Our last meeting minutes, from September, cited "– British based info" with no further explanation. On the theory that it is as well to be shot as a murderer as a thief, I make a SECOND post about things in England. Specifically, this is about the political history of the part of England known as Yorkshire.
Yorkshire, in its original form, was far and away the largest County in England. It was the home of many of the Plantagenet family that made up the English Royal Family. Shakespeare used the York-based family for some of his dramatic plays, such as Richard III. Richard was the last Plantagenet English King and he was based in York. For those that may be interested, the Play follows below (warning - it is a LONG video).
Not to make an otherwise long story excessively so, Yorkshire was broken down into three smaller pieces. These were known as "Yorkshire North Riding," "Yorkshire West Riding," and "Yorkshire East Riding." The three pieces of Yorkshire lasted roughly from 1660 to 1974, with formal usage after around 1889. Since 1974, things have split up further, with mostly FOUR major administrative units being formed. Since 1974, these follow the Table below. At least mostly. Text with yellow background represents the Yorkshire North Riding. Text with orange background represents the Yorkshire West Riding. Text with blue background represents the Yorkshire East Riding. In reality, the BIG changes came in the West Riding, where Manchester broke off to become Greater Manchester and Sheffield broke off to form South Yorkshire.
Of course, the English are exceedingly peculiar about such things. If you doubt this, read here about Teeside.
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| Historic Yorkshire, in the North of England |
Yorkshire, in its original form, was far and away the largest County in England. It was the home of many of the Plantagenet family that made up the English Royal Family. Shakespeare used the York-based family for some of his dramatic plays, such as Richard III. Richard was the last Plantagenet English King and he was based in York. For those that may be interested, the Play follows below (warning - it is a LONG video).
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| 3 Ridings of Yorkshire |
| Traditional Prior to 1974 | 1974-1996 | 1996 and Newer |
|---|---|---|
| Teeside/North Riding | Cleveland (southern part) | North Yorkshire |
| Startforth Rural District from the North Riding | Durham (part only) | North Yorkshire |
| York; most of the North Riding; Harrogate, Knaresborough and Selby from the West Riding; and part of the East Riding around Filey | North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire |
| Sedbergh Rural District from the West Riding | Cumbria (part only) | Cumbria |
| Saddleworth Urban District from the West Riding | Greater Manchester (part only) | Manchester |
| Bowland Rural District, Barnoldswick, Earby, and part of Skipton Rural District from the West Riding | Lancashire (part only) | Split between Lancashire & North Yorkshire |
| Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham from the West Riding | South Yorkshire | South Yorkshire |
| Bradford, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds and Wakefield from the West Riding | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire |
| Kingston upon Hull and most of the East Riding plus Goole from the West Riding | Humberside (northern part) | East Riding of Yorkshire |
Of course, the English are exceedingly peculiar about such things. If you doubt this, read here about Teeside.
