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Newcastle Upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne, often shortened to Newcastle, is a city in the county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. It is also a unitary authority with a population of around 259,000 (2001 census). However, the metropolitan boroughs of North Tyneside (population c.190,000), South Tyneside (population c. 150,000) and Gateshead (population c.200,000) are also part of Newcastle's conurbation, giving the Newcastle-Gateshead metropolitan area a population of 799,000. Newcastle is the main city in North East England, and the 20th largest city in England. As such, it is one of England's core cities. Technically, people from Newcastle are Novocastrians, although the term Geordie is now more commonly used.

History and development

Newcastle, known at the time as "Pons Aelius" was founded by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, whose Wall is still visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road that leads out from the city centre towards the A69 road. The course of the Wall can also be traced eastwards to Segedunum, which is today known as Wallsend. After the Roman withdrawal from Britain, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria and was known throughout this period as Monkchester. Pilgrims travelled to the City to visit the Holy Well of Jesus' Mount, in what is now Jesmond. One of Newcastle's biggest modern shopping streets, Pilgrim Street, is so-called because of the popularity of the well. After a series of conflicts with the Danes and the devastation that occurred north of the River Tyne as a result of Odo's rebellion against the Norman invasion of 1080, Monkchester had all but been destroyed. Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in 1080 and the town was henceforth known as Novum Castellum or Newcastle. Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, and was an important stronghold in the Border war against Scotland. The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle in 1174, and Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town. Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century and around this time became a county corporate. During the English Civil War, Newcastle supported King Charles and was stormed by Cromwell's Scots allies 'with roaring drummes' in 1644. The grateful King bestowed the motto FORTITER DEFENDIT TRIUMPHANS upon the town. Ironically, Charles was imprisoned in Newcastle by the Scots in 1646-7. Newcastle's development as a major city owed much to its central role in the export of coal from the Northumberland coalfields. In the nineteenth century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the nation's prosperity. Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the development of Safety lamps, Stephenson's Rocket, and Charles Algernon Parsons' invention and commercialisation of the steam turbine, leading to his Turbinia. Mosley Street, in the centre of the City, is claimed to be the first in the world to have electric street lighting though this is contested. Heavy industries in Newcastle declined in the second half of the twentieth century; office and retail employment are now the City's staples.

Architecture and urban development

twentieth century The city has an extensive neoclassical centre, largely developed in the 1830s by Richard Grainger and John Dobson, and recently extensively restored. Grey Street, which curves down from a monument to the parliamentary reformer Earl Grey towards the valley of the River Tyne, has a claim to be one of England's most beautiful urban streets. A large portion of Grainger Town was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Eldon Square shopping centre. Immediately to the northwest of the city centre is Leazes Park, a park established in 1873 after a petition by 3,000 working men of the city for "ready access to some open ground for the purpose of health and recreation", and in one corner of which is St James' Park, the stadium home of Newcastle United F.C. which dominates the view of the city from the south. Another green space in Newcastle is the vast Town Moor, lying immediately north of the city centre. The hereditary freemen of the city have held the right to graze cattle on the Town Moor since the Middle Ages — a reward for defending the town against the marauding Scots! Newcastle United F.C. The wooded gorge of the Ouseburn in the east of the city is known as Jesmond Dene and forms another popular recreation area, linked with Armstrong Park and Heaton Park to the Ouseburn Valley, where the 'burn finally reaches the River Tyne. The development of the city in the 1960s and 1970s was marred by a corruption scandal involving, especially, T. Dan Smith, a local politician and John Poulson, a property developer. Echoes of the scandal were revisited in the late 1990s in the BBC TV mini-series, Our Friends in the North. Our Friends in the North Our Friends in the NorthThe Tyne itself passes through a gorge between Newcastle (on the North Bank) and Gateshead (the administratively separate Borough and urban area south of the river), which is famous for a series of dramatic and notable bridges such as the Tyne Bridge and High Level Bridge shared by Newcastle and Gateshead. Large scale regeneration of the Tyne Gorge has replaced former shipping industries with imposing new office developments; an innovative tilting bridge, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge was commissioned by Gateshead and has integrated the older Newcastle quayside more closely with major cultural developments in Gateshead, including the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Norman Foster designed The Sage Gateshead music centre. As a tourist promotion, Newcastle and Gateshead have linked together under the banner NewcastleGateshead but both remain separate for other purposes. Notable housing developments include the Byker Wall in Byker, east of the city centre, designed in the 1960s and now Grade II-listed. Newcastle's thriving Chinatown, which grew from a small nucleus of Chinese eating establishments in the 1980s, lies in the northwest of Grainger Town, centered on Stowell Street. A new Chinese Arch, or paifang, providing a landmark entrance was handed over to the City with a ceremony in 2005. The UK's first Biotechnology Village, the "Centre for Life" is located in the City Centre close to the Central [Train] Station . One of the major meeting areas in Newcastle is Old Eldon Square, often referred to as 'The Green', and is a congregation site for hundreds of people every day. There are currently plans with the Newcastle City Council to change Old Eldon Square slightly, but may not go ahead.

Transport and infrastructure

Centre for Life

Air

Newcastle International Airport located near Ponteland is the fastest growing airport in the UK. The airport currently handles a little under five million passengers per year, with more than 80 destinations available world-wide. A journey from the city center to the Airport takes some 15 minutes by car or 20 minutes on the Tyne and Wear Metro service.

Rail

Its railway station has a fine classical frontage and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line, providing a half-hourly frequency of trains to London (with a journey time of around three hours) operated by GNER as well as trains to Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Carlisle plus local services. Carlisle, above the Monument Tyne and Wear Metro station]] The North Eastern Railway built an electric suburban railway serving both banks of the Tyne, and the northern suburbs. This system has been transformed into the Tyne and Wear Metro which extends as far as Newcastle Airport, Tynemouth and South Hylton in Sunderland. The system is one of only three underground systems in the United Kingdom.

Road

Major roads in the area include the A1 western-bypass, A19, A69, and A1058 "coast road".

Sea

Newcastle also has access to an international Ferry Terminal, located at nearby North Shields, offering services to destinations including: Amsterdam, Kristiansand, Stavanger, and Bergen. A local ferry service also operates between nearby North Shields and South Shields.

Bus

Newcastle and the surrounding area has an extensive bus network that is coordinated by [http://www.nexus.org.uk/ Nexus], the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. Buses are operated mainly by Go North East, Arriva and Stagecoach North East. Quayside Transit, a £5m bus scheme using ultra low emission hybrid diesel-electric vehicles was launched in July 2005.

Sport

The City has a strong sporting tradition, being home to Premiership football team Newcastle United, and Guinness Premiership rugby union side Newcastle Falcons, for whom England's "(Rugby Union) World Cup winning hero" Jonny Wilkinson features. The city's Metro Radio Arena is home to Newcastle Vipers ice hockey team, and Newcastle Eagles basketball team. The City's Speedway team Newcastle Diamonds are based at Brough Park in Byker, a venue that is also home to greyhound racing. Newcastle Racecourse at High Gosforth Park holds regular meets, including the prestigious race for the Northumberland Plate, which takes place in June each year. Newcastle also hosts the start of the annual BUPA Great North Run, the world's largest half marathon in which participants famously race over the Tyne Bridge into Gateshead and then towards the finish line 21 km away on the coast at neighbouring South Shields. Another famous race is the 5.7 mile Blaydon Race, which takes place annually on June 9 commemorating a horse meeting at the Gateshead town of Blaydon.

Education

The city has two universities, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne that earned the coveted Sunday Times University of the Year award in 2000 and the newer Northumbria University that was established in 1992 and was voted 'Best New University' by the Times Good University Guide 2005. The Newcastle Royal Grammar School is often claimed to be one of the foremost schools in the North of England. The Freeman Hospital is the country's third transplant centre.

Entertainment

Bars and clubs

Newcastle has a reputation of being a fun-loving city with many bars, restaurants and night clubs. It consistently features in lists of the top ten party cities in the world. Recently, Newcastle has become popular as a destination for Stag and Hen parties. The majority of clubs in Newcastle are located in three main areas. The oldest of these is the Bigg Market a favourite haunt for the more indigenous of the locals, followed by the trendy Quayside area, a spectacular mix of modern and classic architecture which creates a fantastic backdrop for a sometimes frantic saturday night. The newest is "The Gate", which is a new indoor complex consisting of bars, upmarket clubs, restaurants and a 12-screen Odeon multiplex cinema. Pubs and bars are located throughout the city, though there are more in the areas mentioned above. In addition the area around Central Station features a heavy concentration of pubs; this area attracts more real ale drinkers than other parts of the city centre. Beyond the Quayside, towards Byker in the Ouseburn Valley there is a cluster of interesting pubs providing real ale and live music. Over recent years, the suburb of Jesmond has become a drinking area, with a number of bars being set up along the area's main artery, Osborne Road. As well as bars this stretch of designer real estate is puncuated with top class restaurants and other fine cafe-bar/eateries. These tend to be popular with the area's students and young professionals.

Theatre

A growth in the Theatre Culture has taken place in recent years, centred on the impressive Theatre Royal on Grey Street, which for over 25 years has hosted a season of performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other Theatres in the City include the Tyne Opera House, the Newcastle Playhouse (which is currently undergoing redevelopment), the Live Theatre, the Peoples Theatre and the Gulbenkian Studio. There are several other venues in and around Newcastle, such as: Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Arena and The Sage Gateshead.

Music

The 1960s saw internationally successful rock group, The Animals, emerge from Newcastle night spots such as Club A-Go-Go on Percy Street. Other well-known acts with connections to the city include Sting, Dire Straits, and more recently Maxïmo Park. There is also a thriving underground music scene that encompasses a variety of styles, including Drum and Bass and Post-rock, the latter having produced such luminaries as Peace Burial at Sea in recent years. Lindisfarne are a folk group with a strong Tyneside connection. Their most famous song is "Fog on the Tyne" (1971), which was also covered by ex-footballer (and Geordie) Paul Gascoigne in the 1990s. Venom, reckoned by many to be the originators of black metal, formed in Newcastle in 1979. The Wildhearts are another band with Newcastle roots. On October 14 2005, the 2,000 capacity Carling Academy Newcastle opened, providing a new music venue in the city centre. The opening night was headlined by The Futureheads and the profile of the venue has attracted a greater variety of bands to play in the city. The Carling Academy Newcastle is the newest in a string of Academies to be opened across the UK.

Shopping

There are several major shopping areas in Newcastle city centre. The largest of these is the Eldon Square shopping centre, which incorporates the largest Fenwick department store in the UK and a John Lewis store. The main shopping street in the city is Northumberland Street, which runs from the Haymarket metro station to the Monument. The wholly pedestrianised Northumberland Street is home to retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Primark and HMV. Other shopping centres in Newcastle include the relatively modern Eldon Garden and Monument Mall complexes, the Newgate Centre, Leazes Arcade and the traditional Grainger Market. The largest indoor shopping centre in Europe, The MetroCentre in Gateshead is also nearby.

Outdoor pursuits

The Hoppings, reputedly the largest travelling fair in Europe, takes place on Newcastle Town Moor every June. The event had its origins in the Temperance movement during the early 1880s and coincides with the annual race week at High Gosforth Park.

Religion

Christianity

Newcastle has two cathedrals, the Anglican St. Nicholas and the Roman Catholic St. Mary's. Cardinal Basil Hume was born in the city in 1923. Newcastle is home to one of the largest Anglican churches in the country, Jesmond Parish Church.

Judaism

No records exist of Jews being resident in Newcastle before 1830 although there is a tradition that the community dates from 1775. It is thought, however, that over 500 years prior to this Jews resided in Silver Street (formerly known as Jew Gate). On October 8 1832, the congregation was formally established. The cathedral bells were rung when the first synagogue, in Temple Street, was officially opened on July 13 1838. The Newcastle Courant published a headline in Hebrew. By 1845 the congregation had grown to 33 adults and 33 children. Through the course of time nearly all the original founders either died or had left the city, but the influx of Polish and Russian immigrants had more than replaced this loss. An imposing stone building was erected in Leazes Park Road in 1880 and consecrated by the Chief Rabbi. At that time the number of Jews in Newcastle was about 750. The congregation was in being until 1978 Sir Israel Brodie, the first Chief Rabbi to be knighted, was born in Newcastle in 1895. There were many more developments and synagogues in Newcastle during the 20th century: Corporation Street Synagogue (1904–1924), Jesmond Synagogue (1914–1986), Ravensworth Terrace Synagogue (1925–1969), and Gosforth and Kenton Hebrew Congregation (1947–1984) With the drift of population from the West End of Newcastle, Jesmond synagogue was consecrated in 1914 leaving the oldest, the Leazes Park Road Synagogue in the centre of the city. A third synagogue was built in Gosforth, the Gosforth and Kenton Hebrew congregation. Eventually the running of the three Orthodox Congregations was considered as being uneconomical and with a declining population in other parts of the town a new purpose built Community Centre and Synagogue was built in Gosforth at Culzean Park in an area in which the majority of Jews resided. A new Reform movement Synagogue was built in 1986 nearby and continues to flourish.

Media

Broadcast

ITV franchisee Tyne Tees Television recently moved its headquarters from City Road to a new facility on The Watermark business park next to the MetroCentre in Gateshead. The entrance to the City Road complex gave its name to the 1980s television programme, The Tube. The regional headquarters for the BBC are located on Barrack Road to the north of the city, from where the Corporation broadcasts the Look North television show and BBC Radio Newcastle. Independant radio stations include Metro Radio, which is based on the Swan House roundabout on the north side of the Tyne Bridge. Century FM is based just off the Gateshead side of the bridge.

Print

Local newspapers that are printed in Newcastle include Trinity Mirror's Evening Chronicle and The Journal, as well as the Metro freesheet. The Crack is a monthly style and listings magazine similar to London's Time Out. Adult comic Viz originated in Newcastle.

Gay community

Focused on the Times Square area near the Centre for Life, the "Pink Triangle" hosts approximately 12–14 bars and pubs, and two clubs, Powerhouse and The Loft. The community has seen much expansion in the past five years, with further growth planned in the future. The development of the Pink Triangle was a planned development promoted by the Regional Development Agency. In 2001 Newcastle planned to host a Gay Pride festival (BBC Radio 1's 'Love Parade 2001') but this was cancelled at the last minute. Radio 1 had set Newcastle City Council a deadline to resolve outstanding issues required by the City's Police. The deadline expired, Newcastle's Labour Council failing to meet the conditions of the Entertainment Licence in time to stage a safe event. The Police had turned down revised plans from the City Council. In the end, the BBC instead put on a dance music event in nearby Whitley Bay.

List of people from Newcastle

Born in Newcastle


- Rudolph Abel - Soviet super-spy
- Thomas Addison - Diagnostician (Addison's Disease)
- Donna Air - Television presenter
- Mark Akenside - Poet and physician
- Paul W. S. Anderson - Film maker, producer and screenwriter
- Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - Light entertainers (Ant and Dec)
- Lord Armstrong - Engineer and industrialist
- Ove Arup - Architect and civil engineer
- Mary Astell - Writer ("The first English feminist")
- Peter Beardsley - Footballer
- Israel Brodie - Chief Rabbi of Great Britain
- Michael Bryan - Art connoisseur
- Basil Bunting - Poet
- Lee Clark - Footballer
- Lord Collingwood - Nelson's second-in-command at Trafalgar
- Jack Douglas - Comic actor (Carry On films)
- Lord Eldon - Lord Chancellor of England
- Sir Terry Farrell - Eminent architect
- William Hardcastle - Pioneer BBC radio news presenter
- Tim Healy - Actor
- Michelle Heaton - member of Liberty X
- Jack Higgins - Thriller writer
- Basil Hume - Cardinal in Roman Catholic church
- Ian La Frenais - TV scriptwriter ('Porridge', 'The Likely Lads')
- Lady Lucinda Lambton - Writer, photographer, television presenter and producer
- Hank Marvin - Guitarist, singer, and songwriter
- Jayne Middlemiss - TV personality
- George Redmayne Murray - Pathologist
- Jimmy Nail - Actor, singer, and writer
- Brian Redhead - Author, journalist and broadcaster
- Lewis Fry Richardson - Meteorologist
- Alan Shearer - Footballer
- Nancy Spain - Author, journalist and TV personality
- George Stephenson - Locomotive engineer; Father of the Railway
- Robert Stephenson - Son of George, locomotive engineer, railway and bridge builder
- Sting (Gordon Sumner) - Singer, and songwriter
- Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth - Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- Andy Taylor - Musician, Duran Duran
- Steven Taylor - Footballer
- Cheryl Tweedy - Member of pop group Girls Aloud
- 'Seaman' Tommy Watson - British featherweight champion
- Kevin Whately - Actor

Residents (past and present)


- Janet Adam Smith - Critic, anthologist, wife of Michael Roberts
- David Almond - Prize-winning author (Skellig)
- Gillian Allnutt - Poet
- Charles Avison - Composer and impresario
- William Beilby - Glass enameller
- Thomas Bewick - Engraver and ornithologist
- Tony Blair - Prime Minister
- Richard Dawes - Classical scholar
- Jonathan Edwards - Olympic champion
- Mrs Gaskell - Novelist
- Eca de Queiros - Diplomat and novelist, "the Portuguese Dickens".
- Tony Harrison - Poet
- Oliver Heaviside - Engineer, mathematician and physicist
- Arthur Henderson - Politician, founder of the modern Labour Party
- Harold Jeffreys - Geologist, mathematician and astronomer
- W. E. Johns - Adventure writer (Biggles)
- Mark Knopfler - Dire Straits guitarist
- John Knox - Scottish religious reformer
- Rosamond Lehmann - Novelist
- Jean-Paul Marat - French revolutionary
- Harriet Martineau - Writer and journalist
- Mary Midgley - Philosopher
- Sir Andrew Noble - Arms manufacturer and scientist
- Sean O'Brien - Poet, playwright and critic
- Michael Owen - Football star currently with Newcastle United
- Charles Parsons - Engineer
- John Wigham Richardson - Quaker industrialist
- Michael Roberts - Poet and critic
- William Bell Scott - Poet and Pre-raphaelite painter.
- Jon Silkin - Poet
- John Snow - Famous physician
- Cecil Philip Taylor - Playwright
- Bruce Welch - Guitarist, singer, and record producer
- John Wesley - Founder of Methodism
- Ludwig Wittgenstein - Philosopher
- Yevgeny Zamyatin - Russian novelist, (We)

Twin Cities


- Bergen – Norway
- Groningen – Netherlands
- Gelsenkirchen – Germany
- Nancy – France
- Taiyuan – China
- Atlanta – United States
- Haifa – Israel
- Newcastle – Australia, on the Hunter River and also a coal hub.
- Newcastle – South Africa

Museums & Places of Interest

In Newcastle

South Africa South Africa
- Hancock Museum (Natural History)
- Military Vehicle Museum
- Discovery Museum (Science and Local History)
- Laing Art Gallery
- Centre for Life
- Museum of Antiquities
- Seven Stories, The Centre for Children's Books (Ouseburn Valley)
- Hatton Gallery
- Newcastle Castle Keep and Blackgate
- Blackfriars, Newcastle
- Bessie Surtees House (Quayside)
- Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
- Eldon Square shopping centre

In the surrounding area


- BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead)
- The Sage Gateshead music centre
- Shipley Gallery (Gateshead)
- Segedunum Roman Fort (Wallsend)
- Arbeia Roman Fort (South Shields)
- George Stephenson Railway Museum (North Shields)
- Blue Reef Aquarium Sea Life Centre (Tynemouth)
- Bede's World (Jarrow)
- Metrocentre out of town shopping centre (Gateshead)
- South Shields Museum (South Shields)
- Beamish Open Air Museum (Stanley)
- St Mary's Lighthouse (Whitley Bay)

See also


- River Tyne, England
- University of Newcastle upon Tyne
- Newcastle Brown Ale
- Northumbria University
- Hadrians Wall
- Byker Wall award winning redevelopment east of the city.
- List of television shows set in Newcastle upon Tyne

External links


- [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk City of Newcastle upon Tyne website] (Newcastle City Council)
- [http://www.tynebridgepublishing.co.uk Tyne Bridge Publishing]
- [http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/new/newcstle.htm Tyne and Wear Metro]
- [http://www.nexus.org.uk Nexus] – Public Transport information in the Newcastle area.
- [http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?x=425000.250000078&y=563500.769886688&scale=10000 Aerial photo] of the bridges over the River Tyne at Newcastle, from Multimap
- [http://www.vrnewcastle.co.uk/ VR Newcastle] Virtual Tour of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne
- [http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/ Tyne & Wear Museums]
- [http://www.localhistories.org/newcastle.html A brief history of Newcastle upon Tyne]
- [http://www.hadrians-wall.org/template.asp?ID=551&parentID=539&refID=542&refParent=571 Hadrians Wall World Heritage Site]
- [http://www.NUFC.com Newcastle United Football Club – Unofficial]
- [http://www.icnewcastle.co.uk Newcastle News]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne BBC Tyne Website]
- [http://www.newcastle-speedway.com/ Newcastle Speedway]
- [http://www.newcastlebroughparkgreyhounds.co.uk Newcastle Greyhounds]
- [http://www.newcastle-racecourse.co.uk/ Newcastle Racecourse]
- [http://www.newcastle-falcons.co.uk/ Newcastle Falcons]
- [http://www.newcastle-eagles.com/ Newcastle Eagles]
- [http://www.newcastlevipers.com/ Newcastle Vipers]
- [http://www.geordie.org.uk/ Geordie Dialect]
- [http://www.eldon-square.co.uk Eldon Square Shopping Centre]
- [http://www.livejournal.com/~newcastle_uk Livejournal Newcastle Community]
- [http://www.100centuryfm.com/ Century Radio]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/radionewcastle BBC Radio Newcastle]
- [http://www.metroradio.co.uk Metro Radio]
- [http://www.metro-radio.com Metro Radio Community]
- [http://www.thecrackmagazine.com The Crack Magazine] Category:Cities in England Category:Coastal cities Category:Local government in Tyne and Wear Category:Ports and harbours of England Category:Metropolitan boroughs ja:ニューカッスル・アポン・タイン

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in the North East of England and consists of the estuary areas of the rivers Tyne and Wear. The county was created by the Local Government Act 1972 and borders the non-metropolitan counties of Durham and Northumberland. It is divided into the metropolitan boroughs of South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and the City of Sunderland. In 1986 the county council was abolished and most of its powers devolved to the metropolitan boroughs. The county itself has not been abolished and still exists as a legal entity and a ceremonial county.

Administration

Although the metropolitan county council was abolished in 1986, several joint bodies exist to co-ordinate services that used to be provided by it. Most notable is the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority which co-ordinates transport policy. Through its Passenger Transport Executive, now known as Nexus, it owns and operates the Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system, as well as the Shields' ferry service and the Tyne tunnel linking communities on either side of the River Tyne. Also through Nexus, the authority subsidises socially-necessary transport services (including taxis) and operates the concessionary fares scheme for the elderly and disabled. The Passenger Transport Authority is a "precepting authority", raising funds by imposing a levy on the Council Tax of the five constituent authorities of Tyne and Wear. Other joint bodies include the Tyne and Wear Museums and Archives Service and the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade. These joint bodies are administered by representatives of all 5 of the constituent councils. In addition the Northumbria Police force, which covers the whole of Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, is one of several joint forces in England spanning two or more counties. The force was created in 1974, and so is not a by-product of the abolition of the county council.

Identity

The metropolitan county crosses the traditional border between Northumberland, and County Durham: the River Tyne. Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside are north of it, and Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside are to the south of it. Some organisations do not use Tyne and Wear, instead retaining the traditional boundary between Northumberland and County Durham. This includes particularly wildlife and biological recording groups, for whom the stability of recording boundaries is important for the maintenance of long-term records (see Watsonian vice-counties). The river was also used as the border in 1883 when Parliament created the Church of England Diocese of Newcastle out of the old Diocese of Durham and remains so still. Additionally, administrative convenience, demographics and loyalty mean that many sporting organisations also use the traditional boundary; For example, the Northumberland Football Association is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, as is the minor counties Northumberland County Cricket Club and its four regular grounds. Some residents also prefer to use the traditional counties when referring to places that lie in the administrative Tyne and Wear. Others feel that the Tyne is linking factor, not a dividing line. Many inhabitants refer to themselves as Tynesiders or Geordies, regardless of which side of the river they are from. Despite a strong local rivalry, there are strong links between Newcastle and Gateshead, as well as the many bridges that link the two communities; one example being the (failed) joint bid for European Capital of Culture in 2008. In recent years, several plans have been put forth with various degrees of seriousness to unite Newcastle, Gateshead, North and South Tyneside and sometimes Sunderland as a single city, the population of which (if Sunderland were included) would rank as the second-largest in the UK. Sunderland is somewhat separated from Tyneside, with its inhabitants calling themselves Wearsiders or Mackems. Affinity for the Wearside area extends beyond Sunderland - consultative referenda among communities in East Durham have shown majorities in favour of joining Sunderland and Tyne and Wear.

Politics

The county is divided into 14 Parliamentary constituencies. As of July 2005, all of these constituencies are represented by Labour. Historically, the area has been regarded as a Labour stronghold: South Shields, for example, is the only Parliamentary constituency in the country which, since the Reform Act of 1832, has never returned a Conservative MP to the House of Commons. At the level of local government, three of the region's five unitary authorities are, as of 2005, controlled by Labour, the exceptions being Newcastle City Council and North Tyneside Council. Since an upset result in the local elections of 2004, the former has been controlled by the Liberal Democrats. No one party has overall control of North Tyneside Council: While the Conservatives hold the greatest number of seats, they lack an overall majority.

Towns and villages

For a complete list of all villages, towns and cities see the list of places in Tyne and Wear.
- Gateshead
  - Blaydon
  - Gateshead
  - Rowlands Gill
  - Ryton
  - Whickham
- Newcastle
  - Byker
  - Dudley
  - Gosforth
  - Newcastle upon Tyne
  - Throckley
  - Walker
- North Tyneside
  - Backworth
  - Cullercoats
  - Dinnington
  - Earsdon
  - Kenton
  - Killingworth
  - Longbenton
  - Monkseaton
  - North Shields
  - Shiremoor
  - Tynemouth
  - Wallsend
  - Whitley Bay
  - Wideopen
- South Tyneside
  - Boldon
  - Cleadon
  - Hebburn
  - Jarrow
  - Marsden, Tyne and Wear
  - South Shields
  - Whitburn
  - Whitburn Colliery
- Sunderland
  - Castletown
  - Hetton-le-Hole
  - Houghton-le-Spring
  - Ryhope
  - Sunderland
  - Washington

Places of interest


- Gateshead
  - Angel of the North
  - BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
  - Gateshead International Stadium
  - Gateshead Millennium Bridge
  - Gibside
  - The Sage Gateshead
- Newcastle
  - Discovery Museum (previously Museum of Science & Technology)
  - Hadrian's Wall
  - Hancock Museum
  - Jesmond Dene public park
  - St James' Park
- North Tyneside
  - Segedunum Roman Fort & Museum, Wallsend
  - St Mary's Island bird reserve
  - Tynemouth Castle
- South Tyneside
  - Arbeia Roman Fort & Museum, South Shields
  - Marsden Rocks bird reserve
  - Souter Point Lighthouse
- Sunderland
  - The Museum and Winter Gardens
  - The National Glass Centre
  - Sea to Sea Cycle Route
  - Stadium of Light
  - WWT Washington, a wildfowl and wetland reserve of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

External links


- [http://www.twpta.gov.uk/ Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority]
- [http://www.twfire.gov.uk/ Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service]
- [http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/ Tyne and Wear Museums] Category:Metropolitan counties

England

:For an explanation of often-confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). England is a nation and the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom accounting for more than 83% of the total UK population. It occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with fellow home nations Scotland, to the north, and Wales, to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the sea. England is named after the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes believed to have originated in Angeln in Northern Germany, who settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries. It has not had a distinct political identity since 1707, when Great Britain was established as a unified political entity; however, it has a legal identity separate from those of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of the entity "England and Wales;". England's largest city, London, is also the capital of the United Kingdom.

History

Main article: History of England England has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years, although the repeated Ice Ages made much of Britain uninhabitable for extended periods until as recently as 20,000 years ago. Stone Age hunter-gatherers eventually gave way to farmers and permanent settlements, with a spectacular and sophisticated megalithic civilisation arising in western England some 4,000 years ago. It was replaced around 1,500 years later by Celtic tribes migrating from Western and continental Europe, mainly from France. These tribes were known collectively as "Britons", a name bestowed by Phoenician traders — an indication of how, even at this early date, the island was part of a Europe-wide trading network. The Britons were significant players in continental politics and supported their allies in Gaul militarily during the Gallic Wars with the Roman Republic. This prompted the Romans to invade and subdue the island, first with Julius Caesar's raid in 55 BC, and then the Emperor Claudius' conquest in the following century. The whole southern part of the island — roughly corresponding to modern day England and Wales — became a prosperous part of the Roman Empire. It was finally abandoned early in the 5th century when a weakening Empire pulled back its legions to defend borders on the Continent. Unaided by the Roman army, Roman Britannia could not long resist the Germanic tribes who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, enveloping the majority of modern day England in a new culture and language and pushing Romano-British rule back into modern-day Wales and western extremities of England, notably Cornwall and Cumbria. Others emigrated across the channel to modern-day Brittany, thus giving it its name and language (Breton). But many of the Romano-British remained in and were assimilated into the newly "English" areas. The invaders fell into three main groups: the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Angles. As they became more civilised, recognisable states formed and began to merge with one another. (The most well-known state of affairs being the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy.) From time to time throughout this period, one Anglo-Saxon king, recognised as the "Bretwalda" by other rulers, had effective control of all or most of the English; so it is impossible to identify the precise moment when the Kingdom of England was unified. In some sense, real unity came as a response to the Danish Viking incursions which occupied the eastern half of "England" in the 8th century. Egbert, King of Wessex (d. 839) is often regarded as the first king of all the English, although the title "King of England" was first adopted, two generations later, by Alfred the Great (ruled 871–899). The principal legacy left behind in those territories from which the language of the Britons were displaced is that of toponyms. Many of the place-names in England and to a lesser extent Scotland are derived from celtic British names, including London, Dumbarton, York, Dorchester, Dover and Colchester. Several place-name elements are thought to be wholly or partly Brythonic in origin, particularly bre-, bal-, and -dun for hills, carr for a high rocky place, coomb for a small deep valley. Until recently it has been believed that those areas settled by the Anglo-Saxons were uninhabited at the time or the Britons had fled before them. However, genetic studies show that the British were not pushed out to the Celtic fringes – many tribes remained in what was to become England (see C. Capelli et al. A Y chromosome census of the British Isles. Current Biology 13, 979–984, (2003)). Capelli's findings strengthen the research of Steven Bassett of the University of Birmingham; his work during the 1990s suggests that much of the West Midlands was only very lightly colonised with Anglian and Saxon settlements.
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
The English are great lovers of themselves, and of everything belonging to them; they think that there are no other men than themselves, and no other world but England; and whenever they see a handsome foreigner, they say that 'he looks like an Englishman', and that 'it is a great pity that he should not be an Englishmen'.
Venetian ambassador to England
Early 16th century
Charlotte Augusta Sneyd
Italian Relations of England (p. 20)
Richard II] Richard II] In 1066, William the Conqueror and the Normans conquered the existing Kingdom of England and instituted an Anglo-Norman administration and nobility who, retaining proto-French as their language for the next three hundred years, ruled as custodians over English commoners. Although the language and racial distinctions faded rapidly during the middle ages, the class system born in the Norman/Saxon divide persisted longer — arguably with traces lasting to the modern day. While Old English continued to be spoken by common folk, Norman feudal lords significantly influenced the language with French words and customs being adopted over the succeeding centuries evolving to a Romance-Germanic hybrid of Middle English widely spoken in Chaucer's time. England came repeatedly into conflict with Wales and Scotland, at the time an independent principality and an independent kingdom respectively, as its rulers sought to expand Norman power across the entire island of Britain. The conquest of Wales was achieved in the 13th century, when it was annexed to England and gradually came to be a part of that kingdom for most legal purposes, although in the modern era it is more usually thought of as a separate nation (fielding, for example, its own athletic teams). Norman power in Scotland waxed and waned over the years, with the Scots managing to maintain a varying degree of independence despite repeated wars with the English. Although it was on the whole only a moderately successful power in military terms, England became one of the wealthiest states in medieval Europe, due chiefly to its dominance in the lucrative wool market. The failure of English territorial ambitions in continental Europe prompted the kingdom's rulers to look further afield, creating the foundations of the mercantile and colonial network that was to become the British Empire. The turmoil of the Reformation embroiled England in religious wars with Europe's Catholic powers, notably Spain, but the kingdom preserved its independence as much through luck as through the skill of charismatic rulers such as Elizabeth I. Elizabeth's successor, James I was already king of Scotland (as James VI); and this personal union of the two crowns into the crown of Great Brittaine was followed a century later by the Act of Union 1707, which formally unified England, Scotland and Wales into the Kingdom of Great Britain. This later became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801 to 1927) and then the modern state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1927 to present) For post-unification history, see history of the United Kingdom.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the United Kingdom, Government of England Since the promulgation of the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan and the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, Wales has shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity of England and Wales. The Act of Union with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain, subsuming England, Wales and Scotland into a single political entity. Scotland, along with Northern Ireland, retain separate legal systems. The duchy of Cornwall also retains some unique rights. All of Great Britain has been ruled by the government of the United Kingdom since that date, although in 1999 the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales left England as the only part of the Union with no devolved assembly or parliament. As all legislation for England is passed by Parliament at Westminster there are some complaints about the ability of non-English Members of Parliament to influence purely English affairs. This apparent anomaly has been highlighted by both English and non-English politicians, often those opposed to devolution, and has become popularly known as the West Lothian question. Administratively, England is something of an anomaly within the UK. Unlike the other three nations, it has no local parliament or government and its administrative affairs are dealt with by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament and a number of England-specific quangos, such as English Heritage. There are calls from some for a devolved English Parliament and from others for the dissolution of the UK and an independent England. The current Labour government favoured the establishment of regional administration, claiming that England was too large to be governed as a sub-state entity. A referendum on this issue in North East England on 4 November 2004 decisively rejected the proposal. Some criticised the English regional proposals for not decentralising enough, saying that they amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government. The English regions would not even have had the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament. Rather, power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals late in the process. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater regional aid to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. There has also been a campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines by groups such as Mebyon Kernow, which recently collected 50,000 signatures in support. Some eurosceptics believe that the establishment of English regions as administrative entities is designed to undermine the concept of English nationhood and more easily fit England into a European federal model. Conventionally the national capital of England is London, although technically it would be more exact to call London the capital of "England and Wales" given England's lack of a distinctive political identity separate from the Principality. Winchester served as the country's first national capital until some time in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest. The City of London became England's commercial capital, while the City of Westminster (where the Royal court was located) became the political capital. These roles have, broadly speaking, been maintained to the present day.

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of England Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These divisions had emerged from a range of units of old, pre-unification England, whether they were Kingdoms, such as Essex and Sussex; Duchies, such as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire or simply tracts of land given to some noble, as is the case with Berkshire. Until 1867, they were subdivided into smaller divisions called hundreds. These counties all still exist in, or near to, their original form as the traditional counties. In many places, however, they have been heavily modified or abolished outright as administrative counties. This came about due to a number of factors. The fact that the counties were so small meant, and still means, that there was no regional government able to coordinate an overarching plan for the area. This was especially true in the metropolitan areas surrounding the cities, as the county lines were usually drawn up before the industrial revolution and the mass urbanisation of England. The solution was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities. These were later broken up, with several other counties, into unitary authorities, unifying the county and district/borough levels of government. London is a special case, and is the one region which currently has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city. Other than Greater London, the official regions are:
- North East England
- North West England
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- East of England
- South West England
- South East England Outside London the regions have very little power and are not accountable to elected representatives; regional authority is placed in the hands of unelected assemblies. If, as now seems unlikely, regions opt to replace these bodies with elected assemblies, local government in England will remain as variable and, some might say, as confusing as ever

Geography

Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom, Geography of England Geography of England England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 38 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile) sea gap. Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use. The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in British English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. London is by far the largest English city. Manchester and Birmingham vie for second place. A number of other cities, mainly in the north of England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol and Sheffield Using the standard U.S. city limits definition of a city the top six are: Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester. Note that London is not on this list (Greater London is a region and the City of London is tiny), and that one of the two candidates for the status of England's "second city", Manchester, is down in sixth. In the UK, this method of ranking cities is generally used only by people whose own city is promoted by it. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel. The largest harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Internationally, it is the second largest harbour in the world, although this fact is disputed (See harbors for a list of other potential second largest harbours) The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 in Kent. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3153532.stm]. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is -26.1 °C (-15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Newport in Shropshire. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/england/#temperature]

Major rivers

Shropshire.]]
- Thames
- Severn
- Trent
- Humber
- Yorkshire Ouse
- Tyne
- Mersey
- Dee
- Avon Main article: Waterways in the United Kingdom

Major Conurbations

:See main article: List of towns in England The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built up areas) these would be the 15 largest conurbations. (Population figures taken from 2001 census) #Greater London (8,278,251) #West Midlands (2,284,093) #Greater Manchester (2,244,931) #Leeds/Bradford (1,499,465) #Tyneside (879,996) #Liverpool (816,216) #Nottingham (666,358) #Sheffield (640,720) #Bristol (551,066) #Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton (461,181) #Portsmouth (442,252) #Leicester (441,213) #Bournemouth/Poole (383,713) #Reading (369,804) #Teesside (365,323)

Economy

Main article: Economy of England

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of England, Population of England England is both the most populous and the most ethnically diverse nation in the United Kingdom with around 49 million inhabitants, of which roughly a tenth are from non-White ethnic groups. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, second only to the Netherlands. This population is made up of, and descended from, immigrants who have arrived over millennia. The principal waves of migration have been in c. 600 BC (Celts), the Roman period (garrison soldiers from throughout the Empire), 350–550 (Angles, Saxons, Jutes), 800–900 (Vikings, Danes), 1066 (Normans), 1650–1750 (European refugees and Huguenots), 1840–1850 (Irish), 1880–1940 (Irish, Jews), 1950— (Irish, Caribbeans, Africans, South Asians), 1985— (citizens of European Community member states especially Ireland, East Europeans, Iranians, Kurds, refugees). The general prosperity of England as the largest partner of the UK, has also made it a destination for economic migrants particularly from Ireland and Scotland. This segment of English homogeneous society continues to create a diverse and dynamic language that is widely used internationally. The other image of foreign ethnic components in England is still mostly seen as a legacy of the British Empire; especially the Commonwealth of Nations.

English identity

The simplest view is that an English person is someone who is from England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. However, inhabitants of England quite commonly refer to themselves as "British" rather than "English"; centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state (i.e. a British person, institution, custom, city, etc. is assumed English unless specified otherwise). The English frequently include their neighbours in the general term "British" while the Scots and Welsh, proud of their separate identities, tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms. Although currently a part of England, a notable percentage of those living in Cornwall feel similarly, considering themselves Cornish first. One significant exception is in Northern Ireland, where the Unionist community tend to identify very strongly as "British" (Republicans living in the province are more likely to consider themselves "Irish"), and there is not a "Northern Ireland" or "Northern Irish" identity to the same extent as there is (e.g.) a Scottish one. A person, therefore, using the term "English" to describe him or herself (regardless of personal history) may be going out of his or her way to do so; hence he or she may also be seen (rightly or wrongly, and not necessarily pejoratively) as nationalistic. While Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish patriotism are widely exhibited, specifically English patriotism has often been viewed with suspicion, and most English people feel more comfortable identifying themselves with Britain as a whole. However, this may be to avoid being seen as bullies by their neighbours. The extent to which specifically English patriotism is linked to a right-wing xenophobic agenda has also generated discomfort. The appropriation of English symbols by racist far-right organisations such as the National Front made many people uncomfortable with expressions of Englishness. In recent years, English identity has recently been a topic of debate in the national press, with many English people trying to "reclaim" the term and the flag from the far-right. See English nationalism. One notable exception to the above is in relation to sports, in particular Association football, Rugby football and to a lesser extent Cricket. Transient successes are often accompanied by a revival of the use of the "St George's Cross". While it has not yet replaced the "Union Flag" its use is on the increase. Many English people who have spent a lot of time overseas fall into the habit of referring to themselves as "English". It is the most recognisable designation by speakers of many languages, especially where their own language uses a similar word. Even in other English-speaking countries, people are often perplexed by concepts of "British" or the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". All these distinctions are only possible because there is no "English citizenship" or legal definition of Englishness. Moreover, the hazy understanding many people have of the distinction between "England" and "Britain" compounds the confusion. If in doubt, refer to an "English" person as "British": this will always be correct. It may not be as precise as "English", but it will avoid offence in the event the person is actually from a different part of Britain.

Culture

Union Flag Main article: Culture of England
- English literature
  - Sir Thomas Browne
  - Geoffrey Chaucer
  - John Milton
  - William Shakespeare
  - Jane Austen
  - Mary Shelley
  - Charles Dickens
  - Thomas Hardy
  - George Orwell
  - J. R. R. Tolkien
  - C. S. Lewis
  - Douglas Adams
- List of national parks of England and Wales
- Food and Drink
- English folklore
- English art
  - English school of painting
- Music of England

Languages

Music of England.]] As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and Frisian. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived. Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-French aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies. (Some survive to this day.) But Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, being always remarkable for its far-flung willingness to incorporate foreign-influenced words. The law does not recognise any language as being official, but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, and only Welsh is treated by law as an equal to English (and then only for organisations which do business in Wales). The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the 19th century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency by around 3,500 people. This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/cornish/strategy/english/engl01.htm a draft strategy] to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border. Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 70,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language, but does not give statistics specific to England. Like Cornish, BSL has no official status, but has been granted a degree of recognition by the government. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters. Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, including Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Chinese and Vietnamese. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in big cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances. Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany. Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are a large number of distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country.

Nomenclature

The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the 5th and 6th centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country. The majority of European languages use names akin to "England":
- "England" (Danish, German, Swedish, Norwegian)
- "Engeland" (Dutch)
- "Inglismaa" (Estonian)
- "Angleterre" (French)
- "Inghilterra" (Italian)
- "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician)
- "Anglia" (Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian)
- "Anglija" (Russian, Slovene, Lithuanian, Ukrainian)
- "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian)
- "Αγγλία" ("Anglía") (Greek)
- "Englanti" (Finnish) The Celtic names are quite different:
- "Bro-Saoz" (Breton)
- "Pow Sows" (Cornish)
- "Sasana" (Irish)
- "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic)
- "Lloegr" (Welsh) — but "Saeson" for the inhabitants.
- "Sostyn" (Manx Gaelic) Except for Lloegr, which is an ancient geographic term, these names are all derived from the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes which arrived at about the same time as the Angles. See: Wiktionary:England for a further list of non-English names for England. "England" is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the entire United Kingdom, the island of Great Britain, or the British Isles. This may offend people from other parts of the UK. Frequently the English use the less-specific "Britain" or "the UK", even when "England" is technically correct and commonly also use "England" when "Britain" would be correct. Alternative names include:
- the slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign"
- "Albion", an ancient name popularised by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy in the 1st century. Supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover, this term has also been interpreted as a relative of Alba, today the Scots Gaelic name for Scotland. Whatever its origins, "Albion" originally referred to the whole island of Great Britain and is still sometimes seen that way today — but is more often used for England.
- More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time). The inhabitants of England are the English. The slang terms sometimes used for them include "Sassenachs" (from the Scots Gaelic), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British.

Symbols and insignia

alternative words for British.]] The two traditional symbols of England are the St. George's cross (the English flag) and the Three Lions coat of arms (see above), both derived from the great Norman powers that formed the monarchy – the Cross of Aquitaine and the Lions of Anjou. The three lions were first definitely used by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late 12th century (although it is also possible that Henry I may have bestowed it on his son Henry before then). Historian Simon Schama has argued that the Three Lions are the true symbol of England because the English throne descended down the Angevin line. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606) was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events. (Paradoxically, the latter is a fairly recent development; until the late 20th century, it was commonplace for fans of English teams to wave the Union Flag, rather than the St George's Cross). The rose is widely recognised as the national flower of England and is used in a variety of contexts. Predominantly, this is a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the English Rugby Union team. However, a white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) or a "tudor rose" (symbolising the end of the War of the Roses) may also be used on different occasions. The Three Lions badge performs a similar role for the English national football team and English national cricket team.

National anthems

Although England does not have an official anthem of its own, the following are widely regarded as English national hymns:
- "Jerusalem:" Words by William Blake, Music by Hubert Parry
- "I Vow to Thee, My Country": Words by Cecil Spring-Rice, Music by Gustav Holst
- "Land of Hope and Glory": Words by A C Benson, Music by Edward Elgar (although this refers to all of Great Britain, not only England)
- "Nimrod": Music by Edward Elgar "God Save The Queen" (the national anthem for the UK as a whole) is usually played for English sporting events (e.g. football matches), although "Land of Hope and Glory" has also been used as the English anthem for the Commonwealth Games. "Rule Britannia" despite being a song about Britain as a whole was often used for the English national football team when they play against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save The Queen" has been used by both the rugby and football teams. Many believe that English teams should use their own anthems, most popular of which is the use of "Jerusalem".

References


- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk Office of National Statistics]

See also


-
- English language
- English law
- English (people)
- List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree
- List of English people
- Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named)
- UK topics
- List of not fully sovereign nations
- Education in England

References

External links


- [http://www.enjoyengland.com/ The official website of the English Tourist Board — Enjoy England]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations]: articles on England and her neighbours Category:Monarchies Category:European countries als:England