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Welcome to the Historic County of Yorkshire

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Once England's largest county, Yorkshire was chopped up and divided into several administrative geographical entities (e.g. North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Humberside etc) in the political reorganisation of local government of the 1970s. Nevertheless, the region of the North of England which comprises the old areas of the former North, West and East Ridings will always be known to its loyal residents as "Yorkshire" - whatever new boundaries are imposed by the powers-that-be.

Being so large, there is naturally a wide variety of landscapes and populations within Yorkshire. While the southern part of the old county is mainly industrial, the northern part is still largely unspoiled countryside and farming land, with two large areas being designated as national parks - The Yorkshire Dales and The North York Moors (both of which attract tourists from all over the world).

Major cities include Bradford, Leeds, the ancient walled City of York (capital of both Roman and Viking Britain) in the Vale of York, Sheffield in South Yorkshire, and the port of Hull (on the Humber Estuary of the Yorkshire Coast).

Yorkshire is famous for many things, including Yorkshire Pudding, cricket, real ale, sheep farming, wool, and of course the hills and valleys of the Yorkshire Dales and Bronte Country in the west, and the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds as well as the frequently spectacular coastline of the Yorkshire Coast to the east.

At an international level the region is perhaps most famous for the writing of the Bronte Sisters, who were born at The Bronte Birthplace in Thornton (now part of the City of Bradford) before moving to the Haworth Parsonage in the village of Haworth near Bradford (in the heart of what is now known as West Yorkshire's Bronte Country). The Bronte Sisters (Emily, Anne and Charlotte) lived there for most of their short lives, where (inspired by the wild Bronte Country moors around Haworth) they wrote their classic novels - including "Wuthering Heights", "Jane Eyre", and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall", etc.

Artefacts related to the Brontes can be viewed at the famous Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, while other important museums in the region include the National Media Museum in Bradford, the National Railway Museum in York, the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle (Teesdale) and the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield.

The people of Yorkshire are understandably quite proud of their heritage, and each year the 1st August is celebrated as "Yorkshire Day".

Please click here for maps of the Yorkshire region.

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