Yorkshire: Hubtrail Capstone

IS IT EAST YORKSHIRE OR HUMBERSIDE?

Yorkshire is the largest county in England and has a long and chequered history. Divided into Ridings which are the East Riding, North Riding and West Riding the government of the day, some years ago, decided it was time for a name change. The boundaries of councils and their counties were changing and the east riding of Yorkshire, where I live, was now to be called North Humberside.

Street signs, official documents, maps and more were all changed at probably a huge expense. Local people were never happy at no longer being part of Yorkshire and after years of complaining, refusing to use Humberside on letters and the like, we finally returned to our roots and became Yorkshire again. We are now East Yorkshire and Humberside, I think. This of course proved that the change to Humberside had been a costly mistake as maps, street signs and the like all needed changing again.

A LITTLE YORKSHIRE HISTORY.

The Yorkshire became a civilised area of England back in the day's of the Roman invasion. The Romans began to establish towns, build and make their mark. When I was child the remain of an old Roman mansion were found at Rudston, which is on the road to Bridlington. I visited the farm where the mosaics were being painstakingly unearthed. As a 10 year old I was not overly impressed.

The mosaics were moved to the Transport Museum in Hull and are now one of the long standing exhibits in the Archaeology museum in Hull All of the Hull museums and galleries that are run by the local council are free to enter The Deep which is a modern submarium in Hull is a pay to enter attraction but well worth the cost.

So the Romans came and went, having made their mark.

From the sixth century AD, until the early eleventh century AD, Yorkshire had other invaders. This time the Saxons and The Vikings raped, plundered, pillaged the villages and people of Yorkshire.

Harald the King of Norway attempted a take over of England in 1066. He was to be defeated at the battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman conquest began. William the Conqueror came to the throne but by towards the end of the eleventh century the north Yorkshire people were rebelling against this foreign king. William decided it was time to sort those rebels from the north out, once and for all. Farm crops were burnt, animals slaughtered and Yorkshire generally left waste.

The next century saw Yorkshire recovering.

For a few centuries the people enjoyed prosperity. This finally ended in the early fourteenth century when a famine struck.

Yorkshire had to fight many battles to survive over the next few centuries. Wars, including the civil war, was part of Yorkshire's problems. My hometown of Hull played its part in the civil war when local people turned away the King and his Royalists back in the days of Oliver Cromwell and his rebels.

However, despite all of these setbacks, by the 18th century the population of Yorkshire had steadily grown. The textile industries were booming, in places like Leeds and Bradford. Mining was a booming industry in the west riding of Yorkshire. Even the railway had established headquarters in York, in Yorkshire.

People now had new challenges to fight such as the cholera and typhoid that the sprawling, dirty cities brought.

Improvements to sewers, drainage and housing were made. New Parks were created so that the locals could get out into some fresh air and breathe.

With a beautiful coastline seaside resorts were built and enjoyed by people from all over the county. Fishing became an important industry also and finally Yorkshire looked forward to a prosperous future.

It was not to last.

By the 1920s and 30s Yorkshire experienced a down turn. From here on in Yorkshire has struggled to retain its identity, provide jobs and flourish.

The Cod Wars with Iceland put paid to the profitable fishing industry. The once prosperous Mills of Bradford and Leeds gradually closed. Maggie Thatcher's coal mining policy ensured that the mining industry also died. There had been a large influx of Asian immigrants to work in the Mills and many of these were now also unemployed.

Considering our history of invaders, and a mix of cultures, it is strange that now rasicm and anti-immigration feelings run high in parts of Yorkshire. So much so that this county has some BNP, British National Party, candidates who are successful.

Overall, though Yorkshire has proved itself up for the many challenges that the years have brought.

At times during its long history it has had successful football, rugby and cricket teams. A wealth of celebrities and famous people have come from this county. Yorkshire has some of the best countryside and coastal areas of England as well as modern cities. Historic cities, such as York, just have so much to offer. Visit the countryside and Haworth to check out Bronte country.

A standard joke is that Yorkshire people are tight with their money. Perhaps they have had to be more frugal with what life has thrown at them. However, many would generously help someone in need.

Yorkshire and its people have a warm heart, if you bother to look deep enough.

In fact they are "reet grand"