37-667: And northern parts of: some definitions include The North Midlands is a loosely defined area covering the northern parts of the Midlands in England. It is not one of the ITL regions like the East Midlands or the West Midlands . A statistical definition in 1881 included the counties of Derbyshire , Leicestershire , Lincolnshire , Nottinghamshire and Rutland , an area historically known as
74-571: A dialect closer to "northern" but now more influenced by "southern". In a binary choice, the Watford Gap is often considered the dividing point between the north and south of England, with most of the Midlands population sitting above this point. The "midland" name has been used for: Bolsover (UK Parliament constituency) Bolsover ( / ˈ b ɒ l s ˌ oʊ v ər / , / ˈ b ɒ l z ˌ oʊ v ər / and commonly / b oʊ z ər / )
111-564: A symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa . By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia. The arms are blazoned Azure, a saltire Or , meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field. The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle , the ancient seat of the Mercian kings . The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth ,
148-686: Is a constituency in Derbyshire , represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Natalie Fleet , a member of the Labour Party . The constituency was created in 1950 , and is centred on the town of Bolsover . Before the Reform Act 1832 , relatively wealthy people (forty-shilling freeholders ) of the whole county could attend elections when there was an opposition candidate. From 1868 until 1885
185-694: Is furthest away from the coast than anywhere else in England, it typically receives mostly light winds, with warm days and cold nights. Sometimes the Midlands can have very cold nights such as a minimum of −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in Pershore on 20 December 2010. The previous day had a maximum of only −8.2 °C (17.2 °F), also in Pershore. Hot days are also possible, such as a maximum of 34 °C (93 °F) in Pershore on 19 July 2006. There can also be very mild winters nights, such as in Bidford-on-Avon when
222-422: Is no single definition for the Midlands. If defined as being made up of the statistical regions of East Midlands and West Midlands , it includes the counties of Derbyshire , Herefordshire , Leicestershire , most of Lincolnshire (with the exception of North and North East Lincolnshire ), Northamptonshire , Nottinghamshire , Rutland , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , Worcestershire and
259-594: Is often labelled as "Central England", typically used interchangeably with "the Midlands". Additionally, there are two informal regions known as the South Midlands and North Midlands , which are not NUTS statistical regions of the United Kingdom and their definition varies by using organisation. The former includes the southern parts of the East Midlands and northern parts of Southern England . The latter covers
296-476: Is roughly covered by the metropolitan county of the West Midlands (which also includes the city of Coventry ); with the related City Region extending into neighbouring areas of Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire and Worcestershire . Various parts of the Midlands, particularly Warwickshire and Leicestershire, are on occasion referred to as the Heart of England, especially in tourist literature given that
333-531: The Five Burghs of Danelaw. A Second World War civil defence region called North Midland included the five counties and Northamptonshire . It has remained in informal use for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the northern parts of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire , and sometimes the far south of Northern England . A North Midlands combined authority area was proposed in 2016 for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, but cancelled later that year. A North Midlands region
370-538: The Long Mynd , Clee Hills and Stiperstones ridge. Wenlock Edge , running through the middle of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is a long, low ridge, which extends for over 15 miles (24 km). The Peak District reaches heights of between 300 m (1,000 ft) and 600 m (2,000 ft); Kinder Scout is the highest point at 636 m (2,086 ft). Further south,
407-722: The North Sea . The Midlands correspond broadly to the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia , and later became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are now split into two official regions, the West Midlands and East Midlands . The Midlands' biggest city, Birmingham , is the second-largest in the United Kingdom . Other important cities include Coventry , Derby , Leicester , Lincoln , Nottingham , Stoke-on-Trent , Wolverhampton , and Worcester . A saltire (diagonal cross) may have been used as
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#1732837332436444-511: The southwest . The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 m (1,394 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). The Cotswolds – designated an AONB in 1966. – extend for over 90 miles (140 km) through Oxfordshire , Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , Somerset , Warwickshire , and Worcestershire . They reach a highest point of 330 m (1,082 ft) at Cleeve Hill . Areas of lower hills, in
481-688: The "ancient capital of Mercia". It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London. The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Midlands towns, including Tamworth , Leek and Blaby . It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014. There
518-585: The 1960s, Sheffield was described in an official publication as "the vigorous shopping and cultural centre of the North Midlands". The introduction to J. B. Priestley 's play An Inspector Calls specifies that it is set in the fictional town of Brumley in the North Midlands. A somewhat different definition of the North Midlands appeared in David Hackett Fischer 's 1989 book Albion's Seed , which detailed migrations from distinct parts of Britain to
555-476: The American Colonies. It defines the North Midlands as broadly comprising Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Yorkshire. The North Midlands Helicopter Support Unit was operated jointly by Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Police until 2013, when all police air support functions were taken over by the newly formed National Police Air Service . The service subsequently closed
592-779: The Black Country conurbation at 271 m (889 ft) and the Wrekin just south of Wellington in Telford at 407 m (1,335 ft). Upland areas lie in the west and north of the region with the Shropshire Hills to the west, close to the England–Wales border and the Peak District area of the southern Pennines in the north of the region. The Shropshire Hills reach a height of 540 m (1,771 ft) at Brown Clee Hill and includes
629-487: The District of North East Derbyshire wards of Holmewood and Heath, Pilsley and Morton, Shirland, and Sutton. Subject to a minor adjustment due to ward boundary changes in the District of North East Derbyshire, the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , which was based on the ward structure in place at 1 December 2020, left the boundaries unchanged. The seat includes many former mining communities. Before 2019 it
666-529: The House of Commons and the second longest-serving. At the constituency's inception it was one of the safest Labour seats in the country, but over the following half century Skinner's vote share dropped from 77% in 1970, still holding a high vote share of 65% in 2005, to only 36% in 2019, with the result that he lost the seat to the Conservatives by a margin of 11%. The seat was regained by Labour in 2024, in part due to
703-684: The Midlands as the region is bordered by Wales to the west. It is also where the Midlands' lowest points can be found as some places fall below sea level, with the lowest points being near Thorpe Tilney in North Kesteven and Stickford in East Lindsey . The Midlands has a temperate maritime climate , with cold, cloudy, wet winters and comfortable, mostly dry, mostly sunny summers. The temperature usually ranges from −0.4 °C (31.3 °F) during winter nights to 24.1 °C (75.4 °F) during summer days. Due to its geographical location, which
740-610: The North Midlands unit in 2016. The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust operates in Staffordshire and covers the Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford County Hospital . A North Midlands Combined Authority was to have been formed in 2017. South Derbyshire District Council, High Peak Borough Council, Amber Valley Borough Council and Erewash Borough Council all voted to reject
777-642: The Welsh border reaches over 700 m (2,000 ft) high, at Twyn Llech (Black Mountain), which at 703 m (2,306 ft) is thus the highest point in Herefordshire . The Precambrian Malverns are formed of some of the oldest rock in England (dating from the Cryogenian period, at around 680 million years old) and extend for 8 miles (13 km) through two West Midlands counties ( Worcestershire and Herefordshire ) as well as northern Gloucestershire in
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#1732837332436814-591: The West Midlands metropolitan boroughs. Other definitions include a slightly larger area and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Gloucestershire as "West Midland", Bedfordshire as "South Midland", and Huntingdonshire as "East Midland" counties respectively. Cheshire is also occasionally recognised as being in the Midlands, while a lot of what was historically part of southern Mercia ( Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Hertfordshire , Huntingdonshire , and Cambridgeshire )
851-529: The area formed part of the East Derbyshire constituency, redrawn out of the North Derbyshire constituency formed in 1832. The Bolsover constituency was created in 1950 from parts of the constituencies of North East Derbyshire , formed in 1885, and Clay Cross , formed in 1918. Between 1970 and 2019 , the constituency was represented by Labour 's Dennis Skinner , who by 2019 was the oldest member of
888-529: The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, actually come under the Yorkshire and the Humber region and are therefore not in the officially recognised East Midlands region. The two regions of the Midlands have a combined population of 10,350,697 (2014 mid-year estimate), and an area of 11,053 sq mi (28,630 km ). The largest Midlands conurbation , which includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton ,
925-615: The geographic centre of England is generally considered to lie within this arc. Different areas of the Midlands have their own distinctive character, giving rise to many local history and industrial heritage groups. Nottingham played a notable part in the English Civil War , which is commemorated in a number of place names (Parliament Terrace, Parliament Street, Standard Hill). Areas such as Derbyshire's Amber Valley and Erewash combine attractive countryside with industrial heritage and are home to historic canals and sites associated with
962-529: The latter on 10 January 1982 around Newport in Shropshire where it dropped to a minimum of −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F). Due to being neither Northern England or Southern England , the Midlands have had cultural elements from both sides in the North–South divide , such as dialect (see also West Midlands English and East Midlands English ). A study has shown that some Midlands areas have traditionally had
999-427: The mining industry. The Black Country , broadly the boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Wolverhampton and Walsall , played an important part in the Industrial Revolution . The historic counties ceased to be used for any administrative purpose in 1899 but remain important to some people, notably for county cricket . The area is predominantly low-lying and flat apart from isolated hills such as Turners Hill within
1036-528: The northern parts of the West and East Midlands, along with some southern parts of Northern England . The West Midlands and East Midlands regions are NUTS 1 statistical regions and were formerly constituencies of the European Parliament . Local government in the Midlands is as follows: The unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire (not shown), while classed as part of
1073-594: The proposal, and Chesterfield Borough Council decided to sign up to the South Yorkshire Combined Authority instead. The North Midlands covers a part of the red wall ; areas traditionally represented by the Labour Party and which voted to Leave the European Union in the 2016 Referendum, and which subsequently swung to the Conservative Party at the 2019 General Election . Constituencies in
1110-596: The range 200 m (600 ft) - 300 m (1000 ft), include Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire , Cannock Chase in Staffordshire , and the Lincolnshire Wolds (100 m (300 ft) - 200 m (600 ft)); the latter having some prominence despite their modest altitude given their location in typically low-lying Lincolnshire near to the east coast. Lincolnshire is the only coastal county in
1147-491: The region which typified this trend include Bolsover (where the veteran Labour MP since 1970, Dennis Skinner , lost his seat), Bassetlaw (where the largest Labour to Conservative swing occurred), Mansfield , and all three constituencies of city of Stoke-on-Trent . 53°00′N 1°30′W / 53°N 1.5°W / 53; -1.5 Midlands The Midlands is the central part of England , bordered by Wales , Northern England , Southern England and
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1184-583: The seat from 1970 until 2019, was between 2017 and 2019 the second longest serving MP in the Commons after Kenneth Clarke . In the 2010 reforms to the constituency, Labour won 50% of the votes cast. At the 2017 general election, Skinner's majority was cut to little more than 5,000, the first time the Labour majority in the seat had ever been lower than 10,000. He lost his bid to be re-elected in 2019 losing to Conservative candidate Mark Fletcher . The majority of voters in
1221-455: The temperature at 6 pm was as high as 15.2 °C (59.4 °F) on 9 January 2015. At 8 am the following morning the temperature was still at 13 °C (55 °F). Both the highest and lowest temperature ever recorded in England were in the Midlands, the former on 19 July 2022 around Coningsby in Lincolnshire where it reached a maximum temperature of 40.3 °C (104.5 °F), and
1258-574: The two right-wing parties, Reform UK and the Conservative Party splitting the vote. Labour's share of the vote was still well below what they had been getting before Brexit . 1950–1983 : The Urban District of Bolsover , and the Rural Districts of Blackwell and Clowne. 1983–2010 : The District of Bolsover, and the District of North East Derbyshire wards of Morton, Pilsley, Shirland, and Sutton. 2010–present : The District of Bolsover, and
1295-555: Was a Labour Party stronghold , although the then MP Dennis Skinner 's share of the popular vote dropped to 50% in the 2010 election from a high of 77.5% (see below), amongst social and boundary changes. Its economy faced struggles after the last closures in the early 1990s of the coal pits upon which the area thrived for many years. Bolsover's tourism industry has emerged in recent years, including accommodation and tours involving Bolsover Castle , owned by English Heritage , and Hardwick Hall , home of Bess of Hardwick . Skinner, who held
1332-447: Was first defined for the 1881 UK census . It was defined as the entirety of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. A new definition of the region appeared in 1939, for various government statistical purposes: Derbyshire without High Peak , Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and the Soke of Peterborough . In 1942, High Peak was added, but it
1369-438: Was removed again in 1946. In 1962, it was merged into a new Midlands statistical region. The North Midlands has remained in use as an informal term for part of the area, covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the northern parts of Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, and Cheshire and South Yorkshire to a lesser degree, even though Staffordshire, Cheshire and South Yorkshire never formed part of the statistical region. For example, in
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