Elmet was an independent Brythonic kingdom covering a broad area of what later became the West Riding of Yorkshire during the Early Middle Ages, between approximately the 5th century and early 7th century. Although its precise boundaries are unclear, it appears to have been bordered by the River Sheaf in the south and the River Wharfe in the east. It adjoined Deira to the north and Mercia to the south, and its western boundary appears to have been near Craven, which was possibly a minor British kingdom. As such it was well to the east of other territories of the Britons in Wales and the West Country (i.e. Cornwall and Dumnonia), and to the south of those in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or Old North. As one of the southeasternmost Brythonic regions for which there is reasonably substantial evidence, it is notable for having survived relatively late in the period of Anglo-Saxon conquest.

Elmet was invaded and conquered by Northumbria in the autumn of 616 or 626. The kingdom is chiefly attested in topographical and archaeological evidence, references in early Welsh poetry, and historical sources such as the ''Historia Brittonum'' and Bede. The name survives throughout the area in place names such as Barwick-in-Elmet and Sherburn-in-Elmet. A local parliamentary constituency is also called Elmet.

History

Elmet was one of a number of Sub-Roman Brythonic realms of northern Britannia that existed during the Early Middle Ages (often referred to as the Dark Ages). As well as Elmet, these included Rheged, Strathclyde, Ebrauc, Bryneich and Gododdin. It is unclear how Elmet came to be established, though it has been suggested that it may have been created from a larger kingdom ruled by the semi-legendary Coel Hen. The historian Alex Woolf suggests that the region of Elmet had enjoyed a distinct tribal identity in pre-Roman times and that this had re-emerged following the collapse of Roman rule.

The existence of Elmet is attested in the ''Historia Brittonum'', which says that King Edwin of Northumbria "occupied Elmet and expelled Certic, king of that country". Bede's ''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'' mentions that Hereric, the father of St Hilda of Whitby, was killed at the court of King Ceretic. It is generally presumed that Ceretic/Certic were the same person, otherwise known as Ceredig ap Gwallog. However, Bede does not speak of Elmet as the name of a kingdom but rather as that of a forest of Elmet, ''silva Elmete''. He mentions that "subsequent kings made a house for themselves in the district, which is called Loidis" and the battle of Winwaed, also in the region of ''Loidis'' - probably the area covered by the present day City of Leeds.

Elmet appears to have had ties with Wales; an early Christian inscription found in Gwynedd reads "ALIOTVS ELMETIACOS HIC IACET", or "Aliotus the Elmetian lies here". A ''cantref'' (administrative division) of Dyfed was also named ''Elfed'', the Welsh equivalent of Elmet. A number of kings of Elmet are recorded in Welsh sources. One of Taliesin's poems is for Gwallog ap Llaennog, who ruled the kingdom near the end of the 6th century.

Towards the end of the 6th century, Elmet came under increasing pressure from the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Deira and Mercia. Forces from Elmet joined the ill-fated alliance in 590 against the Angles of Bernicia who had been making massive inroads further to the north. During this war it is thought Elmet's king Gwallog was killed. The northern alliance collapsed after Urien of Rheged was murdered and a feud broke out between two of its key members. It appears that after this, and the subsequent unification of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, Elmet was compelled to construct a series of defensive ditches to the north and west of Barwick-in-Elmet in an apparent attempt to provide an extra line of defence for their king's hill fort - the remains of which can still be seen in this village.

The Northumbrians invaded and overran Elmet in 616. It is not known definitely what prompted the invasion, but it has been suggested that the casus belli was the death by poisoning of the Northumbrian nobleman Hereric, who was an exiled member of the Northumbrian royal house residing in Elmet. It may have been that Hereric had been poisoned by his hosts and Edwin of Northumbria invaded in retaliation; or perhaps Edwin himself had Hereric poisoned and invaded Elmet to punish Ceredig ap Gwallog for harbouring him.

After the conquest of Elmet, the realm was incorporated into Northumbria - on Easter Day, 627 - and the people were known as the ''Elmetsæte''. They are recorded in the late 7th century ''Tribal Hidage'' as the inhabitants of a minor territory of 600 hides. They were the most northerly group recorded in the ''Tribal Hidage''. The Elmetsæte probably continued to reside in West Yorkshire as a distinct group throughout the Saxon period and may have colluded with Cadwallon ap Cadfan of Gwynedd when he invaded Northumbria and briefly held the area in 633. The Life of Cathróe of Metz mentions ''Loidam Civitatem'' as the boundary between the Norsemen of Jórvík and the Brythonic Cumbrians of Strathclyde: if this refers to Leeds, it suggests that some or all of Elmet may have been returned to Brythonic rule for a brief period in the first half of the 10th century prior to Anglo-Saxon reconquest, but not as an independent state.

The survival of the local Brythonic community is probably responsible for the large number of Brythonic-derived placenames in the area, and of Anglo-Saxon placenames beginning ''Eccles-'' (from Anglo-Saxon ''ecles'' = "church", taken from Celtic) and ''Wal-'' (from Anglo-Saxon ''wealh'' = "Celtic native"). The inhabitants of Elmet are believed to have called themselves the ''Loides'', a name which is still reflected in placenames: notably Ledston, Ledsham, Leathley and the modern city of Leeds ("Ledes" in 1086 Domesday Book).

Kings of Elmet

Masgwid Gloff (c.460 – c.495)

Llaennog ap Masgwid (c.495 – c.540)

Arthuis ap Masgwid (c.540 – c.560)

Gwallog ap Llaennog (c.560 – 590)

Ceredig ap Gwallog (590 – 616) d. 618

Legacy

The area is the subject of an acclaimed 1979 book combining photography and poetry; ''Remains of Elmet'', by Ted Hughes and Fay Godwin. The book was re-published by Faber and Faber in 1994 simply titled ''Elmet'', and with a third of the book being new additional poems and photographs.

See also

Bright Oak

References

Further reading

David Rollason, ''Northumbria, 500-1100'', Cambridge University Press (2003)

Christopher A Snyder, ''The Britons'', Blackwell Publishing (2003)

Alex Woolf, "Romancing the Celts: a segmentary approach to acculturation", in ''Cultural Identity in the Roman Empire'', ed. Ray Laurence, Joanne Berry. Routledge (1998)

External links

Historic Elmet

Echoes of Elmet group

Essay on ''Remains of Elmet''

The Elmet Trust - Ted Hughes Festival, Mytholmroyd

Category:Former countries in the British Isles Category:History of South Yorkshire Category:History of West Yorkshire Category:Sub-Roman Britain Category:States and territories established in the 5th century

br:Elmet cy:Elmet de:Elmet es:Reino de Elmet eo:Elmet fr:Elmet gl:Elmet id:Elmet it:Regno dell'Elmet nl:Elmet ru:Элмет sv:Elmet

{{BTCC alumnus| Image = 200px | Name = Mike Jordan | Nationality = English | Nickname = Old Git, Old Man| Team = Team Eurotech | Car = Honda Integra | Championships = 0 | Wins = 1 | Podiums = 7 | Poles = 0 | Fastest laps = 2 | First year = 1989 | First win = 2006 | Best position = 8th in 2007 | Last season = 2008 | Last position = 14th (34 points) | }}

Michael Jordan (born 17 February 1958 in Sutton Coldfield, England) is a British racing driver who competed in various classes of saloon and sportscar racing. He will compete for his own JordanSport.co.uk team in the 2009 Britcar Production Championship. He has won three British titles, and spent three years competing in the BTCC against many drivers less than half his age, including his son and team-mate Andrew. In 2006 he became the oldest driver ever to win a BTCC race. He lives in Lichfield with his wife Judith and their three children.

Racing career

He started racing in the late 1970s with a Morris Minor in the Classic Saloon Car Club's Pre-57 road-going championship, which he won in 1979. He bought the car from a workmate with bankloans, and drove it on the road. His first BTCC appearances were in 1989 in a Peugeot.

He was Porsche Cup champion in 1987 and 1991. He then competed in saloon cars and won the Willhire 24 Hour race in 1992 and 1993, also finishing runner up in the 1992 ESSO Group N Saloon Car Championship.

In the mighty V8 Eurocar racing saloons he was champion in 1996 and 1997 and then moved to the TVR Tuscan Challenge, twice finishing runner up in the championship.

GT Racing

In 2000, he teamed up with Mark Sumpter to race a Porsche GT3R in the GTO division of the British GT Championship, supporting Mark to the title. Mike then jumped into the top class of the British GT championship to race a thundering Lister Storm with David Warnock. Despite fierce opposition, they won the title in 2001 and finished second the following season. Mike also made his FIA GT championship with Lister in 2001, winning outright at Nurburgring when partnering Jamie Campbell-Walter.

In 2002, he also competed with Mark in the Daytona 24 Hours, finishing the race at their first attempt. For 2003, Mike once again teamed up with Mark Sumpter to compete in the FIA GT championship alongside team mates Godfrey and David Jones.

For 2004 and 2005, he returned to the British GT Championship, winning races in 2004 with Sumpter and leading the chase of the Ferraris in 2005 when partnered by former TVR Tuscan rival Michael Caine.

Trivia

Mike's grid girl, Miss Pirtek, fashion model Faye Coton turned heads on the grid all year. An image taken of Faye during the last BTCC meeting of the year at Silverstone (15 October) was used by ITV-F1 is an advertisement for their web site. The ad appeared in the December issue of F1 Racing magazine.

His birthday (17 February) is on the same day as former NBA basketball player Michael Jordan.

References

External links

Team Eurotech

Profile at BTCCPages.com

Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:English racecar drivers Category:People from Sutton Coldfield Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Category:British GT Championship drivers Category:Le Mans Series drivers

name	Nigel Adams
honorific-suffix	MP
office	Member of Parliament for Selby and Ainsty
majority	12,265 (23.7%)
predecessor	Constituency Created
term start	6 May 2010
birth date	November 30, 1966
birth place	Goole, England
nationality	British
spouse	Claire Robson
party	Conservative
children	Four (1 son, 3 daughters)
alma mater	Selby High School
footnotes	}}

Nigel Adams (born 30 November 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Selby and Ainsty in North Yorkshire.

Early life

Born in Goole, and raised in Selby, the son of a school caretaker and school cleaner, Nigel Adams attended Camblesforth Primary School, Selby Grammar School and Selby High School. He left school in 1984, aged 17. Later, following redundancy, he set up a telecommunication company with a £20 government grant and went on to sell it to a PLC.

Non-political career

He worked in sales and marketing within the telecommunications industry. He was the founding managing director of Advances Digital Telecom Ltd, 1993-1999. He was appointed director of JWE Telecom plc for a year in 1999. He became the non-executive chairman of Pareto Law plc from 2001 until 2002. In 2003 he was director of Ebor Events Ltd until 2005, when he became a director of the Yorkshire Tourist Board. He has been a director of NGC Networks Ltd since 2006.

Political career

He unsuccessfully contested the Rossendale and Darwen at the 2005, coming second but reducing the sitting Labour MP, Janet Anderson's majority.

He was president of the Selby Conservative Association, 2002–04 and Deputy Regional Chairman of the Yorkshire and Humberside Conservatives from 2002–03. He was a board member of the North of England Conservative Party from 2002–03

Following his election to Parliament, Adams was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the House of Lords and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, The Lord Strathclyde.

Personal life

A keen sportsman, he plays competitive cricket in the York Senior League and is a former member of the Yorkshire Cricket Club's members committee. He is a fundraiser and is active on the Yorkshire committee of the Lord's Taverners. He served as a governor at two of his former schools, Camberforth Primary (2002–04) and Selby High School since 2007.

References

External links

Nigel Adams MP ''official constituency website''

Nigel Adams MP Conservative Party profile

Selby and Ainsty Conservatives

Nigel Adams Profile at ''New Statesman'' Your Democracy

{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Selby and Ainsty | years = 2010– }}

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs Category:UK MPs 2010–