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Yorkshire365.co.uk
The County of Yorkshire is the largest in the England, with "more acres than words in the bible". Traditionally split into three Ridings; West, North and East Ridings - Yorkshire bore the brunt of local government reorganisation under the otherwise ineffectual Conservative government of Edward Heath in the early 1970s.
Parts of the county became Lancastrian (how out of touch with people's feelings can politicians be?), parts were hived off into wanna be counties like "Cleveland" and "South Yorkshire" and the term 'Ridings' was done away with.
Nevertheless, those born in the county know themselves to be Yorkshiremen (and women) and it is a boast of which they are justifiably proud. It is a county of contrasts: full of spectacular scenery in the Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, yet covered in industrial archaeology and home to some of the largest Cities in the United Kingdom; It is a Mecca for both tourists and businessmen both aware of the fantastic opportunities for a great lifestyle without the social and financial overheads of living in the overcrowded Capital and South-East of England. It is certainly a county of change with traditional Yorkshire industries such as coal-mining, fishing, farming and woollen mills being replaced by finance, IT, call centres and hi-tech manufacturing.
The county has always played a major role in the history of England since Roman times; the House of York once ruled England, the Vikings had their capital at York (Jorvik) and a Roman Emperor died in York (Eboracum). The population of Yorkshire was decimated by William the Conqueror in his "harrying of the north" when they dared to defy the invader. Indeed, few remember that King Harold Godwinson, defeated at the battle of Hastings by William in 1066 had only a few days before won an astounding victory over the invading Vikings (and his half-brother) at Stamford Bridge, in Yorkshire, before a forced march to meet ill-fortune on the South Coast. Proof, if any were required that "it does tha' no good to go down south!" :-)
Of course, Yorkshire is also famous for it's characters, sometimes known as "professional Yorkshiremen" (though it is a role that many of us enjoy playing at times to wind up others, particularly from the South), the late Freddie Truman, and 'Sir' Geoffrey Boycott are a couple of examples. Blunt-speaking, dour and mean are three particular characteristics of which Yorkshiremen are often accused. But if that were true would so many sons and daughters of Yorkshire be so successful, especially in the media and business? Think of Michael Parkinson, Chris Moyles, Sir Jimmy Saville, and TV chefs James Martin and BrianTurner, the Kaiser Chiefs and the Arctic Monkeys .