Council of the North

★ Southern England

★ Northumbria

★ North-South divide in the United Kingdom

References

1. Vision of Britain - Constituents of North East
2. Vision of Britain - Constituents of North West
3. Vision of Britain - Constituents of Yorkshire and the Humber
4. Royal College of St. Alban, Valladolid - The five provinces of England and Wales