Geographically

Saying the North of England is not very accurate as it could simply mean anywhere in England north of one's current location. It is a completely qualitative measure and there is no way of quantifying it. It is almost down to personal opinion; some people consider 'the North to start only at the River Tees; others think that it stretches much farther south.

The North of England may also be considered as the area (from coast to coast) surrounding the Pennines, an upland chain often referred to as "the backbone of England". This stretches from the Cheviot Hills on the border with Scotland to the Peak District. The areas defined were formerly dominated by heavy industry and mineral extraction and processing. Combined with the characteristically wild, hilly landscape of the region, this has led to the popular conception, mainly by those from the south of England, of it being "grim up North".

It is an area of extreme landscapes. There are several belts of urbanisation, many of which form one larger belt that runs from Liverpool to Leeds along the M62 corridor, then heading south to Sheffield along the M1 corridor. There are further agglomerations in the North East and east of Preston. Around eleven million people live in the area covered by The Northern Way, most in its largest cities Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bradford and Manchester.

Government Office Regions

The North might also be considered to include the three former Government Office Regions of North East England, North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber. This area consists of the ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire and part of Lincolnshire. The regions also hold the North of England Inward Investment Agency which is a UK government sponsored agency that represents two Regional Development Agencies in North England: Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and One Northeast (ONE).

Alternatively, the North might be considered to comprise the six ancient counties of Cumberland, Northumberland, Westmorland, Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The eastern part of this region coincides with the old Kingdom of Northumbria apart from those areas which were later absorbed into Scotland.

People

The term "northern" is often loosely used without any deeper consideration of the geographical identities of northern England, leading to confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas. People from areas of the Midlands, such as Staffordshire and Derbyshire will occasionally choose to identify as "northerners".

As in much of the rest of England, people tend to have a deeper affiliation to their county or their city. Thus, Yorkshire people have a traditional rivalry with people from Lancashire, even though people from both areas recognise a shared "Northern" identity. Similarly, there is a strong distinction between natives of Sunderland (Mackems) and those of Newcastle (Geordies).

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 Rugby League. The disagreement that led to the split was over the issue of professional payments, and "broken time" or injury payments.

The North formed a powerful Rugby Union team in the 70's, 80's and 90's who famously won games against the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies. Former players include Bill Beaumont, Will Carling & Rory Underwood, but more recently has seen the regions teams become relatively weaker, with association football, cricket and Rugby League being cited as more popular across the region.^[8]

Religion

Christianity is the largest religion in Northern England and has been since the Early Middle Ages, though its existence on the island dates back to the Roman introduction in antiquity and continued through Early Insular Christianity. The Holy Island of Lindisfarne played an essential role in the Christianisation of Northumbria, after Aidan from Connacht founded a monastery there as the first Bishop of Lindisfarne on the request of King Oswald.^[9] It is known for the creation of the Lindisfarne Gospels and remains a site of pilgrimage to this day.^[10][11] Paulinus as part of the Gregorian mission became the first Bishop of York. It was at the Synod of Whitby that calucations of Easter were brought in line with Roman calculations. In the modern day the three main forms of Christianity practised are Anglicanism, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and Methodism. In terms of ecclesiastical administration for the Church of England the entire north is covered by the Province of York, which is represented by the Archbishop of York. Likewise, with the exception of old Cheshire the north is covered in Roman Catholic Church administration by the Province of Liverpool represented by the Archbishop of Liverpool.

· York (local ⁱ /ˈjɔːk/) is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence. The city offers a wealth of historic attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent, and a variety of cultural and sporting activities.

· The city was founded by the Romans in 71 AD, under the name of Eboracum. It became in turn the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Jorvik. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England, a role it has retained.^[4]

· In the 19th century York became a hub of the railway network and a manufacturing centre. In recent decades, the economy of York has moved from being dominated by its confectionery and railway-related industries to one that provides services. The University of York and health services have become major employers, whilst tourism has become an important element of the local economy.

· From 1996, the term City of York describes a unitary authority area which includes rural areas beyond the old city boundaries. In 2001 the urban area had a population of 137,505,^[5] while in 2007 the entire unitary authority had an estimated population of 193,300.^[6]

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· South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering 9,200 square miles (23,828 km²) and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Five million people live there. The region includes the area often known as the West Country, and much of Wessex. The size of the region is shown by the fact that the northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall.^[1] The largest city is Bristol. Other major urban centres include Plymouth, Swindon, Gloucester, Exeter, Bath, and the South East Dorset conurbation of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.

· The region includes two National Parks and four World Heritage Sites, including Stonehenge.

· Traditionally, the South West of England has been well known for producing Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar, for Devon cream teas, Cornish pasties, and for cider. It is also well known as the home of the Eden Project, Aardman Animations, the Glastonbury Festival, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, trip hop music and also Cornwall's surfing beaches.

· Key data and facts about the region are produced by the South West Observatory.

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