126-505: Northumbria , in modern contexts, usually refers to the region of England between the Tees and Tweed , including the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham , but it may also be taken to be synonymous with North East England . The area corresponds to the rump lands of the historical Kingdom of Northumbria , which later developed into the late medieval county of Northumberland or Comitatus Northumbriae , whose original southern boundary
252-511: A Site of Special Scientific Interest . Parts of the local climate have been scientifically classified as "Sub-Arctic", and snow has sometimes lain on Cross Fell into June. Unusually for the Pennines, rock of igneous origin (the Whin Sill ) contributes to the surface geology and scenery of Upper Teesdale. Around 295 million years ago upwelling magma spread through fissures and between strata in
378-511: A ceremonial county, or be a district tier within a shire county , be a royal or metropolitan borough , have borough or city status , or be a unitary authority . At the community level, much of England is divided into civil parishes with their own councils ; in Greater London only one such parish, Queen's Park , exists as of 2014 after they were abolished in 1965 until legislation allowed their recreation in 2007. From 1994 until
504-501: A geographical frame of reference. Of these, 38 developed gradually since the Middle Ages ; these were reformed to 51 in 1974 and to their current number in 1996. Each has a Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff ; these posts are used to represent the British monarch locally. Some counties, such as Herefordshire , are only divided further into civil parishes. The royal county of Berkshire and
630-497: A geopolitical entity, either as a devolved region within a larger nation or as an independent state. These endeavours typically draw inspiration from the larger historical Kingdom of Northumbria rather than the Earldom that emerged during the late middle ages. On 30 September 2014, as chairman of The Campaign for the North , Harold Elletson launched an all-party pressure group to re-create
756-537: A joint bid to become a World Heritage Site. The area has a strong religious past, as can be seen in works such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . The works of Cuthbert (634–687 AD), Bede (673–735 AD) and Hilda of Whitby (614–680 AD) were hugely influential in the early church, and are still venerated by some today. These saints are usually associated with the monasteries on
882-541: A number of regional institutions in the North East, namely the Northumbria Tourist Board, Northumbria Police, Northumbria University and Northumbrian Water. Northumbrian culture has aspects in common with the cultures of both England and Scotland , but also includes many unique traditions not found outside of the region. Northumbria is known for its distinctive musical culture and has its own unique instrument,
1008-643: A profound and permanent effect on the English language. Subsequently, the House of Plantagenet from Anjou inherited the English throne under Henry II , adding England to the budding Angevin Empire of fiefs the family had inherited in France including Aquitaine . They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being Richard I , Edward I , Edward III and Henry V . The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including
1134-777: A separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union brought into effect a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland that created the Kingdom of Great Britain . England is the origin of the English language , the English legal system (which served as the basis for the common law systems of many other countries), association football , and the Anglican branch of Christianity; its parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into
1260-446: A struggle for hegemony between Northumbria and Mercia, which in the 8th century gave way to Mercian preeminence. In the early 9th century Mercia was displaced as the foremost kingdom by Wessex. Later in that century escalating attacks by the Danes culminated in the conquest of the north and east of England, overthrowing the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. Wessex under Alfred
1386-748: Is a dale , or valley , located principally in County Durham , North East England . It is one of the Durham Dales , which are themselves part of the North Pennines , the northernmost part of the Pennine uplands. The dale is named after its principal river, the Tees , which has its source below Cross Fell (890 m (2,930 ft)) in Cumbria . The upper dale is remote and high, but becomes gentler after it enters County Durham shortly downstream. The dale follows
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#17328769479161512-538: Is a non-departmental public body, established in 1995 and sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the minister responsible for environmental protection, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England. Teesdale Teesdale
1638-412: Is also applied to England in a more poetic capacity, though its original meaning is the island of Britain as a whole. The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor , dating to about 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago. Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during
1764-485: Is damp relatively frequently and is changeable. The coldest months are January and February, the latter particularly on the English coast , while July is normally the warmest month. Months with mild to warm weather are May, June, September and October. Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year. Important influences on the climate of England are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean , its northern latitude and
1890-622: Is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom , although other countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments. There has been debate about how to counterbalance this in England. Originally it was planned that various regions of England would be devolved, but following the proposal's rejection by the North East in a 2004 referendum , this has not been carried out. In 2024, an England-only intergovernmental body, known as
2016-640: Is high moorland in upland areas, indented by fertile valleys of the region's rivers. They contain two national parks , the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District . In the West Country , Dartmoor and Exmoor of the Southwest Peninsula include upland moorland supported by granite. The English Lowlands are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling hills, including
2142-758: Is known as the lost colony after it was found abandoned on the return of the late-arriving supply ship. With the East India Company , England also competed with the Dutch and French in the East. During the Elizabethan period, England was at war with Spain. An armada sailed from Spain in 1588 as part of a wider plan to invade England and re-establish a Catholic monarchy. The plan was thwarted by bad coordination, stormy weather and successful harrying attacks by an English fleet under Lord Howard of Effingham . This failure did not end
2268-516: Is most apparent in the development of a distinctly 'Northumbrian' musical identity, differentiated from English folk music as a whole, and compounded in publications such as the Northumbrian Minstrelsy and Rhymes of Northern Bards by drawing upon earlier works from both Northumberland and County Durham. In some sense, the movement paralleled the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh home ruler movements of
2394-603: Is mostly found in the north and west, including Dartmoor , the Lake District , the Pennines , and the Shropshire Hills . The country's capital is London , the metropolitan area of which has a population of 14.2 million as of 2021, representing the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan area. England's population of 56.3 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London,
2520-623: Is on show at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Worms (derived from Norse : ‘ormr") are a common aspect of Northumbrian folklore, notable examples from the region include the Lambton Worm , Sockburn Worm and Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh . Typically, a Northumbrian worm legend focuses upon a knight who returns home from a foreign war to defeat one of these creatures. A number of fringe movements have sought to restore Northumbria as
2646-454: Is part of the United Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system . There has not been a government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707 , putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union , joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain . Before the union England was ruled by its monarch and the Parliament of England . Today England
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#17328769479162772-465: Is similar to that of other areas in the British Isles with a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate life in a diverse range of habitats. National nature reserves in England are designated by Natural England as key places for wildlife and natural features in England. They were established to protect the most significant areas of habitat and of geological formations. NNRs are managed on behalf of
2898-509: The 1535–1542 acts . There were internal religious conflicts during the reigns of Henry's daughters, Mary I and Elizabeth I . The former took the country back to Catholicism while the latter broke from it again, forcefully asserting the supremacy of Anglicanism . The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor age of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I ("the Virgin Queen"). Historians often depict it as
3024-624: The Age of Discovery . Henry VIII broke from communion with the Catholic Church, over issues relating to his divorce, under the Acts of Supremacy in 1534 which proclaimed the monarch head of the Church of England . In contrast with much of European Protestantism , the roots of the split were more political than theological. He also legally incorporated his ancestral land Wales into the Kingdom of England with
3150-568: The Angeln region of what is now the German state of Schleswig-Holstein . The earliest recorded use of the term, as " Engla londe ", is in the late-ninth-century translation into Old English of Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People . The term was then used to mean "the land inhabited by the English", and it included English people in what is now south-east Scotland but was then part of
3276-574: The Battle of Trafalgar confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century. The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of Britishness and a united national British people , shared with the English, Scots and Welsh. London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the world during the Victorian era , and trade within the British Empire – as well as
3402-532: The Battle of Watling Street . The author of one study of Roman Britain suggested that from 43 AD to 84 AD, the Roman invaders killed somewhere between 100,000 and 250,000 people from a population of perhaps 2,000,000. This era saw a Greco-Roman culture prevail with the introduction of Roman law , Roman architecture , aqueducts , sewers , many agricultural items and silk. In the 3rd century, Emperor Septimius Severus died at Eboracum (now York ), where Constantine
3528-648: The British Isles , but also from the Commonwealth , particularly the Indian subcontinent . Since the 1970s there has been a large move away from manufacturing and an increasing emphasis on the service industry . As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a common market initiative called the European Economic Community which became the European Union . Since the late 20th century the administration of
3654-596: The Cotswold Hills , Chiltern Hills , North and South Downs ; where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover . This also includes relatively flat plains such as the Salisbury Plain , Somerset Levels , South Coast Plain and The Fens . England has a temperate maritime climate : it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0 °C (32 °F) in winter and not much higher than 32 °C (90 °F) in summer. The weather
3780-712: The Court of Appeal , the High Court of Justice for civil cases, and the Crown Court for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court for criminal and civil cases in England and Wales . It was created in 2009 after constitutional changes, taking over the judicial functions of the House of Lords . A decision of the Supreme Court is binding on every other court in
3906-567: The Courts of England and Wales continued, under the Treaty of Union , as a separate legal system from the one used in Scotland . The general essence of English law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent – stare decisis – to the facts before them. The court system is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of
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4032-613: The Farne Islands , is the rare seabird the roseate tern . One of the foremost bird sanctuaries and observatory for migratory and wading birds in the UK is now operated at "Saltholme" which is part of a wider site of special scientific interest called Seal Sands . The Saltholme reserve is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). This project has been pronounced as one of
4158-705: The French Revolution , under George III and William Pitt the Younger . The regency of George IV is noted for its elegance and achievements in the fine arts and architecture. During the Napoleonic Wars , Napoleon planned to invade from the south-east ; however, this failed to manifest and the Napoleonic forces were defeated by the British: at sea by Horatio Nelson , and on land by Arthur Wellesley . The major victory at
4284-700: The Labour Party , 116 from the Conservative Party , 65 from the Liberal Democrats , five for Reform UK and four for the Green Party of England and Wales . The English law legal system, developed over the centuries, is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States (except Louisiana ). Despite now being part of the United Kingdom, the legal system of
4410-550: The Latin word Anglii is used. The etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars; it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. How and why a term derived from the name of this tribe, rather than others such as the Saxons , came to be used for the entire country is not known, but it seems this is related to the custom of calling
4536-692: The Mayoral Council for England , was established to bring together ministers from the UK Government , the Mayor of London and the leaders of combined authorities . In the House of Commons which is the lower house of the British Parliament based at the Palace of Westminster , there are 543 members of parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total. England is represented by 347 MPs from
4662-438: The Ministry of Justice , manages most prisons, housing 81,309 prisoners in England and Wales as of September 2022 . The subdivisions of England consist of up to four levels of subnational division , controlled through a variety of types of administrative entities created for the purposes of local government . Outside the London region, England's highest tier is the 48 ceremonial counties . These are used primarily as
4788-437: The Northern Party to campaign for better representation for Northern England . At the 2015 general election , he contested the constituency of Lancaster and Fleetwood , coming last with 0.4% of the vote. At the 2019 general election , he endorsed the incumbent Labour MP, Cat Smith . The Northern Independence Party (NIP) is a secessionist political party which seeks to make Northern England an independent state under
4914-440: The Northumbrian smallpipe . The region is associated with numerous folk arts such as Durham/North Country Quilting, Northumbrian pipe-making, horn stick work and hooky mat making, which flourished due to 19th and early 20th. Northumbria has its own tradition of Christian saints that have given rise to localised dedications. St. Cuthbert is of particular significance; annual St. Cuthbert's day celebrations are held each year by
5040-518: The Severn is the longest river flowing through England. It empties into the Bristol Channel and is notable for its Severn Bore (a tidal bore ), which can reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height. However, the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 215 miles (346 km) in length. There are many lakes in England ; the largest is Windermere , within the aptly named Lake District . Most of England's landscape consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in
5166-416: The South East , and conurbations in the Midlands , the North West , the North East , and Yorkshire , which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. The name "England" is derived from the Old English name Englaland , which means "land of the Angles ". The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages . They came from
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5292-479: The State Opening of Parliament by the British monarch when the doors of the House of Commons are slammed in the face of the monarch's messenger, symbolising the rights of Parliament and its independence from the monarch. With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. In 1666 the Great Fire of London gutted the city of London, but it was rebuilt shortly afterward with many significant buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren . By
5418-451: The Stuart dynasty England expanded in trade, finance and prosperity. The Royal Navy developed Europe's largest merchant fleet. After the parliaments of England and Scotland agreed, the two countries joined in political union , to create the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. To accommodate the union, institutions such as the law and national churches of each remained separate. Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output from
5544-433: The Trinovantes . The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius , subsequently conquering much of Britain , and the area was incorporated into the Roman Empire as Britannia province . The best-known of the native tribes who attempted to resist were the Catuvellauni led by Caratacus . Later, an uprising led by Boudica , Queen of the Iceni , ended with Boudica's suicide following her defeat at
5670-419: The Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years. After the last ice age only large mammals such as mammoths , bison and woolly rhinoceros remained. Roughly 11,000 years ago, when the ice sheets began to recede, humans repopulated the area; genetic research suggests they came from the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula . The sea level
5796-470: The canal age in Britain . In 1825 the world's first permanent steam locomotive-hauled passenger railway – the Stockton and Darlington Railway – opened to the public. During the Industrial Revolution , many workers moved from England's countryside to new and expanding urban industrial areas to work in factories, for instance at Birmingham and Manchester , with the latter the world's first industrial city. England maintained relative stability throughout
5922-435: The decline of the Roman Empire , Britain was left exposed by the end of Roman rule in Britain and the withdrawal of Roman army units, to defend the frontiers in continental Europe and partake in civil wars. Celtic Christian monastic and missionary movements flourished. This period of Christianity was influenced by ancient Celtic culture in its sensibilities, polity, practices and theology. Local "congregations" were centred in
6048-434: The golden age in English history that represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of great art, drama, poetry, music and literature. England during this period had a centralised, well-organised, and effective government. Competing with Spain , the first English colony in the Americas was founded in 1585 by explorer Walter Raleigh in Virginia and named Roanoke . The Roanoke colony failed and
6174-473: The jet engine led to wider air travel . Residential patterns were altered in England by private motoring, and by the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, providing publicly funded health care to all permanent residents free at the point of need. Combined, these prompted the reform of local government in England in the mid-20th century. Since the 20th century, there has been significant population movement to England, mostly from other parts of
6300-404: The 163 received by North East Party candidate, former Labour MP Hilton Dawson . Northumberland and County Durham, together with the Scottish Borders, are conterminous with the ancient British tribal kingdom of Bernicia (Bryneich) which is notable for the stable ancestry of its present indigenous population. The people of the region have been identified by DNA analysis to be strongly related to
6426-426: The 32 London Boroughs and the 25 Wards of the City of London . Geographically, England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus such offshore islands as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly . It is bordered by two other countries of the United Kingdom: to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. England is closer than any other part of mainland Britain to
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#17328769479166552-516: The 6th century. Contemporary texts describing this period are extremely scarce, giving rise to its description as a Dark Age . Details of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain are consequently subject to considerable disagreement; the emerging consensus is that it occurred on a large scale in the south and east but was less substantial to the north and west, where Celtic languages continued to be spoken even in areas under Anglo-Saxon control. Roman-dominated Christianity had, in general, been replaced in
6678-434: The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria extended from the Scottish borders (then Pictish borders) at the Firth of Forth to the north, and to the south of York , its capital, down to the Humber and Mersey. On 6 June 793 the Vikings arrived on the shores of north-east England with a raiding party from Norway who attacked the monastic settlement on Lindisfarne. The monks fled or were slaughtered, and Bishop Higbald sought refuge on
6804-446: The County Palatine; it retained separate assizes until 1586. The crown regarded Durham as part of Northumberland until the late 13th century. In 1293 the Bishop of Durham and his steward failed to attend proceedings of quo warranto held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case was heard in Parliament , where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire. The arguments appear to have been accepted, as by
6930-403: The Darlington and Stockton wards and the south was in the Gilling and Langbaurgh wapentakes . Both dales gave their names to the former Teesdale district and Weardale district of western County Durham . The south is within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire , Startforth Rural District , it was transferred to ceremonial County Durham on 1 April 1974, under
7056-422: The English East and Middle Marches, subject to the Lord Warden of the Marches . Parts of Northumberland were divided into liberties and shires, which, like Durham, were often exempt from the writ of the King. Northumbria, in the modern sense, emerged as a concept in the 19th century. During the second half of the 19th century a cultural movement appeared among the north-eastern intelligentsia who sought to identify
7182-448: The English kingdom of Northumbria . The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that the Domesday Book of 1086 covered the whole of England, meaning the English kingdom, but a few years later the Chronicle stated that King Malcolm III went "out of Scotlande into Lothian in Englaland", thus using it in the more ancient sense. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus , Germania , in which
7308-416: The European continent. It is separated from France ( Hauts-de-France ) by a 21-mile (34 km) sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone . England also has shores on the Irish Sea , North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The ports of London, Liverpool , and Newcastle lie on the tidal rivers Thames , Mersey and Tyne respectively. At 220 miles (350 km),
7434-466: The Germanic people in Britain Angli Saxones or English Saxons to distinguish them from continental Saxons (Eald-Seaxe) of Old Saxony in Germany. In Scottish Gaelic , the Saxon tribe gave their name to the word for England ( Sasunn ); similarly, the Welsh name for the English language is Saesneg . A romantic name for England is Loegria , related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr , and made popular by its use in Arthurian legend . Albion
7560-403: The Great was left as the only surviving English kingdom, and under his successors, it steadily expanded at the expense of the kingdoms of the Danelaw . This brought about the political unification of England, first accomplished under Æthelstan in 927 and definitively established after further conflicts by Eadred in 953. A fresh wave of Scandinavian attacks from the late 10th century ended with
7686-439: The North, and the successful Norman Conquest in October 1066, accomplished by an army led by Duke William of Normandy invading at Hastings late September 1066. The Normans themselves originated from Scandinavia and had settled in Normandy in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. This conquest led to the almost total dispossession of the English elite and its replacement by a new French-speaking aristocracy, whose speech had
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#17328769479167812-493: The Northumbrian Association and marked by a walk from Chester-le-Street to Durham , followed by a procession through Durham city. Northumbria possesses a distinctive style of folk music characterised by border balladry , use of the Northumbrian smallpipes and strong fiddle tradition that was already well-established in the 1690s. The Blaydon Races , a popular musical hall song first sung by Geordie Ridley at Balmbra's Music Hall in Newcastle in 1862, gives an idea of some of
7938-408: The Pope. During the 14th century, the Plantagenets and the House of Valois claimed to be legitimate claimants to the House of Capet and of France; the two powers clashed in the Hundred Years' War . The Black Death epidemic hit England ; starting in 1348, it eventually killed up to half of England's inhabitants . Between 1453 and 1487, a civil war known as the War of the Roses waged between
8064-685: The Royal Society and other English initiatives combined with the Scottish Enlightenment to create innovations in science and engineering, while the enormous growth in British overseas trade protected by the Royal Navy paved the way for the establishment of the British Empire . Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution , a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining, as well as new and pioneering road, rail and water networks to facilitate their expansion and development. The opening of Northwest England's Bridgewater Canal in 1761 ushered in
8190-491: The Tees and penetrated only a short distance north thereof, terminating beyond Teesdale . This is attested by place-name evidence, which suggests that County Durham and Northumberland were not settled by Scandinavians to the extent that Yorkshire and other parts of Northern England were. In 954 the West Saxon Kings conquered the Kingdom of York, eventually integrating it as a shire within the new English kingdom. The administrative system of shires and hundreds did not extent beyond
8316-400: The Tees lay outside of the immediate control of the Scandinavian Kings and remained under Anglian rule. The Earls of Bamburgh or Kings of the North Saxons , successors to the Bernician and later Northumbrian kings, continued to rule the lands north of the Tyne, while the Community of St. Cuthbert or Haliwerfolc , successors to the See of Lindisfarne, emerged as the rulers of the lands between
8442-422: The Tees with the lands north thereof being left under the control of its native rulers: the Earls of Bamburgh and Community of St Cuthbert. The Scottish victory at the Battle of Carham in 1018, after which Lothian was annexed by the Kingdom of Scotland, set Northumbria's northern frontier on the Tweed rather than the Forth. By the end of the Anglo-Saxon era, the term 'Northumbria' had become restricted in reference to
8568-402: The Tyne and Tees. Both Bamburgh and the Community of St. Cuthbert presented themselves as the successors of the Kingdom of Northumbria. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle notes the change from raiding to settlement when it records that in 876 the Vikings "Shared out the land of the Northumbrians and they proceeded to plough and support themselves" However, Scandinavian settlement was concentrated south of
8694-432: The United Kingdom has moved towards devolved governance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England and Wales continues to exist as a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. Devolution has stimulated a greater emphasis on a more English-specific identity and patriotism. There is no devolved English government, but an attempt to create a similar system on a sub-regional basis was rejected by referendum . England
8820-443: The United Kingdom as part of the Allies . Two decades later, in World War II , the United Kingdom was again one of the Allies . Developments in warfare technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during the Blitz . Following the war, the British Empire experienced rapid decolonisation , and there was a speeding-up of technological innovations; automobiles became the primary means of transport and Frank Whittle 's development of
8946-403: The Whin Sill was intruded also meets the requirements of some of these plants. Teesdale is famous among naturalists for the "Teesdale Assemblage" of plants found together here that occur widely separated in other locations, abroad or in the British Isles . Part of Upper Teesdale near the Cow Green Reservoir is designated a National Nature Reserve ; it contains the unique Teesdale Violet and
9072-414: The ancient Kingdom of Northumbria as a federal state in a new United Kingdom. The Campaign sought 'devo-max' power from Westminster to bring the traditional counties of Northumberland , Durham , Yorkshire, Lancashire , Westmorland and Cumberland into a democratic state with powers equal to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or London, retaining membership of the European Union . In 2015, he co-founded
9198-563: The area, the Beaker culture people made bronze , and later iron from iron ores. The development of iron smelting allowed the construction of better ploughs , advancing agriculture (for instance, with Celtic fields ), as well as the production of more effective weapons. During the Iron Age , Celtic culture , deriving from the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures , arrived from Central Europe. Brythonic
9324-737: The auspices of James VI and I the Authorised King James Version of the Holy Bible was published in 1611. It was the standard version of the Bible read by most Protestant Christians for four hundred years until modern revisions were produced in the 20th century. Based on conflicting political, religious and social positions, the English Civil War was fought between the supporters of Parliament and those of King Charles I , known colloquially as Roundheads and Cavaliers respectively. This
9450-516: The best places to view birds by Bill Oddie , the celebrity bird watcher and former host of the BBC's Spring Watch Programme. In December 2012 he also presented the project with a prize as the UK's favorite National Lottery funded project. The seal colony at Seal Sands on the mouth of the River Tees is thriving and stands at more than 60 harbour seals and this is the only breeding colony of this species on
9576-471: The blue Spring Gentian as well as more common Pennine flowers such as rockrose , spring sandwort, mountain pansy, bird's-eye primrose and butterwort . Hay meadows in the valley above High Force, some now carefully cultivated to ensure this, contain an extremely rich variety of flowering plants including globe flower, wood cranesbill and Early Purple Orchid. On the south bank of the Tees near High Force can be seen
9702-541: The characters attending the old meetings. These races were held on an island in the middle of the Tyne and were last held on 2 September 1916. A riot broke out after the winning horse was disqualified, and the event was discontinued. It is remembered in the famous English folk song The Blaydon Races, and the event and its characters are vividly depicted in William Irving's 1903 painting. 'The Blaydon Races – A Study from Life' which
9828-576: The conquered territories by Anglo-Saxon paganism , but was reintroduced by missionaries from Rome led by Augustine from 597. Disputes between the Roman- and Celtic-dominated forms of Christianity ended in victory for the Roman tradition at the Council of Whitby (664), which was ostensibly about tonsures (clerical haircuts) and the date of Easter, but more significantly, about the differences in Roman and Celtic forms of authority, theology, and practice. During
9954-531: The conquest of this united kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard in 1013 and again by his son Cnut in 1016, turning it into the centre of a short-lived North Sea Empire that also included Denmark and Norway . However, the native royal dynasty was restored with the accession of Edward the Confessor in 1042. A dispute over the succession to Edward led to an unsuccessful Norwegian Invasion in September 1066 close to York in
10080-449: The course of the fifth and sixth centuries, initially in the eastern part of the country. Their advance was contained for some decades after the Britons' victory at the Battle of Mount Badon , but subsequently resumed, overrunning the fertile lowlands of Britain and reducing the area under Brittonic control to a series of separate enclaves in the more rugged country to the west by the end of
10206-536: The earlier Carboniferous Limestone country rock . As it cooled (an event which is believed to have lasted 50 years) the rock contracted and caused itself to split into vertical columns. The heating of the limestone above the rock also caused it to be turned into a crumbly marble known as Sugar Limestone . Economic deposits in Llandovery rocks include soft shales that were previously worked to be used as slate pencils. More recently, Ice Age glacial activity shaped
10332-619: The early 2010s England was divided for a few purposes into regions; a 1998 referendum for the London Region created the London Assembly two years later. A failed 2004 North East England devolution referendum cancelled further regional assembly devolution with the regional structure outside London abolished. Ceremonially and administratively, the region is divided between the City of London and Greater London ; these are further divided into
10458-452: The fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff . The area thus became known as the " County Palatine of Durham". Hexhamshire, which had been transferred to the See of York by Henry I , was first referred to as a separate County Palatinate in the 14th century. However, in 1572 it
10584-661: The genetic clusters of the Scottish Lowlands, Cumbria and Northern Ireland, who share a common line of descent. Linguistically, the Northumbrian dialect is closely related to Scots and other traditional Northern English dialects which share a common origin in Northumbrian Middle English. The region has a diverse landscape that includes maritime cliffs and extensive moorland that contains a number of rare species of flora and fauna . Of particular importance are
10710-531: The hierarchy, which must follow its directions. The Secretary of State for Justice is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary , the court system and prisons and probation in England. Crime increased between 1981 and 1995 but fell by 42% in the period 1995–2006. The prison population doubled over the same period, giving it one of the highest incarceration rates in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000. His Majesty's Prison Service , reporting to
10836-567: The highly fragmented governmental landscapes of the March of Wales and of English Ireland than with much of midland and southern England. Though forming a remote and quite distinct English "border region", Northumberland and Durham began to develop notable social and political differences. Consequently, Durham became a semi-independent state, governed by the Prince Bishops, while Northumberland, being more isolated and vulnerable to Scottish attacks, formed
10962-456: The island of Lindisfarne , Wearmouth-Jarrow , and the Abbey at Whitby , though they are also associated with many other religious sites in the region. Bede is regarded as the greatest Anglo-Saxon scholar. He worked at the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, translating some forty books in all areas of knowledge, including nature, history, astronomy, poetry and theological matters such as the lives of
11088-733: The largest man-made forest in Europe. This is located within Northumberland National Park and contains an important habitat for the endangered red squirrel . England – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom (green) England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It is located on the island of Great Britain , of which it covers about 62%, and more than 100 smaller adjacent islands . It has land borders with Scotland to
11214-530: The largest surviving juniper wood in England. Over ledges in the Whin Sill fall the famous waterfalls of High Force and Low Force and the cataract of Cauldron Snout . From the source to the Skerne, Teesdale's principal town and most populous settlement is Barnard Castle , a historic market town. The area also includes the small town of Middleton-in-Teesdale and a number of villages, including Mickleton , Eggleston , Romaldkirk and Cotherstone . Middleton
11340-591: The mainland. A chronicler recorded: "On the 8th June, the harrying of the heathen miserably destroyed God's church by rapine and slaughter." There were three hundred years of Viking raids, battles and settlement until William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at Hastings in 1066. In 866 Ivar the Boneless captured the lands between the Humber and Tees (former Deira) and founded Scandinavian Kingdom of York . The lands north of
11466-453: The metropolitan counties have different types of status to other ceremonial counties. The second tier is made up of combined authorities and the 27 county-tier shire counties . In 1974, all ceremonial counties were two-tier; and with the metropolitan county tier phased out, the 1996 reform separated the ceremonial county and the administrative county tier. England is also divided into local government districts. The district can align to
11592-680: The mid-to-late 17th century, two political factions had emerged – the Tories and Whigs . Though the Tories initially supported Catholic king James II , some of them, along with the Whigs, during the Revolution of 1688 invited the Dutch Prince William of Orange to defeat James and become the king. Some English people, especially in the north, were Jacobites and continued to support James and his sons. Under
11718-558: The monastic community and monastic leaders were more like chieftains, as peers, rather than in the more hierarchical system of the Roman-dominated church. Roman military withdrawals left Britain open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors from north-western continental Europe, chiefly the Saxons, Angles , Jutes and Frisians who had long raided the coasts of the Roman province. These groups then began to settle in increasing numbers over
11844-482: The name Northumbria. This proposed state would encompass the entirety of Northern England based upon the full extent of the Kingdom of Northumbria; minus its modern day Scottish regions, and not only the modern region. The party applied to stand in the 2021 Hartlepool by-election , but because its Electoral Commission registration was pending, its candidate, former Labour MP Thelma Walker , stood as an independent. She lost her deposit with 250 votes, but scored more than
11970-867: The names of several institutions and companies: Hadrian's Wall was one of the frontiers of the Roman Empire . Roman remains can be found widely across North East England. A special exhibition based around the Roman Fort of Segedunum at Wallsend and the other forts along Hadrian's Wall is complemented by the numerous artefacts that are displayed in the Great North Museum Hancock in Newcastle. St. Peter's Church in Monkwearmouth , Sunderland, and St Paul's in Jarrow also hold significant historical value, and have made
12096-483: The nation, many by Natural England themselves, but also by non-governmental organisations, including the members of The Wildlife Trusts partnership, the National Trust , and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds . There are 221 NNRs in England covering 110,000 hectares (1,100 square kilometres). Often they contain rare species or nationally important populations of plants and animals. . The Environment Agency
12222-621: The north and Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 census , the population was 56,490,048. London is both the largest city and the capital . The area now called England
12348-594: The north and west of the country. The northern uplands include the Pennines , a chain of uplands dividing east and west, the Lake District mountains in Cumbria, and the Cheviot Hills , straddling the border between England and Scotland. The highest point in England, at 978 metres (3,209 ft), is Scafell Pike in the Lake District. The Shropshire Hills are near Wales while Dartmoor and Exmoor are two upland areas in
12474-474: The northeast coast." Rainton Meadows " is also a recently created bird-watching site. The region is also the English stronghold of black grouse and contains 80–90% of the UK population of yellow marsh saxifrage . The Magnesian Limestone grasslands of East Durham are a unique habitat not found anywhere else in the world which is particularly important to many species of butterfly and moths. The Northeast of England also features woodland such as Kielder Forest ,
12600-554: The region as a distinct historic nation. The old kingdom of Northumbria was its underlying inspiration, albeit with medieval and early modern histories woven in as well, and the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham were its homeland. In 1834 the Surtees Society was established with focus on publishing 'manuscripts illustrative of the history of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria, principally of County Durham and Northumberland'. The influence of Northumbrian romantic regionalism
12726-616: The region between the Tweed and Tees. In the Chronicle of 1065, Norðhymbralande ('Northumberland' or 'Northumbria') was already contrasted with Eoforwicscire ('Yorkshire'). Henry of Huntingdon described northern England as consisting of three counties: the Bishopric of Carlisle, Yorkshire and Northumberland ("over which the Bishop of Durham presides"). The County of Northumberland or Comitatus Northumbriae
12852-571: The river's south-easterly course to Barnard Castle , at which point the landscape begins to flatten into the Tees Lowlands. The Cumbrian part of Teesdale was historically divided between Cumberland and Westmorland , and the County Durham area between the former and Yorkshire . Large parts of Teesdale are within the North Pennines national landscape , and Upper Teesdale has been designated
12978-459: The saints. His best known work is " The Ecclesiastical History of the English People ". One of the most famous pieces of art and literature created in the region is the Lindisfarne Gospels , thought to be the work of a monk named Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698. This body of work is thought to have been created in honour of Cuthbert, around 710–720. At its greatest extent,
13104-584: The saltmarshes of Lindisfarne , the Tees Estuary , the heaths , bogs and traditional upland hay meadows of the North Pennines, and the Arctic-alpine flora of Upper Teesdale. The beauty of the Northumbrian coastline has led to its designation as an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) stretching 100 miles from Berwick-Upon-Tweed to the River Coquet estuary. Among the 290 bird species identified on
13230-450: The settlement period the lands ruled by the incomers seem to have been fragmented into numerous tribal territories, but by the 7th century, when substantial evidence of the situation again becomes available, these had coalesced into roughly a dozen kingdoms including Northumbria , Mercia , Wessex , East Anglia , Essex , Kent and Sussex . Over the following centuries, this process of political consolidation continued. The 7th century saw
13356-472: The signing of Magna Carta , an English legal charter used to limit the sovereign's powers by law and protect the privileges of freemen. Catholic monasticism flourished, providing philosophers, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage. The Principality of Wales became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century and the Lordship of Ireland was given to the English monarchy by
13482-629: The south-west of the country. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the Tees–Exe line . The Pennines, known as the "backbone of England", are the oldest range of mountains in the country, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago. Their geological composition includes, among others, sandstone and limestone , and also coal. There are karst landscapes in calcite areas such as parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire . The Pennine landscape
13608-537: The standing of the British military and navy – was prestigious. Technologically, this era saw many innovations that proved key to the United Kingdom's power and prosperity. Political agitation at home from radicals such as the Chartists and the suffragettes enabled legislative reform and universal suffrage . Power shifts in east-central Europe led to World War I; hundreds of thousands of English soldiers died fighting for
13734-487: The threat: Spain launched two further armadas, in 1596 and 1597 , but both were driven back by storms. The political structure of the island changed in 1603, when the King of Scots , James VI , a kingdom which had been a long-time rival to English interests, inherited the throne of England as James I, thereby creating a personal union . He styled himself King of Great Britain , although this had no basis in English law. Under
13860-444: The time, but unlike the former, did not cross the boundary from unionism to separatism and ultimately remained a cultural movement. Today, the term has been re-established as a legitimate moniker for the region, however, is not the official name for the UK region of North East England . The notion of a modern Northumbria was institutionalised in the late 20th century as the name was adopted by
13986-774: The two branches of the royal family, the Yorkists and Lancastrians . Eventually it led to the Yorkists losing the throne entirely to a Welsh noble family the Tudors , a branch of the Lancastrians headed by Henry Tudor who invaded with Welsh and Breton mercenaries, gaining victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field where the Yorkist king Richard III was killed. During the Tudor period , England began to develop naval skills , and exploration intensified in
14112-406: The valley, and much of the pre-glacial river course is now buried beneath glacial drift . In places this impervious dolerite rock, with shallow soil above it, prevented the growth of scrub or trees: this enabled certain post-glacial Arctic / Alpine plants to survive here when elsewhere as a rule they were overgrown. The Sugar Limestone formed by thermal metamorphism of the limestone into which
14238-530: The warming of the sea by the Gulf Stream . Rainfall is higher in the west, and parts of the Lake District receive more rain than anywhere else in the country. Since weather records began, the highest temperature recorded was 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) on 19 July 2022 at Coningsby , Lincolnshire , while the lowest was −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on 10 January 1982 in Edgmond , Shropshire. The fauna of England
14364-536: The world's first industrialised nation. England is home to the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world: the University of Oxford , founded in 1096, and the University of Cambridge , founded in 1209. Both universities are ranked among the most prestigious in the world. England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and plains , especially in the centre and south . Upland and mountainous terrain
14490-452: Was a lead-mining centre, and plentiful traces of this industry can be seen round the adjoining slopes and side-valleys. On the south side of Teesdale is the Bronze Age burial site of Kirkcarrion . The other Durham Dales are on the northern side and to the south is the Yorkshire Dales , Swaledale with Richmond is the closest. The dale was formerly divided into four with the north in
14616-563: Was an interwoven part of the wider multifaceted Wars of the Three Kingdoms , involving Scotland and Ireland . The Parliamentarians were victorious, Charles I was executed and the kingdom replaced by the Commonwealth . Leader of the Parliament forces, Oliver Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector in 1653; a period of personal rule followed. After Cromwell's death and the resignation of his son Richard as Lord Protector, Charles II
14742-494: Was established with the Bill of Rights in 1689. Among the statutes set down were that the law could only be made by Parliament and could not be suspended by the King, also that the King could not impose taxes or raise an army without the prior approval of Parliament. Also since that time, no British monarch has entered the House of Commons when it is sitting, which is annually commemorated at
14868-535: Was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic . It takes its name from the Angles , a Germanic tribe who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had extensive cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery , which began during the 15th century. The Kingdom of England , which included Wales after 1535, ceased to be
14994-601: Was formed from the rump of Northumbria following the Norman conquest of England , a single royal county encompassing all of north-eastern England between the Tweed and Tees. The county included several 'royal liberties' where the king's writ did not run, including Hexhamshire , which was ruled by the Archbishops of York; and Tynedale , which was ruled by the Kings of Scotland for much of the 13th century. The largest and most important liberty
15120-567: Was invited to return as monarch in 1660, in a move called the Restoration . With the reopening of theatres, fine arts, literature and performing arts flourished throughout the Restoration of the "Merry Monarch" Charles II. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, it was constitutionally established that King and Parliament should rule together, though Parliament would have the real power. This
15246-572: Was lower than the present day and Britain was connected by land bridge to Ireland and Eurasia . As the seas rose, it was separated from Ireland 10,000 years ago and from Eurasia two millennia later. The Beaker culture arrived around 2,500 BC, introducing drinking and food vessels constructed from clay, as well as vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores. It was during this time that major Neolithic monuments such as Stonehenge (phase III) and Avebury were constructed. By heating together tin and copper, which were in abundance in
15372-416: Was reintegrated into Northumberland proper. From thereon, the region would be permanently divided into two separate counties: the County of Northumberland and County Palatine of Durham. Northumberland and Durham continued to serve as autonomous buffer polities between England and Scotland during the late middle ages. In many ways, the governance of Northumbria between the Tweed and Tees had more in common with
15498-568: Was subsequently proclaimed emperor a century later. There is debate about when Christianity was first introduced; it was no later than the 4th century, probably much earlier. According to Bede , missionaries were sent from Rome by Eleutherius at the request of the chieftain Lucius of Britain in 180 AD, to settle differences as to Eastern and Western ceremonials, which were disturbing the church. There are traditions linked to Glastonbury claiming an introduction through Joseph of Arimathea , while others claim through Lucius of Britain. By 410, during
15624-464: Was that of the Liberty of Durham, which retained a high degree of autonomy under the Bishops of Durham and lacked representation in the lower parliament. Originally, large swathes of land on north bank of the Tees lay outside of the liberty and formed the Wapentake of Sadberge , which consisted of a collection of exclaves ruled directly by the Earls of Northumberland. Sadberge was purchased by bishop Hugh de Puiset in 1189 and gradually incorporated into
15750-413: Was the River Tees. A provincial flag of Northumbria has been registered. Precise definitions vary, but they typically centre around the historic counties of Northumberland and Durham; the ceremonial counties of Northumberland, Durham and Tyne and Wear ; or the region of North East England . Parts of historic Yorkshire and ceremonial North Yorkshire are sometimes included. "Northumbria" appears in
15876-401: Was the spoken language during this time. Society was tribal; according to Ptolemy 's Geographia there were around 20 tribes in the area. Like other regions on the edge of the Empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans. Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic attempted to invade twice in 55 BC; although largely unsuccessful, he managed to set up a client king from
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