Northern England
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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'.
In all cases, this is a swath of English land having had the most interaction with Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is the only other English land aside from the West Country to have a native population with Celtic blood, which is Cumbria to the Western Cornwall.
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 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. 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 See 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. The culture of Northern England has mostly shared a mutual heritage with Scandinavia over the centuries, rather than Germania as is lived in Southern England.
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 root in the viking forays on the Irish Sea and the trade root 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.
Northern England has long been characterised by its industrial centres, from the mill towns of Lancashire, 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 country lie in the north [[1] (http://lovemytown.co.uk/Populations/PopulationsTable1.htm)].
The people who live in the north, (called "northerners" in colloquial speech) are often subject to stereotypes, particularly in the media. Stereotypical northern activities include whippet-racing and pigeon-breeding, whilst typical northern foods would include chips with gravy and mushy peas. Northerners are also supposedly characterised as a little slow but overall down-to-earth and friendly.
The major cities which feature in probably all definitions of northern England include:
Other towns and cities include:
- Barnsley, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blackburn, Blackpool
- Carlisle
- Darlington, Doncaster
- Gateshead
- Harrogate, Hartlepool
- Halifax, Huddersfield
- Jarrow
- Lancaster
- Middlesbrough
- Preston
- Rotherham
- Scarborough, Stockton-on-Tees, Southport, Sunderland
- Wakefield, Wigan, Whitby
Towns and cities which feature in some definitions of the north include:
The North borders the Midlands to the south and Scotland to the north.
See also: Northumbria