The Yorkshire Ridings Society

Our New Year’s resolution January 2012

Update the Website regularly.

We’ll do our best!

Although we didn’t post much on the site last year, the society certainly didn’t take the year off. Here’s a sample of some of the things we did in 2011.

Yorkshire’s Extreme Points

Adventurer Andy Strangeway approached YRS about the county’s extreme points. Andy ‘collects’ extreme points by spending a night at them. 

We identified the most northerly, most southerly , most westerly and most easterly points of the county as well as the highest point in each Riding. Andy then visited and spent a night at each of the points….in the Winter! He then joined YRS.

The farmer whose farm includes the Southern Point, suggested it would be a good idea to mark it and a project was started  to mark the extreme points.

 

A short ceremony attended by Andy, his wife Ruth and three other YRS members erected a post bearing ‘Yorkshire’, ’ West Riding’ and  ‘Yorkshire’s Most Southerly Point. Plaques’ on the bank of a small stream, ‘Holt’s Syke’, which marks the boundary. 

 

 

Andy was also present at the Spurn Point ceremony, at which his wife, Ruth, sang ‘An Anthem for Yorkshire’, as she had at the Southern ceremony. This time though, she sang it on television as BBC TV's ‘Look North’ produced a programme about Spurn and the ceremony. The plaques were unveiled by the president of YRS, Mrs Judith Preston Anderson. 

These two sites are easily accessible.

 

The plaques are a reminder of the importance of county boundaries and that changes to Local Government Boundaries from 1974 onwards were never meant to affect County Boundaries or the allegiance of the people to their counties.

Click the diagram for a closer look

One of the tasks of the YRS is to make sure people understand this and the marking of points on the boundary will support the task. We hope to mark the other extreme points in the near future.

Click the diagram for a closer look

Andy's account of his nights spent at the most Northerly, Southerly, Easterly and Westerly points of the Ridings can be seen on his website, Island Man

 

Framed certificates were presented to The Crown and Anchor and The Blue Bell Cafe, both at the inland end of the spit, certifying them as the Most Easterly Pub and the Most Easterly Cafe in the County.

 

A ‘Real’ Map of Yorkshire. What should it show?

Counties have not been marked on maps since the 1970’s, when changes to local government took place. Where a county and local government boundary coincided, these were marked as administrative boundaries. YRS has been exploring ways of having a map produced which will clearly show the relationship between administrative areas and the Yorkshire boundary. 

Several options are being considered but we are interested in finding out what you would like to see included on such a map: towns, major roads, places of interest? Please let us know what you think, via our email address, admin@yorkshireridings.org or by clicking on the Comments link below.

 

 

Yorkshire Day 2011

There seemed to be more events than ever celebrating Yorkshire Day in 2011 and thank you to those who let us know how they were celebrating.

The York celebration went ahead as usual and was well attended. Ruth Strangeway silenced  the city centre when she sang ‘An Anthem for Yorkshire’, to finish our celebration in Parliament Square. 

We're already looking forward to Summer, and feel sure that Yorkshire Day 2012 will see celebrations of Olympic proportions!

 

Where will you be on Yorkshire Day in 2011...

...and how will you be celebrating?

Yes, 1st August is fast approaching, the day when all things Yorkshire are proudly celebrated by folk from far and wide, and especially those from within the historic boundaries of the Three Ridings.

Are you planning a whole Yorkshire Weekend leading up to Yorkshire Day on Monday 1st? Or will you just be packing some wholesome Yorkshire fare for your lunch at work? Let us know your plans by leaving a comment below. 

So, have you visited the South Riding of Yorkshire?

Cast of BBC's South Riding.

Yes, we know it's a work of fiction, but fans of the BBC series (showing in May on Masterpiece Classics on PBS in the USA) could be forgiven for feeling there actually was a South Riding in the 1930's. Ridings, however, only come in threes, as the name comes from the Danish word 'thridding' meaning a third, a legacy of Yorkshire's rich and ancient history. 

The series, based on Winifred Holtby's novel, used many locations in the East Riding where her book is recognisably based, showcasing some of Yorkshire's beautiful coastline and countryside, and evoking a strong sense of the period in which it was set.

More background on the book and the series can be found here:

Winifred Holtby's South Riding   Guardian   Feb 18 2011

The tragic story of 'South Riding'   Independent  Feb 18 2011

Why South Riding feels like a 21st century drama  Sunday Mercury  Feb 20 2011

 

Minden Rose to be marked by plaque.

A plaque is to be placed next to the the white rose tree, which was carried to Minden, Germany by YRS members Chris and Roger Sewell. The walkers will attend a ceremony, organised by the Royal British Legion, Minden Branch and attended by the Bugermeister of Minden, at the Battle of Minden Memorial, on Monday 18th April, at which the plaque will be unveiled.

Yorkshire flag to fly in London. Update.

The flying of county flags continues outside the Department of Communities and Local Government. However, the Department is unable to confirm when the Yorkshire flag will be flown.

The date originally given was mid June. Now, it seems the flag will not be flown until mid July. Perhaps someone has discovered four extra counties which we didn't know about!

Second World Championship for Hannah from Halifax.

Congratulations to Hannah Cockcroft who became a double world champion today by taking the Gold Medal in the 100m wheelchair sprint (T34 class) to add to the 200m medal she had won earlier in the Paralympic World Championships. Hannah set a new championship record of 18.98 seconds to win her second gold. The championships are taking place in Christchurch, New Zealand.                   

Yorkshire Ridings Society in the Daily Mail today

A reader sent an enquiry to the Daily Mail regarding County Days, and a response, submitted by Keith Adlington, of Bolton, Lancashire, appeared in today's issue of the paper.

                                                                                                                The article credits Yorkshire Ridings Society with having introduced Yorkshire Day as the first County Day in the country, in 1975, and gives some reasons for the introduction of the day and the choice of date. It then goes on to give details of other county days.

 All, of course, following on from the increasingly popular Yorkshire Day. 

 How will you be celebrating this year? It's never too soon to start planning. 

Happy New Year Yorkshire.

Moving into a new year, it's a good time to remind ourselves that Yorkshire is still the county it has been for over 1100 years. It has never been abolished.

New administrative areas were created and came into effect in 1974 but they were never meant to replace counties. The Ridings also still exist, though they lost their County Council status.

All our counties have a special place in the history and traditions of our country. Yorkshire Ridings Society, and similar organisations in other counties, will continue to work for the continued recognition of our counties.

We hope you have a happy and successful year in our wonderful county.

County Flags Are Flying In London.

County flags are being flown, for a week each, outside the offices of The Department for Communities and Local Government.

This week it is the turn of the Lancashire flag, in honour of their County Day, 27th November. 

 

 On raising the first county flag, Secretary Of State,Eric Pickles said:

'The Union Flag rightly has pride of place outside the Department but I'm delighted it will now be flown alongside our traditional and ceremonial county flags.

English counties continue to form an important part of our cultural and local identity in this country and many people remain deeply attached to their home county.' 

He continued, 'This sense of pride and shared identity is one of the things that binds communities together and it's right that the Government department responsible for communities and local government should be actively recognising the important role they play'

The Yorkshire flag will be flown in June 2011. This may be because it is the last county, in alphabetical order. Or maybe they are just saving the best until last!