Yorkshire

England

File:Map-of-Yorkshire-Google-Maps.jpg

Introduction

Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Due to its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognized as a geographical territory and cultural region. The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the military, 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. Yorkshire has sometimes been nicknamed "God's Own Country".

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 blue background, which after nearly fifty years of use, was recognized by the Flag Institute on 29 July 2008. Yorkshire Day, held on 1 August, is a celebration of the general culture of Yorkshire, ranging from its history to its own dialect.

Yorkshire is now divided between different official regions. Most of the county falls within Yorkshire and the Humber. The extreme northern part of the county falls within North East England. Small areas in the west of the historic county now form part of North West England, following boundary changes in 1974.

History

The Celtic People of Early Yorkshire

Early inhabitants of Yorkshire were Celts, who formed two separate tribes, the Brigantes and the Parisi. 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. 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. The Parisi, who controlled the area that would become the East Riding of Yorkshire, might have been related to the Parisii of Lutetia Parisiorum, Gaul (known today as Paris, France). Their capital was at Petuaria, close to the Humber estuary. Although the Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 AD, 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.

The Roman Conquest of Yorkshire

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. At the second attempt, Venutius seized the kingdom, but the Romans, under general Petillius Cerialis, conquered the Brigantes in 71 AD.

The fortified city of Eboracum (now known as York) was named as capital of Britannia Inferior and joint-capital of all Roman Britain. During the two years before the death of Emperor Septimius Severus, the Roman Empire was run from Eboracum by him.

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. 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.

The Second Celtic period and the Rise of the Angles

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. 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.

The Kingdom of Jórvík

An army of Danish Vikings, the Great Heathen Army as its enemies often referred to it, invaded Northumbrian territory in 866 AD. The Danes conquered and assumed what is now 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.

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.

Founded by the Dane Halfdan Ragnarsson in 875, ruled for the great part by Danish kings, and populated by the families and subsequent descendants of Danish Vikings, the leadership of the kingdom nonetheless passed into Norwegian hands during its twilight years. Eric Bloodaxe, an ex-king of Norway who was the last independent Viking king of Jórvík, is a particularly noted figure in history, and his bloodthirsty approach towards leadership may have been at least partly responsible for convincing the Danish inhabitants of the region to accept English sovereignty so readily in the years that followed.

After around 100 years of its volatile existence, the Kingdom of Jorvik finally came to an end. The Kingdom of Wessex was now in its ascendant and established its dominance over the North in general, placing Yorkshire again within Northumbria, which retained a certain amount of autonomy as an almost-independent earldom rather than a separate kingdom. The Wessex Kings of England were reputed to have respected the Norse customs in Yorkshire and left law-making in the hands of the local aristocracy.

The Norman Conquest

In the weeks immediately leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD, Harold II of England was distracted by events in Yorkshire. His brother Tostig and Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, attempted a takeover in the north, having won the Battle of Fulford. The King of England marched North where the two armies met at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Tostig and Hardrada were both killed and their army was defeated decisively. However, Harold Godwinson was forced immediately to march his army back down to the South where William the Conqueror was landing. The King was defeated at Hastings, which led to the Norman conquest of England.

The people of the North rebelled against the Normans in September 1069 AD, enlisting Sweyn II of Denmark. They tried to take back York, but the Normans burnt it before they could. What followed was the Harrying of the North ordered by William. From York to Durham, crops, domestic animals, and farming tools were scorched. Many villages between the towns were burnt and local northerners were indiscriminately murdered. During the winter that followed, families starved to death and thousands of peasants died of cold and hunger. Orderic Vitalis put the estimation at "more than 100,000" people from the North died from hunger.

In the centuries following, many abbeys and priories were built in Yorkshire. Norman landowners were keen to increase their revenues and established new towns such as Barnsley, Doncaster, Hull, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, and others. Of towns founded before the conquest, only Bridlington, Pocklington, and York continued at a prominent level. The population of Yorkshire boomed until hit by the Great Famine in the years between 1315 and 1322.

In the early 12th century, people of Yorkshire had to contend with the Battle of the Standard at Northallerton with the Scots. Representing the Kingdom of England led by Archbishop Thurstan of York, soldiers from Yorkshire defeated the more numerous Scots.

The Black Death reached Yorkshire by 1349, killing around a third of the population.

The Wars of the Roses

When King Richard II was overthrown in 1399, antagonism between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, both branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, began to emerge. Eventually the two houses fought for the throne of England in a series of civil wars, commonly known as the Wars of the Roses. Some of the battles took place in Yorkshire, such as those at Wakefield and Towton, the latter of which is known as the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. Richard III was the last Yorkist king.

Henry Tudor, sympathizer to the House of Lancaster, defeated and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He then became King Henry VII and married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Yorkist Edward IV, ending the wars. The two roses of white and red, emblems of the Houses of York and Lancaster respectively, were combined to form the Tudor Rose of England. This rivalry between the royal houses of York and Lancaster has passed into popular culture as a rivalry between the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, particularly in sport (for example the Roses Match played in County Cricket), although the House of Lancaster was based in York and the House of York in London. In football, matches between Manchester United and Leeds United are usually described as "War of the Roses" games, the teams' home kits being the color of the respective rose.

Of Saints, Civil War and the Rise of the Textile Industry

The wool textile industry which had previously been a cottage industry centered on the old market towns moved to the West Riding where entrepreneurs were building mills that took advantage of water power gained by harnessing the rivers and streams flowing from the Pennines. The developing textile industry helped Wakefield and Halifax grow.

The English Reformation began under Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536 led to a popular uprising known as Pilgrimage of Grace, started in Yorkshire as a protest. Some Catholics in Yorkshire continued to practice their religion and those caught were executed during the reign of Elizabeth I. One such person was a York woman named Margaret Clitherow who was later canonized.

During the English Civil War, which started in 1642, Yorkshire had divided loyalties; Hull famously shut the gates of the city on the king when he came to enter a few months before fighting began, while the North Riding of Yorkshire in particular was strongly royalist. York was the base for Royalists, and from there they captured Leeds and Wakefield only to have them recaptured a few months later. The royalists won the Battle of Adwalton Moor meaning they controlled Yorkshire (with the exception of Hull). From their base in Hull the Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") fought back, re-taking Yorkshire town by town, until they won the Battle of Marston Moor and with it control of all of the North of England.

In the 16th and 17th centuries Leeds and other wool industry centered towns continued to grow, along with Huddersfield, Hull and Sheffield, while coal mining first came into prominence in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Canals and turnpike roads were introduced in the late 18th century. In the following century the spa towns of Harrogate and Scarborough flourished, due to people believing mineral water had curative properties.

The 19th century saw Yorkshire's continued growth, with the population growing and the Industrial Revolution continuing with prominent industries in coal, textile and steel (especially in Sheffield and Rotherham). However, despite the booming industry, living conditions declined in the industrial towns due to overcrowding, this saw bouts of cholera in both 1832 and 1848. Fortunately for the county, advances were made by the end of the century with the introduction of modern sewers and water supplies. Several Yorkshire railway networks were introduced as railways spread across the country to reach remote areas. County councils were created for the three ridings in 1889, but their area of control did not include the large towns, which became county boroughs, and included an increasing large part of the population.

During the Second World War, Yorkshire became an important base for RAF Bomber Command and brought the county into the cutting edge of the war.

Yorkshire in the Late Twentieth Century

In the 1970s there were major reforms of local government throughout the United Kingdom. Some of the changes were unpopular, and controversially Yorkshire and its ridings lost status in 1974 as part of the Local Government Act 1972. The East Riding was resurrected with reduced boundaries in 1996 with the abolition of Humberside. With slightly different borders, the government office entity which currently contains most of Yorkshire is the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. This region includes a northern slice of Lincolnshire, but does not include the northern part of the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire (Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland), which is in the North East England region. Other parts of the historic county of Yorkshire are also in other official regions. Saddleworth (now in Greater Manchester); the Forest of Bowland (Lancashire); Sedbergh and Dent (Cumbria) are in the North West England region, and Upper Teesdale (County Durham) is in North East England.

Geography

Historically, the northern boundary of Yorkshire was the River Tees, the eastern boundary was the North Sea coast and the southern boundary was the Humber Estuary and Rivers Don and Sheaf. The western boundary meandered along the western slopes of the Pennine Hills to again meet the River Tees. It is bordered by several other historic counties in the form of County Durham, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Westmorland. In Yorkshire there is a very close relationship between the major topographical areas and the geological period in which they were formed. The Pennine chain of hills in the west is of Carboniferous origin. The central vale is Permo-Triassic. The North York Moors in the north-east of the county are Jurassic in age while the Yorkshire Wolds to the south east are Cretaceous chalk uplands.

Yorkshire is drained by several rivers. In western and central Yorkshire the many rivers empty their waters into the River Ouse which reaches the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. The most northerly of the rivers in the Ouse system is the River Swale, which drains Swaledale before passing through Richmond and meandering across the Vale of Mowbray. Next, draining Wensleydale, is the River Ure, which the Swale joins east of Boroughbridge. Near Great Ouseburn the Ure is joined by the small Ouse Gill Beck, and below the confluence the river is known as the Ouse. The River Nidd rises on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and flows along Nidderdale before reaching the Vale of York and the Ouse. The River Wharfe, which drains Wharfedale, joins the Ouse upstream of Cawood. The Rivers Aire and Calder are more southerly contributors to the River Ouse and the most southerly Yorkshire tributary is the River Don, which flows northwards to join the main river at Goole. Further north and east the River Derwent rises on the North York Moors, flows south then westwards through the Vale of Pickering then turns south again to drain the eastern part of the Vale of York. It empties into the River Ouse at Barmby on the Marsh.

In the far north of the county the River Tees flows eastwards through Teesdale and empties its waters into the North Sea downstream of Middlesbrough. The smaller River Esk flows from west to east at the northern foot of the North York Moors to reach the sea at Whitby. To the east of the Yorkshire Wolds the River Hull flows southwards to join the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull.

The western Pennines are served by the River Ribble which drains westwards into the Irish Sea close to Lytham St Annes.

Natural areas

The countryside of Yorkshire has acquired the common nickname of "God's Own County". In recent times, North Yorkshire has displaced Kent to take the title Garden of England according to The Guardian. Yorkshire includes the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks, and part of the Peak District National Park. Nidderdale and the Howardian Hills are designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Spurn Point, Flamborough Head and the coastal North York Moors are designated Heritage Coast areas, and are noted for their scenic views with rugged cliffs such as the jet cliffs at Whitby, the limestone cliffs at Filey and the chalk cliffs at Flamborough Head. Moor House - Upper Teesdale, most of which is part of the former North Riding of Yorkshire, is one of England's largest national nature reserves.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds runs nature reserves such as the one at Bempton Cliffs with coastal wildlife such as the northern gannet, Atlantic puffin and razorbill. Spurn Point is a narrow, 3 miles (4.8 km) long sand spit. It is a national nature reserve owned by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is noted for its cyclical nature whereby the spit is destroyed and re-created approximately once every 250 years. There are seaside resorts in Yorkshire with sandy beaches; Scarborough is Britain's oldest seaside resort dating back to the spa town-era in the 17th century, while Whitby has been voted as the United Kingdom's best beach, with a "postcard-perfect harbor".

Historically, Yorkshire was divided into three ridings and the Ainsty of York. The term 'riding' is of Viking origin and derives from Threthingr meaning a third part. The three ridings in Yorkshire were named the East Riding, West Riding and North Riding. The East and North Ridings of Yorkshire were separated by the River Derwent and the West and North Ridings were separated by the Ouse and the Ure/Nidd watershed. In 1974 the three ridings of Yorkshire were abolished and York which had been independent of the three ridings, was incorporated into the new county called North Yorkshire. It later became part of York Unitary Authority.

The Howardian Hills

Introduction

The Howardian Hills take their name from the Howard family who still own local lands, and are located between the Yorkshire Wolds, the North York Moors National Park and the Vale of York. The Howardian Hills are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); one of 46 areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which, along with National Parks and Heritage Coasts, represent some of the most spectacular and unspoiled landscapes in the country.

Topography

The Howardian Hills form 79 square miles of well-wooded undulating countryside between the flat agricultural Vales of Pickering and York. The irregular 170 meters (558 ft) high ridges of the Howardian Hills are a southern extension of the rocks of the Hambleton Hills in the North York Moors. Jurassic limestone and a network of pasture, extensive woodland, trees and woodland combine to create a strong visual character in the higher ground overlooking the agricultural plains below. On the eastern edge, the River Derwent cuts through the Hills in the Kirkham Gorge, a deep winding valley formed as an overflow channel from glacial Lake Pickering.

Settlements

Although there are no towns within the AONB, the market towns of Helmsley and Malton lie just beyond the boundary. From Malton to Hovingham is a line of spring line villages. The majority of older buildings are of locally quarried limestone with red pantile roofs and those which developed as part of the grand country house estates have largely retained a coherent identity.

Land Usage

High grade arable land, pasture and managed woodland makes this rich farming country whose diversity contributes to its attractive rural character.

Flora and Fauna

The Howardian Hills AONB is a key area for several nationally important Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Priority habitats including lowland broadleaved woodland, wood pasture, veteran trees, limestone and neutral grasslands and fen meadows. Characteristic species include brown hare, lapwing, tree sparrow and barn owl as well as several local rarities such as knapweed broomrape and baneberry.

Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Howardian Hills are designated an AONB because of the following Special Qualities:

• -- Unusual landform: The Howardian Hills are the only area of Jurassic limestone in Northern England with AONB designation. Kirkham Gorge on the River Derwent, Yorkshire is a unique glacial overflow channel of great scientific importance.
• -- A richly varied landscape: The landscape comprises a complex system of hills and valleys of woodland, arable fields, pasture, fens, hedgerows, stone walls, designed parklands and scattered settlements.
• -- Landscape of high visual quality: Diverse landform and land use with contrasting scale, colour, texture and form alongside historic houses, extensive woodland, sweeping views, farming landscapes and traditional building styles provide great aesthetic appeal.
• -- Remarkable heritage: A concentration of archaeological and historic features including Iron Age earthworks, medieval castles and monasteries, grand houses and designed landscapes including Castle Howard, Newburgh Priory, Hovingham Hall, Gilling Castle and Nunnington Hall contribute to the dramatic landscape.
• -- An important wildlife resource: The area boasts outstanding wild plants and animals within the unique River Derwent and has nationally important fens as well as relatively extensive remnants of Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland.

Each of these attributes is important in its own right, but it is their combination in a relatively small area that has produced a landscape of national significance.

North York Moors National Park

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The North York Moors is a national park in North Yorkshire, England, containing one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the United Kingdom. It covers an area of 554 sq mi (1,430 km2), and has a population of 23,380.[1] The North York Moors became a National Park in 1952, through the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949.

• -- Calcining Kilns of Rosedale -- These stone kilns date from 1864. {Ruins}
• -- Lair of Mac an tSaoir

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The Largest 20 cities or towns of Yorkshire

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A strange circumstance of Sabbat strategy and the topography of Yorkshire has given rise to a situation wherein large towns and cities of the domain were emptied of their Kindred inhabitants, while the undead residents of small towns were largely overlooked. Ironically this means that the oldest and strongest Kindred in Yorkshire are all of largely of rural character. But these country vampires proved quite capable and willing to aid the Knights of the World Tree in their quest to destroy the Sabbat refugees of Yorkshire. Only a decade later, only a few of the largest and most desirable domains have reached saturation in immigrant Kindred from elsewhere in Avalon. Some cities and towns are places of open feeding where no prince or elder holds sway, such barren domains sometimes become the hiding place of former Sabbat or Caitiff looking to establish themselves and the only rule is that of tooth and claw.

Cities

• -- Leeds -- 3,000,000+ (estimated) -- Recently reclaimed Camarilla territory in England's Urban Blight -- Capital of the North -- {West}
• -- Sheffield -- 1,569,000 -- {South} -- {Resident Vampires: Cyrilla Hathoway the traitorous Gangrel princess, her extensive get and a number of Nosferatu, Tremere and former London Ventrue.}
• -- Bradford -- 522,452 -- Despite certain misconceptions, Bradford lies 10 miles west of Leeds and is of significant strategic value. {West} -- {It is currently uninhabited, but claimed as a district of Leeds by its Reeve.}
• -- Kingston upon Hull -- 573,300 -- {East} -- {Thorton Bryant - Reeve and Prince of Kingston upon Hull, his childer, loyal members of the Camarilla and a sizable population of Giovanni.}
• -- Rotherham -- 248,176 -- {South} -- {Resident Vampires: Murad Narinder -- Setite Prince of Rotherham and his modest followers.}
• -- York -- 197,800 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Brian O'Reilly & Hans Holgersson}
• -- Huddersfield -- 176,311 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: The city is contested by the forces of the Baron of Manchester and Yorkshire. Largely a battlefield it remains uninhabited through rumors of Caitiff settlement are rampant.}
• -- Middlesbrough -- 138,400 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Paula Graves - Toreador vassal to the Baroness of Newcastle: Helen Stuart}
• -- Doncaster -- 127,851 -- {South} -- {Resident Vampires: Aras Valdemaras - Reeve of Doncaster and childe of Brian O'Reilly.}
• -- Halifax -- 82,056 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: Emptied of its former vampiric inhabitants by the Sabbat, the city is ripe for exploitation.}
• -- Barnsley -- 81,251 -- {South} -- {Resident Vampires: An uninhabited, but desirable domain.}
• -- Wakefield -- 76,886 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: Uninhabited after the Sabbat slaughtered its former Ventrue prince. It is a most desirable domain.}
• -- Harrogate -- 75,801 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: The Toreador prince Viviette Coke & her neonate Darrin Rose}
• -- Keighley -- 70,000 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: None at this time.}
• -- Dewsbury -- 62,945 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: Uninhabited for the last few years.}
• -- Scarborough -- 50,135 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Lady Corinna -- Missing for over a century.}
• -- Castleford -- 39,192 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: None in decades.}
• -- Redcar -- 36,610 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Lachlan Bone -- Lone Malkavian resident and sworn vassal to the Baroness of Newcastle: Helen Stuart}
• -- Bridlington -- 35,369 -- {East} -- {Resident Vampires: Some vampiric presence, currently unidentified.}

Towns

• -- Pudsey -- 32,391 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: None.}
• -- Morley -- 27,738 -- {West} -- {Resident Vampires: Scotty Nails}
• -- Ripon -- 16,702 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Mahalia Savege}
• -- Northallerton -- 15,741 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Hamnet Hext}
• -- Ilkley -- 14,809 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Sir Reynard}
• -- Skipton -- 14,313 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: Esme Faylinn}
• -- Whitby -- 13,213 -- {East} -- {Resident Vampires: Avery Beckett -- Toreador Poet}
• -- Richmond of North Yorkshire -- 8,180 -- {North} -- a market town and the administrative center of the district of Richmondshire. -- {Resident Vampires: Bronius Gintaras & Daumentas Skuodzius}
• -- Malton -- 5,132 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: None.}

Villages

• -- Terrington -- 511 -- {North} -- {Resident Vampires: None.}

Hamlets

• -- Wiganthorpe -- 99 -- -- {North} -- Recently the subject of a mercenary attack in the autumn of 2042. -- {Resident Vampires: Feidlimid}

The Economics of Yorkshire

Yorkshire has a mixed economy. The City of Leeds is Yorkshire's largest city and is the main center of trade and commerce. Leeds is one of the UK's larger financial centers. Leeds' traditional industries were mixed; service-based industries, textile manufacturing and coal mining being examples.

Sheffield once had heavy industries, such as coal mining and the steel industry. Since the decline of such industries Sheffield has attracted tertiary and administrative businesses including more retail trade; Meadowhall being an example. However, while Sheffield's heavy industry has declined, the region has reinvented itself as a center for specialist engineering. A cluster of hi-tech facilities including The Welding Institute and the Boeing partnered Advanced Materials Research Center have all helped to raise the region's profile and to bring significant investment into Yorkshire.

Bradford, Halifax, Keighley and Huddersfield once were centers of wool milling. Areas such as Bradford, Dewsbury and Keighley have suffered a decline in their economy since.

North Yorkshire has an established tourist industry with two national parks (Yorkshire Dales National Park, North York Moors National Park), Harrogate, York and Scarborough and such an industry is growing in Leeds. Kingston upon Hull is Yorkshire's largest port and has a large manufacturing base, its fishing industry has however declined somewhat in recent years. Harrogate and Knaresborough both have small legal and financial sectors. Harrogate is a European conference and exhibition destination with both the Great Yorkshire Showground and Harrogate International Center in the town.

Coal mining was prolific in the south of the county during the 19th century and for most of the 20th century, particularly around Barnsley and Wakefield. As late as the 1970s, the number of miners working in the area was still in six figures. The industry was placed under threat on 6 March 1984 when the National Coal Board announced the closure of 20 pits nationwide (some of them in South Yorkshire). By March 2004, a mere three coal-pits remained open in the area. Three years later, the only remaining coal pit in the region was Maltby Colliery near Rotherham.

Many large British companies are based in Yorkshire or were founded there. These include; Morrisons (Bradford), Asda (Leeds), Jet2.com (Leeds), Ronseal (Sheffield), Optare (Leeds), Wharfedale (Leeds), Plaxton (Scarborough), Seven Seas (Hull), Little Chef (Sheffield), Halifax Bank (Halifax), Rank Organisation (Hull), Yorkshire Bank (Leeds), Yorkshire Building Society (Bradford), Ebuyer (Howden), GHD (Leeds), Marks and Spencer (Leeds), Burtons (Leeds), Jaeger Ilkley, Magnet Kitchens (Keighley), Reckitt and Sons (Hull), McCains (Scarborough), First Direct (Leeds), Tetley's Brewery (Leeds), Timothy Taylor Brewery (Keighley), Bradford and Bingley (Bingley), Skipton Building Society (Skipton), Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate and Provident Financial (Bradford.)

Transportation in Yorkshire

The most prominent road in Yorkshire, historically called the Great North Road, is known as the A1. This trunk road passes through the center of the county and is the prime route from London to Edinburgh. Another important road is the more easterly A19 road which starts in Doncaster and ends just north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne at Seaton Burn. The M62 motorway crosses the county from east to west from Hull towards Greater Manchester and Merseyside. The M1 carries traffic from London and the south of England to Yorkshire. In 1999 about 8 miles (13 km) was added to make it swing east of Leeds and connect to the A1. The East Coast Main Line rail link between Scotland and London runs roughly parallel with the A1 through Yorkshire and the Trans Pennine rail link runs east to west from Hull to Liverpool via Leeds.

Before the advent of rail transport, the seaports of Hull and Whitby played an important role in transporting goods. Historically canals were used, including the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which is the longest canal in England. Mainland Europe (the Netherlands and Belgium) can be reached from Hull via regular ferry services from P&O Ferries. Yorkshire also has air transport services from Leeds Bradford International Airport. This airport has experienced significant and rapid growth in both terminal size and passenger facilities since 1996, when improvements began, until the present day. South Yorkshire is served by the Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, based in Finningley. Sheffield City Airport opened in 1997 after years of Sheffield having no airport, due to a council decision in the 1960s not to develop one because of the city's good rail links with London and the development of airports in other nearby areas. The newly opened airport never managed to compete with larger airports such as Leeds Bradford International Airport and East Midlands Airport and attracted only a few scheduled flights, while the runway was too short to support low cost carriers. The opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, effectively made the airport redundant and it officially closed in April 2008.

An Introduction to Yorkshire Culture

The culture of the people of Yorkshire is an accumulated product of a number of different civilizations who have influenced its history, including; the Celts (Brigantes and Parisii), Romans, Angles, Norse Vikings, Normans and amongst others. The western part of the historic North Riding had an additional infusion of Breton culture due to the Honor of Richmond being occupied by Alain Le Roux, grandson of Geoffrey I, Duke of Brittany. The people of Yorkshire are immensely proud of their county and local culture and it is sometimes suggested they identify more strongly with their county than they do with their country. Yorkshire people have their own Yorkshire dialects and accents and are, or rather were, known as Tykes. Though distinct accents remain, dialects are no longer in everyday use. Some have argued the dialect was a fully fledged language in its own right. The county has also produced a set of Yorkshire colloquialisms, which are in use in the county. Among Yorkshire's traditions is the Long Sword dance. The most famous traditional song of Yorkshire is On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at ("On Ilkley Moor without a hat"), it is considered the unofficial anthem of the county.

Architecture

Throughout Yorkshire many castles were built during the Norman-Breton period, particularly after the Harrying of the North. These included Bowes Castle, Pickering Castle, Richmond Castle, Skipton Castle, York Castle and others. Later medieval castles at Helmsley, Middleham and Scarborough were built as a means of defense against the invading Scots. Middleham is notable because Richard III of England spent his childhood there. The remains of these castles, some being English Heritage sites, are popular tourist destinations. There are several stately homes in Yorkshire which carry the name "castle" in their title, even though they are more akin to a palace. The most notable examples are Allerton Castle and Castle Howard, both linked to the Howard family. Castle Howard and the Earl of Harewood's residence, Harewood House, are included amongst the Treasure Houses of England, a group of nine English stately homes.

There are numerous other Grade I listed buildings within the historic county including public buildings such as Leeds Town Hall, Sheffield Town Hall, Ormesby Hall, the Yorkshire Museum and Guildhall at York, and the Piece Hall in Halifax. Large estates with significant buildings were constructed at Brodsworth Hall, Temple Newsam and Wentworth Castle. In addition to this there are properties which are conserved and managed by the National Trust, such as Nunnington Hall, the Rievaulx Terrace & Temples and Studley Royal Park. Religious architecture includes extant cathedrals as well as the ruins of monasteries and abbeys. Many of these prominent buildings suffered from the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII; these include Bolton Abbey, Fountains Abbey, Gisborough Priory, Rievaulx Abbey, St Mary's Abbey and Whitby Abbey among others. Notable religious buildings of historic origin still in use include York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, Beverley Minster, Bradford Cathedral and Ripon Cathedral.

Art and Literature

When Yorkshire formed the southern part of the kingdom of Northumbria there were several notable poets, scholars and ecclesiastics, including Alcuin, Cædmon and Wilfrid. The most esteemed literary family from the county are the three Brontë sisters, with part of the county around Haworth being nicknamed Brontë Country in their honor. Their novels, written in the mid-19th century, caused a sensation when they were first published, yet were subsequently accepted into the canon of great English literature. Among the most celebrated novels written by the sisters are Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights was almost a source used to depict life in Yorkshire, illustrating the type of people that reside there in its characters, and emphasizing the use of the stormy Yorkshire moors. Nowadays, the parsonage which was their former home is now a museum in their honor. Bram Stoker authored Dracula while living in Whitby and it includes several elements of local folklore including the beaching of the Russian ship Dmitri, which became the basis of Demeter in the book.

The novelist tradition in Yorkshire continued into the 20th century, with authors such as J. B. Priestley, Alan Bennett, Dame Margaret Drabble, A S Byatt, and Barbara Taylor Bradford being prominent examples. Taylor Bradford is noted for A Woman of Substance which was one of the top-ten best selling novels in history. Another well-known author was children's writer Arthur Ransome, who penned the Swallows and Amazons series. James Herriot, the best selling author of over 60 million copies of books about his experiences of some 50 years as a veterinarian in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, the town which he refers to as Darrowby in his books (although born in Sunderland), has been admired for his easy reading style and interesting characters. Poets include Ted Hughes, W. H. Auden, William Empson, Simon Armitage and Andrew Marvell. Three well known sculptors emerged in the 20th century; contemporaries Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, and Leeds-raised eco-artist Andy Goldsworthy. Some of their works are available for public viewing at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. There are several art galleries in Yorkshire featuring extensive collections, such as Ferens Art Gallery, Leeds Art Gallery, Millennium Galleries and York Art Gallery. Some of the better known local painters are William Etty and David Hockney; many works by the latter are housed at Salts Mill 1853 Gallery in Saltaire.

Noteworthy Vampires of Yorkshire

• -- Torcuil Mac an tSaoir -- 17th century Nosferaru {Deceased: May of 2042 - Killed in Combat by Baron O'Reilly}
• -- Albus Le Pus -- Jongleur Extraordinaire. {Ravnos}
• -- Hans Holgersson -- Fledgling Childe of Brian O'Reilly and unofficial scourge of Yorkshire.

Websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Yorkshire_Urban_Area {The beginnings of a Megacity.}