North Yorkshire
Geography
Status	Ceremonial and (smaller) non-metropolitan county
Origin	1974
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber (Part of the ceremonial county is in the North East Region)
Area - Total	Ranked 1st 8,654 km2 (3,341 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Northallerton[1]
ISO 3166-2	GB-NYK
ONS code	36
NUTS 3	UKE22
Demography
Population - Total (2005) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop.	Ranked 16th 1,082,000 126 /km2 (330 /sq mi) Ranked 19th 599,800
Ethnicity	97.9% White 1.0% S.Asian 1.1% Other
Politics
North Yorkshire County Council http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/
Executive	Conservative
Members of Parliament	Nigel Adams (C) Hugh Bayley (L) Stuart Bell (L) Tom Blenkinsop (L) Robert Goodwill (C) William Hague (C) Andrew Jones (C) Anne McIntosh (C) Julian Smith (C) Julian Sturdy (C) Ian Swales (LD) James Wharton (C)
Districts
Selby Harrogate Craven Richmondshire Hambleton Ryedale Scarborough City of York (Unitary) Redcar and Cleveland (Unitary) Middlesbrough (Unitary) Stockton-on-Tees (Unitary) (the part south of the Tees) Neighbouring counties are: County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a county in England. It is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972^[2] it covers an area of 8,654 square kilometres (3,341 sq mi), making it the largest ceremonial county in England. The majority of the Yorkshire Dales and all of the North York Moors lie within North Yorkshire's boundaries, and around 40% of the county is covered by National Parks. The county town is Northallerton.

Divisions and environs[link]

The area under the control of the county council, or shire county, is divided into a number of local government districts; they are Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.^[3]

The Department for Communities and Local Government did consider reorganising North Yorkshire County Council's administrative structure by abolishing the seven district councils and the county council to create a North Yorkshire unitary authority. The changes were planned to be implemented no later than 1 April 2009.^[4][5] This was rejected on 25 July 2007 so the County Council and District Council structure will remain.^[6]

The largest settlement in the administrative county is Harrogate, while in the ceremonial county it is York.

York, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland are unitary authority boroughs which form part of the ceremonial county for various functions such as the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, but do not come under county council control. Uniquely for a district in England, Stockton-on-Tees is split between North Yorkshire and County Durham for this purpose. Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, and Redcar and Cleveland boroughs form part of the North East England region.^[7]

The ceremonial county area, including the unitary authorities, borders East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and County Durham.

Physical features[link]

The geology of North Yorkshire is closely reflected in its landscape. Within the county are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales; two of eleven areas of countryside within England and Wales to be officially designated as national parks. Between the North York Moors in the east and the Pennine Hills in the west lie the Vales of Mowbray and York. The Tees Lowlands lie to the north of the North York Moors and the Vale of Pickering lies to the south. Its eastern border is the North sea coast. The highest point is Whernside, on the Cumbrian border, at 736 metres (2,415 ft).^[8] The three major rivers in the county are the River Swale, River Ure and the River Tees. The Swale and the Ure form the River Ouse which flows through York and into the Humber estuary. The Tees forms the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham and flows from upper Teesdale to Middlesbrough and Stockton and to the coast.

History[link]

North Yorkshire was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, and covers most of the lands of the historic North Riding, as well as the northern half of the West Riding, the northern and eastern fringes of the East Riding of Yorkshire and the former county borough of York.

York became a unitary authority independent of North Yorkshire on 1 April 1996,^[9] and at the same time Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and areas of Stockton-on-Tees south of the river became part of North Yorkshire for ceremonial purposes, having been part of Cleveland from 1974 to 1996.

Governance[link]

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan county that operates a cabinet-style council.^[10] The full council of 72 elects a council leader, who in turn appoints up to 9 more councillors to form the executive cabinet. The cabinet is responsible for making decisions in the County. The county council have their offices in the county hall in Northallerton.

Economy[link]

Agriculture is an important industry, as are mineral extraction and power generation. The county also has healthy high technology, service and tourism sectors.^[11] The number of people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance is low, at 2.7%.^[12]

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added for North Yorkshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.^[13]

Education[link]

North Yorkshire LEA has a mostly comprehensive education system with 42 state schools secondary (not including sixth form colleges) and 12 independent schools.

Climate[link]

North Yorkshire has a Temperate Climate like much of the UK. However there are large climate variations within the county. The upper Pennines border on a Subarctic climate, whereas the Vale of Mowbray has an almost Semi-arid climate. Overall, with the county being situated in the east, it receives below average rainfall for the UK, but the upper Dales of the Pennines are one of the wettest parts of England, where in contrast the driest parts of the Vale of Mowbray are some of the driest areas in the UK. Summer temperatures are above average, at 22°C, but highs can regularly reach up to 28°C, with over 30°C reached in Heatwaves. Winter temperatures are below average, with average lows of 1°C. Snow and Fog can be expected depending on location, with the North Yorkshire Moors and Pennines having snow lying for an average of between 45 and 75 days per year.^[18] Sunshine is most plentiful on the coast, receiving an average of 1650 hours a year, and reduces further west in the county, with the Pennines only receiving 1250 hours a year.

Towns and villages[link]

Settlements by population[link]

Italicised locations lie outside the current North Yorkshire shire county.

• Ampleforth, Appleton-le-Moors
• Bedale, Bolton-on-Swale, Boroughbridge, Borrowby (Hambleton), Borrowby (Scarborough), Brompton (Hambleton), Brotton, Buckden
• Castleton, Catterick, Catterick Garrison, Cawood, Clapham, Conistone
• Dalton (Hambleton), Dalton (Richmondshire), Danby Wiske
• Easby (Hambleton), Easingwold, Egton, Eston, Ebberston
• Filey, Folkton, Flixton, North Yorkshire
• Giggleswick, Glasshouses, Goathland, Grangetown, Grassington, Great Ayton, Grosmont, Guisborough, Ganton
• Harrogate, Hawes, Hebden, Helmsley, High Bentham, Horton in Ribblesdale, Hunmanby, Huntington
• Ingleton
• Kettlewell, Kilnsey, Kirkbymoorside, Knaresborough
• Leyburn
• Malham, Malton, Masham, Marske-by-the-Sea, Middleham, Middlesbrough, Middleton, Ryedale, Muston
• New Marske, Normanby, Northallerton, Norton-on-Derwent, North Grimston,
• Osmotherley, Ormesby
• Pateley Bridge, Pickering
• Redcar, Reeth, Richmond, Rievaulx, Ripon, Robin Hood's Bay, Romanby
• Saltburn, Scarborough, Scorton, Selby, Settle, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Sheriff Hutton, Skelton, Skipton, South Bank, Sowerby, Stokesley, Streetlam, Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, Swinton, near Malton, Scagglethorpe, Scampston,
• Tadcaster, Teesville, Thirsk, Thornaby-on-Tees
• Whale Hill, Whitby, Westow, Wintringham
• Yarm, York, Yedingham

Places of interest[link]

Italicised locations lie outside the current North Yorkshire shire county.

Bolton Abbey

Knaresborough

An ancient derelict hunting lodge in Dob Park, North Yorkshire.

• Ampleforth College
• Beningbrough Hall
• Bolton Abbey
• Bolton Castle
• Brimham Rocks
• Byland Abbey - English Heritage (EH)
• Castle Howard and the Howardian Hills
• Catterick Garrison
• Cleveland Hills
• Drax
• Duncombe Park - stately home
• Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
• Eston Nab
• Falconry
• Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo
• Fountains Abbey
• Gisborough Priory
• Helmsley Castle - EH
• Ingleborough Cave - show cave
• Kirkham Priory
• Lightwater Valley
• Malham Cove
• Middleham Castle
• Mount Grace Priory - EH
• North Yorkshire Moors Railway
• Ormesby Hall - Palladian Mansion
• Richmond Castle
• Rievaulx Abbey - EH
• Ripley Castle - Stately home and historic village
• Ripon Cathedral
• Selby Abbey
• Scarborough Castle - EH
• Shandy Hall - stately home
• Skipton Castle
• Stanwick Iron Age Fortifications - EH
• Studley Royal Park
• Stump Cross Caverns - show cave
• Thornborough Henges
• Wharram Percy
• Whitby Abbey
• York Minster
• Yorkshire Air Museum

News and media[link]

The County is served by BBC North East and Cumbria, and for more southerly parts of the county BBC Yorkshire. Yorkshire Television and Tyne Tees Television are also received in most areas of the County. BBC Tees is broadcast to northern parts of the county, whist BBC Radio York is broadcast more widely. BBC Radio Leeds is broadcast to southern parts of the county.

Transport[link]

The main north-south road through the county is the A1/A1(M) which has gradually been upgraded to motorway status since the early 1990s. The only other motorways within the county are the short A66(M) near Darlington and a small stretch of the M62 motorway close to Eggborough.^[3] The other nationally maintained trunk routes are the A168/A19, A64, the A66 and A174.

The East Coast Main Line (ECML) bisects the county stopping at Northallerton, Thirsk and York. Passenger services on the ECML within the county are operated by East Coast, First TransPennine Express and Grand Central. First TransPennine Express run services on the York to Scarborough Line and the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line (for Middlesbrough) that both branch off the ECML.

Northern Rail operate the remaining lines in the county including commuter services on the Harrogate Line, Airedale Line and York & Selby Lines, of which the former two are covered by the Metro ticketing area. Remaining branch lines operated by Northern include the Yorkshire Coast Line from Scarborough to Hull, the Hull to York Line via Selby, the Tees Valley Line from Darlington to Saltburn and the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough to Whitby. Last but certainly not least, the Settle-Carlisle Line runs through the west of the county with services again operated by Northern.

Current and former railway routes in eastern North Yorkshire

The county suffered badly under the Beeching cuts of the 1960s which saw places like Richmond, Ripon, Tadcaster, Helmsley, Pickering and the Wensleydale communities lose their passenger services. Notable lines closed were the Scarborough and Whitby Railway, Malton and Driffield Railway and the secondary main line between Northallerton and Harrogate via Ripon.

Heritage railways within North Yorkshire include the North Yorkshire Moors Railway between Pickering and Grosmont, which opened in 1973, the Derwent Valley Light Railway near York, and the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The Wensleydale Railway, which started operating in 2003, runs services between Leeming Bar and Redmire along a former freight only line. The medium term aim to operate into Northallerton station on the ECML once agreement can be reached with Network Rail, whilst the longer term aim to re-instate the full line west via Hawes to Garsdale on the Settle-Carlisle line.

York railway station is the largest station in the county with 11 platforms and is a major tourist attraction in its own right. The station is immediately adjacent to the world famous National Railway Museum.

As well as long distance coach services operated by National Express and Megabus local bus service operators include Arriva, Harrogate & District, Scarborough & District (East Yorkshire Motor Services), Yorkshire Coastliner, First and the local Dales & District.

There are no major airports in the county itself but nearby airports include Durham Tees Valley, Newcastle, Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield and Leeds Bradford.

Sports[link]

North Yorkshire is home to several football clubs, the most successful of which is Middlesbrough FC who play in the Coca-Cola Championship; others include York City FC who have played in the Football League but today play in the Conference National. Whitby Town FC have reached the FA cup first round seven times, and have played the likes of Hull City, Wigan and Plymouth Argyle, they currently play in the Evo-Stik Premier league.

No notable rugby union teams hail from the county but York City Knights are a rugby league team and play in the Rugby League Championship.

North Yorkshire is home to many racecourses; these include Catterick Bridge, Redcar, Ripon and Thirsk. It also has one motor racing circuit, Croft Circuit; the circuit holds meetings of the British Touring Car Championship, British Superbike and Pickup Truck Racing race series.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club, play a number of fixtures at North Marine Road, Scarborough.

The ball game Rock-It-Ball was developed in the county.

See also[link]

• List of Lord Lieutenants of North Yorkshire
• List of High Sheriffs of North Yorkshire

References[link]

External links[link]

• BBC North Yorkshire North Yorkshire features, videos and pictures from the BBC
• Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust
• North Yorkshire at the Open Directory Project

v t e Yorkshire Portal:Yorkshire Ceremonial counties East Riding of Yorkshire • North Yorkshire • South Yorkshire • West Yorkshire Historic divisions East Riding • North Riding • West Riding • Ainsty • Wapentakes Geography Geology of Yorkshire • Topographical areas of Yorkshire • Cities, towns and villages History History • Brigantia • Parisiorum • Britannia • Elmet • Ebrauc • Deira • Northumbria • Jórvík • Wars of the Roses Culture and heritage Culture • Dialect • On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at • People • Flags and symbols • White Rose • Yorkshire Day • God's Own County/Country

v t e Districts of Yorkshire and the Humber Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire • North East Lincolnshire North Yorkshire Craven • Hambleton • Harrogate • Richmondshire • Ryedale • Scarborough • Selby • York South Yorkshire Barnsley • Doncaster • Rotherham • Sheffield West Yorkshire Bradford • Calderdale • Kirklees • Leeds • Wakefield East Riding of Yorkshire East Riding of Yorkshire • Kingston upon Hull

Coordinates: 54°23′25″N 1°23′51″W / 54.39028°N 1.3975°W / 54.39028; -1.3975

Yorkshire
Flag of Yorkshire
Yorkshire within England, showing ancient extent
Geography
1831 area	3,669,510 acres (14,850 km2)[1]
1901 area	3,883,979 acres (15,718 km2)[1]
1991 area	2,941,247 acres (11,903 km2)[1]
HQ	York
Chapman code	YKS
History
Origin	Kingdom of Jórvík
Created	In antiquity
Succeeded by	Various
Demography
1831 population - 1831 density	1,371,359[1] 0.37/acre
1901 population - 1901 density	3,512,838[1] 0.9/acre
1991 population - 1991 density	3,978,484[1] 1.35/acre
Subdivisions
Type	Ridings
Units	1 North • 2 West • 3 East

Yorkshire (/ˈjɔːkʃə/) is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom.^[2] Due to its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographical territory and cultural region.^[3][4] The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the military,^[5] and also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration, such as North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire. The county's name is commonly abbreviated as Yorks.

Within the borders of the historic county of Yorkshire are areas which are widely considered to be among the greenest in England, due to the vast stretches of unspoiled countryside in the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors and to the open aspect of some of the major cities.^[6][7] Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed God's Own County.^[4][8] The emblem of Yorkshire is the white rose of the English royal House of York, and the most commonly used flag representative of Yorkshire is the White Rose on a dark blue background,^[9] which after years of use, was recognised by the Flag Institute on 29 July 2008.^[10] Yorkshire Day, held on 1 August, is a celebration of the general culture of Yorkshire, ranging from its history to its own dialect.^[11]

Toponymy[link]

The county of Yorkshire was so named as it is the Shire (administrative area or county) of the City of York (local ⁱ/ˈjɔːk/) or York's Shire. "York" comes from the Viking name for the city, Jórvík. "Shire" is from Old English, scir, and appears to be allied to shear as it is a division of the land. The "shire" suffix is locally pronounced /-ʃə/ "shuh", or occasionally /-ʃiə/, a homophone of "sheer".^[12]

History[link]

Celtic tribes[link]

Early inhabitants of Yorkshire were Celts, who formed two separate tribes, the Brigantes and the Parisii. The Brigantes controlled territory which later became all of the North Riding of Yorkshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. The tribe controlled most of Northern England and more territory than any other Celtic tribe in England.^[13] That they had the Yorkshire area as their heartland is evident in that Isurium Brigantum (now known as Aldborough) was the capital town of their civitas under Roman rule. Six of the nine Brigantian poleis described by Claudius Ptolemaeus in the Geographia fall within the historic county.^[14][15] The Parisii who controlled the area that would become the East Riding of Yorkshire, may have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul (known today as Paris, France).^[16] Their capital was at Petuaria close to the Humber estuary. The Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 AD, however the Brigantes remained in control of their kingdom as a client state of Rome for an extended period, reigned over by the Brigantian monarchs Cartimandua and her husband Venutius. Initially, this situation suited both the Romans and the Brigantes who were known as the most militant tribe in Britain.^[17]

Roman Yorkshire[link]

Statue of Constantine I outside York Minster.

Queen Cartimandua left her husband Venutius for his armour bearer, Vellocatus, setting off a chain of events which changed control of the Yorkshire area. Cartimandua, due to her good relationship with the Romans, was able to keep control of the kingdom; however her former husband staged rebellions against her and her Roman allies.^[18] At the second attempt, Venutius seized the kingdom, but the Romans, under general Petillius Cerialis, conquered the Brigantes in 71 AD.^[19]

Under Roman rule, the high profile of the area continued. The fortified city of Eboracum (now known as York) was named as capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of all Roman Britain.^[20] During the two years before the death of Emperor Septimius Severus, the Roman Empire was run from Eboracum by him.^[21]

Another Emperor, Constantius Chlorus, died in Yorkshire during a visit in 306 AD. This saw his son Constantine the Great proclaimed Emperor in the city, who would become renowned due to his contributions to Christianity.^[22] In the early 5th century, the Roman rule ceased with the withdrawal of the last active Roman troops. By this stage, the Empire was in heavy decline.^[21]

Second Celtic period and Angles[link]

After the Romans left, small Celtic kingdoms arose in Yorkshire; the Kingdom of Ebrauc around York and more notably the Kingdom of Elmet in West Yorkshire.^[23][24] Elmet remained independent from the Northumbrian Angles until some time in the early 7th Century, when King Edwin of Northumbria expelled its last king, Certic, and annexed the region. At its greatest extent, Northumbria stretched from the Irish Sea to the North Sea and from Edinburgh down to Hallamshire in South Yorkshire.^[25]

Kingdom of Jórvík[link]

Coin from Eric Bloodaxe's reign

An army of Danish Vikings, the Great Heathen Army^[26] as its enemies often referred to it, invaded Northumbrian territory in 866 AD. The Danes conquered and assumed what is now modern day York and renamed it Jórvík, making it the capital city of a new Danish kingdom under the same name. The area which this kingdom covered included most of Southern Northumbria, roughly equivalent to the borders of Yorkshire extending further West.^[27]

The Danes went on to conquer an even larger area of England which afterwards became known as the Danelaw; but whereas most of the Danelaw was still English land, albeit in submission to Viking overlords, it was in the Kingdom of Jórvík that the only truly Viking territory on mainland Britain was ever established. The Kingdom prospered, taking advantage of the vast trading network of the Viking nations, and established commercial ties with the British Isles, North-West Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.^[28]