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Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct identity from that of the rest of England. The special cultural, political and economic characteristics of "the South" are, however, not universally agreed upon, nor are its geographical limits and stereotypes of the South mask the cultural, physical and historical differences within this region. For government purposes Southern England is divided in South West England, South East England, Greater London, and the East of England. Combined, these have a total area of 62,042 square kilometres (23,955 sq mi), and a population of 26 million.
People
The term "southern" is often loosely used without any deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Southern England, leading to confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas. As in much of the rest of England, people tend to have a deeper affiliation to their county or their city. Thus, residents of Essex would be unlikely to feel much affinity with those from across in Oxfordshire. Similarly, there is a strong distinction between natives of the south-west and those of the south-east.
Sport
The sport of rugby experienced a schism in 1895 with many teams based in Yorkshire, Lancashire and surrounding areas breaking from the Rugby Football Union and forming their own League. The disagreement that led to the split was over the issue of professional payments, and "broken time" or injury payments. Until recent times, there has been a perception that 'league' was the code of rugby played in the north, whilst 'union' was the code played in the south.
Divisions
In most definitions Southern England includes all the counties on/near the English Channel. In terms of the current ceremonial counties:
Several of these counties are, however, commonly reckoned as part of the West Country, which in some usages may be treated as mutually exclusive with Southern England.
The exact northern extent likewise varies. In the west it can include Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire, though these are sometimes considered part of the Midlands. The counties between the Midlands and London (Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire) may sometimes be considered part of Southern England, as may Essex and the counties of East Anglia (Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk).
On a maximal definition, the northern boundary thus approximately corresponds to an imaginary line drawn from the Severn Estuary to the Wash (or, expressed in terms of towns, from Gloucester to King's Lynn).
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.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]
Oxfordshire ( /ˈɒksfərdʃər/ or /ˈɒksfərdʃɪər/; archaically the County of Oxford; abbreviated Oxon from the Latinised form of "Oxford", Oxonia) is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire (to the north/northeast), Buckinghamshire (to the east), Berkshire (to the south), Wiltshire (to the southwest) and Gloucestershire (to the west).
The county has a major tourist industry. The area is noted for the concentration of performance motorsport companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms; the University of Oxford is also linked to the concentration of local biotechnology companies.
The main centre of population is the city of Oxford. Other significant settlements are Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, and Chipping Norton to the north of Oxford; Witney to the west; Thame and Chinnor to the east; and Abingdon, Wantage, Didcot, Wallingford and Henley-on-Thames to the south. Future population growth in the county is hoped[ clarification needed ] to be concentrated around Oxford, Banbury, Bicester, Didcot and Witney, near the South Midlands growth area.
The highest point of the administrative county is White Horse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, reaching 261 metres (856 ft).[2] The highest point in the historic county is near Portobello Farm in the Chiltern Hills at 255 metres.
Oxfordshire's county flower is the Snake's-head Fritillary.
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London.[2] It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London and the 32 London boroughs.[2] This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London European Parliament constituency. The region has by far the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom. It covers 1,572 km2 (607 sq mi)[3] and had a 2009 mid-year estimated population of 7,753,600.[1] The term Greater London was in use before 1965 to refer to a variously defined area, larger than the County of London and often similar to the Metropolitan Police District.[4]
In addition to its administrative and statistical functions, Greater London (excluding the City of London) is one of the 48 ceremonial counties of England, and is under the Greater London Lieutenancy.
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent,[4] while the North is bordered by Scotland. The counties of Northern England combined have a population of around 14.5 million covering an area of 37,331 km2 (14,414 sq mi).
During antiquity most of the area was part of Brigantia — homeland of the Brigantes and the largest Brythonic kingdom of Great Britain. After the Roman conquest of Britain the city of York became capital of the area, called Britannia Inferior then Britannia Secunda. In Sub-Roman Britain new Brythonic kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd emerged. The Angle settlers created Bernicia and Deira from which came Northumbria and a Golden Age in cultural, scholarly and monastic activity, centred around Lindisfarne and aided by Irish monks.[5] Norse and Gaelic Viking raiders gained control of much of the area, creating the Danelaw. During this time there were close relations with Mann and the Isles, Dublin and Norway. Northumbria was unified with the rest of England under Eadred around 952.
After the Norman conquest in 1066, desolation was brought with the Harrying of the North, though much construction and town founding was done shortly after. A Council of the North was in place during the Late Middle Ages until the Commonwealth after the Civil War. The area experienced Anglo–Scottish border fighting until the unification of Britain under the Stuarts.
Definitions
Concepts of the North take account of perceived "Northern" regional accents. Experts on historical dialects categorise as Northern the area north of a line that begins at the Humber estuary, and runs up the river Wharfe and across to the River Lune in north Lancashire.[6] However, the linguistic elements that traditionally defined this area, such as use of doon instead of down and substitution of - ang noise in words that end - ong (lang instead of long), are now prevalent only in the more northern parts of the region; these linguistic features may reflect a more modern interpretation of where the line sits today. As speech has changed, there is little consensus on what defines a "Northern" accent or dialect. Many people in Northern England omit certain sounds from sentences in casual speech, such as saying "I'm goin' t'shops" or "I'm going the shops" as opposed to "I'm going to the shops." This is particularly common in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
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