- This article is about the English county. For other uses, see Yorkshire (disambiguation).
Template:Infobox England traditional county
Yorkshire is the largest traditional county of England, covering some 6,000 sq. miles (15,000 km²) with a population of some five million. It is traditionally divided into West, North and East Ridings (from Old Norse þriðing, "third part", a legacy of the area's ninth century Scandinavian settlers). The county town, York, was not part of any riding.
The emblem of Yorkshire is the White Rose of the House of York, and there is a Yorkshire Day celebrated on August 1. Amongst the celebrations there is a Civic gathering of Lord Mayors, Mayors and other Civic Heads from across the county and convened by the Yorkshire Society, in 2004 it was held in Leeds and in 2005 it was held in Bradford. The people of Penistone will be hosting the Civic gathering in 2006. There is also an "anthem" for the county in the form of the folk song "On Ilkla Moor Baht'at" (on Ilkley Moor without a Hat).
The Yorkshire dialect is colloquially known as "Tyke", and this is also the "affectionate" (!) term for a Yorkshireman. The social stereotype of a Yorkshireman has a tendency to include such accessories as a flat cap and a whippet. Among Yorkshire's unique traditions is the Long Sword dance, a traditional dance not found elsewhere in England. More recently, Yorkshire has been home to its own genre of techno music, Yorkshire Bleeps and Bass.
History
- Main article History of Yorkshire
The Ridings were divided further into wapentakes. In about 1823 these were
North Riding
- Allertonshire
- Birdforth
- Bulmer
- Gilling East and West
- Halikeld
- Hang East and West
- Langbaurgh East and West
- Pickering Lythe
- Ryedale
- Whitby Strand
East Riding
- Buckrose
- Dickering
- Harthill - Bainton beacon, Holme beacon, Hunsley beacon and Wilton beacon
- Holderness South Middle and North
- Howdenshire
- Ouse and Derwent
West Riding
- Agbrigg and Morley (Agbrigg and Morley divisions)
- Barkston Ash
- Ewcross
- Claro Lower and Upper
- Morley
- Osgoldcross
- Skyrack Lower and Upper
- Staincliffe East and West
- Staincross
- Strafforth and Tickhill Lower and Upper
Apart from these there were the Ainsty wapentake, the City of York (not part of any riding), and Hullshire (geographically in the East Riding though not part of it).
The Ridings were used as the basis of administrative counties upon the introduction of local government, in 1888, although many boroughs within the area were made county boroughs in their own right.
In 1974 the local government system was reformed, with the area being split between:
- North Yorkshire (including Yorkshire's county town of York — although the county town of North Yorkshire is Northallerton)
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
- Humberside (including parts of Lincolnshire)
- Cleveland (including parts of County Durham)
South and West Yorkshire are termed metropolitan counties, as they cover mostly built-up areas. Additionally, small portions were ceded to the control of Cumbria, Lancashire, County Durham and Greater Manchester.
In 1986 the county councils of West and South Yorkshire were abolished, and in 1996 Cleveland and Humberside were broken up into districts, which became independent administrative counties (unitary authority areas) in their own right, as did an expanded City of York. For ceremonial purposes the districts previously covered by Cleveland now fall in the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire and County Durham, and the districts previously covered by Humberside now fall in the ceremonial counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Much of Yorkshire is now represented by the region of Yorkshire and the Humber.
Villages, towns and cities in Yorkshire
See the list of places in Yorkshire.