North Riding of Yorkshire

Flag of the North Riding of Yorkshire

History of North Riding of Yorkshire:

The ancient riding of North Yorkshire, devised by the Vikings, was a lot smaller than it is today. It first started on the north bank of the River Derwent, a boundary shared with the East Riding, and stretched up to the River Tees. This included places such as Middlesbrough, Barnard Castle and Romaldskirk. Its boundary connected to the old West Riding met at the banks of the River Ouse at York and Ripon. This boundary cuts across the hills and valleys of the Yorkshire Dales which is East of Sedbergh.

An act created in 1889 saw Northallerton become its own administrative centre and renamed the County of York and North Riding. Along with the others, this followed the ancient boundaries set out by the Vikings.

In 1968, they created the urban areas of Teesside. This included Middlesbrough, Stockton and surrounding areas North of the river. The process of the area’s detachment with Yorkshire began. This meant Cleveland, invented in 1974, increased.

Similar to the Humberside, Cleveland was no longer considered a part of Yorkshire. On the same day in 1996, Cleveland ceased to exist and parts of the county joined County Durham. Others, such as Guisborough, re-joined the North Riding of Yorkshire. This was all for ceremonial purposes. At the same time this happened, Eastern counterparts celebrated the Humberside abolition.

The 1974 changes made North Yorkshire expand, more so in the North West. Dales fringe towns of Skipton, Settle and Harrogate joined the county from the reduced West Riding. North Riding also took over the ancient independent area of “Ainsty. This included York, Selby, in the West Riding, and lands surrounding the Rover Ouse’s flow from York to the Humber Estuary.

The Current North Riding of Yorkshire:

North Yorkshire is famous for being the most picturesque part of the county. It contains two national parks, the Dales to the West, and the Yorkshire Moors to the East. The area is very popular with tourists and the economy lends itself to this industry, along with agriculture.

Also, there are many medieval priories established by the monks. These were all destroyed by King Henry VIII’s forced during his “Dissolution of the monasteries” policy of 1539. It left the impressive structures as ruins.
Many of these monasteries, such as Bolton Priory, Rievaulx Abbey and Fountains Abbey, are now popular tourist destinations. The coastal towns of both Scarborough and Whitby offer spectacular scenery. This includes all of the trappings of modern seaside resorts.

North Yorkshire is the largest and arguably the most famous Riding with its scenery, farms, dry stone walls and friendly folk, which help to make the county great.