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West Riding of Yorkshire

Coordinates:53°52′N1°09′W/ 53.86°N 1.15°W/53.86; -1.15
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the historic riding and former county subdivision. For the modern county, seeWest Yorkshire.
"West Riding" redirects here. For other uses, seeWest Riding (disambiguation).
For the former parliamentary constituency, seeWest Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency).

County of York, West Riding
Official flag of the West Riding of Yorkshire
Flag of West Riding (2013)

1888–1974: County of York in England: West Riding (red), North Riding (light green), and East Riding (very pale green)
Area
• 19111,685,409 acres (6,820.61 km2)
• 19611,621,068 acres (6,560.23 km2)
Population
• 19011,538,572
History
• Created
  • Historic riding: AD 889
  • Administrative county: 1889
• Abolished
  • Historic riding: not abolished
  • Administrative county: 1974
• Succeeded by
StatusAncient riding,
thenadministrative county
Chapman codeWRY
Government
•HQWakefield
•MottoAudi consilium (Heed counsel)[1]
Arms of the County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire
Coat of arms of West Riding County Council

TheWest Riding of Yorkshirewas one of three historic subdivisions ofYorkshire,England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was anadministrative countynamedCounty of York, West Riding.Thelieutenancyat that time included the city ofYorkand as such was named "West Riding of the County of York and the County of the City of York".[2]The riding ceased to be used for administrative purposes in 1974, when England's local government was reformed.

Contemporary local government boundaries in Yorkshire largely do not follow those of the riding. All ofSouth Yorkshire(exceptFinningley) andWest Yorkshirewere historically within its boundaries, as were the south-western areas ofNorth Yorkshire(includingRipon), theSedbergharea ofCumbria,theBarnoldswickandSlaidburnareas ofLancashire,theSaddlewortharea ofGreater Manchesterand the part of theEast Riding of YorkshirearoundGoole.

Geography[edit]

The West Riding encompassed 1,771,562 acres (7,169 km2) fromSheffieldin the south toSedberghin the north and fromDunsop Bridgein the west toAdlingfleetin the east.

The southern industrial district, considered in the broadest application of the term, extended northward from Sheffield toSkiptonand eastward from Sheffield toDoncaster,covering less than one-half of the riding. Within this district wereBarnsley,Batley,Bradford,Brighouse,Dewsbury,Doncaster,Halifax,Huddersfield,Keighley,Leeds,Morley,Ossett,Pontefract,Pudsey,Rotherham,Sheffield,Todmorden(partly in Lancashire until 1888, when fully incorporated into Yorkshire) andWakefield.Major centres elsewhere in the riding includedHarrogateandRipon.

Within the industrial region, other urban districts includedBingley,Bolton on Dearne,Castleford,Cleckheaton,Elland,Featherstone,Handsworth,Hoyland Nether,Liversedge,Mexborough,Mirfield,Normanton,Rawmarsh,Rothwell,Saddleworth,Shipley,Skipton,Sowerby Bridge,Stanley,Swinton,Thornhill,Wath-upon-Dearne,WombwellandWorsborough.Outside the industrial region wereGoole,Ilkley,Knaresborough,OtleyandSelby.The West Riding also contained a large rural area to the north including part of theYorkshire Dales National Park(the remainder of the park being in the North Riding).

History[edit]

The subdivision of Yorkshire into threeridingsor "thirds" (Old Norse:Þriðungr) is of Scandinavian origin. The West Riding was first recorded (in the formWest Treding) in theDomesday Bookof 1086.[3]

Unlike most English counties, Yorkshire, being so large, was divided first into the three ridings (East,Northand West) and, later, the city ofYork(which lay within thecity wallsand was not part of any riding). Each riding was then divided intowapentakes,a division comparable to thehundredsofsouthern and western Englandand thewardsof England's four northernmost historic counties.

Administrative county[edit]

A variation of the West Riding's coat of arms seen inWetherby,now in West Yorkshire.

The administrative county was formed in 1889 by theLocal Government Act 1888,and covered the historic West Riding except for the larger urban areas, which werecounty boroughswith the powers of both amunicipal boroughand acounty council.Initially there were five in number: Bradford, Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, and Sheffield. The City of York (also a county borough) was included in the county for census and lieutenancy purposes. The number of county boroughs increased over the years; Rotherham gained this status in 1902, Barnsley and Dewsbury in 1913, Wakefield in 1915 and Doncaster in 1927. The boundaries of existing county boroughs were also widened.

Beginning in 1898, the West Riding County Council was based at theCounty Hallin Wakefield, which was inherited by theWest Yorkshire Metropolitan County Councilin 1974.[4]

The Local Government Act 1888 included the entirety of Todmorden with the West Riding administrative county, and also in its lieutenancy area ( "county" ), though the postal address for Todmorden was Lancashire. Other boundary changes in the county included the expansion of the county borough of Sheffield southward in areas historically inDerbyshiresuch asDore.

Fingerpostserected in the West Riding until the mid-1960s had a distinctive style. At the top of the post was aroundelin the form of a hollow circle with a horizontal line across the middle, displaying "Yorks W.R.", the name of the fingerpost's location, and a grid reference. Other counties, apart fromDorset,[5]did not display a grid reference and did not have a horizontal bar through the roundel. From 1964, many fingerposts were replaced by ones in the modern style, but some of the old style still survive within the West Riding boundaries.

By 1971 1,924,853 people (or 50.85% of the West Riding's population) lived in the administrative county, against 1,860,435 (or 49.15%) in the ten county boroughs.

Divisions[edit]

Ancient riding[edit]

Earlier[edit]

In theDomesday Bookof 1086 they were eleven wapentakes, these were as follows:[6]

Domesday name Later name Also known as/ division names Other status post-Domesday
Agbrigg Agbrigg and Morley(temporarily)
Morley Blackston Edge, Bradfordale or Sowerbyshire
Ainsty Ainsty of York Joined the City of York outside the Riding system in the 15th century
Barkston Barkston Ash Jointly known asElmet
Skyrack Skyrack Upper Airedale
Skyrack Lower
Burghshire (of Aldborough) ClaroUpper Wharfedale,Nidderdale,of Knaresborough, Riponshire or Kirbyshire Libertyand Honour
Claro Lower
Strafforth Strafforth and TickhillUpper of Mexborough, of Tickhill, Hallam orHallamshire Liberty or Honour
Strafforth or Tickhill Lower
Craven/ Cravenshire Staincliffe West RibblesdaleorBowland Temporarily merged intoStaincliffe and Ewecross Honour
Staincliffe East Staincliffe, of Skipton or Craven
Ewecross
Osgoldcross Marshland Liberty
Staincross

Later[edit]

See also:List of wapentakes in Yorkshire
Wapentakes
Wapentakes

In the end of regular use, the wapentakes were:

  1. Ewcross
  2. Staincliffe West
  3. Staincliffe East
  4. Claro Lower
  5. Strafforth and Tickhill Lower
  6. Morley
  7. Skyrack Upper
  8. Claro Upper
  9. Skyrack Lower
  10. Barkston Ash
  11. Agbrigg
  12. Staincross
  13. Osgoldcross
  14. Strafforth and Tickhill Upper

Riding as a county[edit]

The system of districts and boroughs of the West Riding which formed West Yorkshire
The system of districts and boroughs of the West Riding which formed South Yorkshire

During the West Riding's time as a county;rural districts,Urban districtsandmunicipal boroughswere under the administrative county whilecounty boroughswere in the wider geographic county.

Current usage[edit]

Official flag of the West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding flag registered with the Flag Institute

The term "West Riding" continues to be used by organisations based in the historic area of the riding, such as the West Riding Sailing Club,[7]the Ramblers,[8]theWest Riding County Football Association,and theFreemasons.[9]It is also retained in the name of someBritish Armysquadrons, such as the 106 (West Riding) Field Squadron,[10]and some historical re-enactment groups.[11][12] A flag designed to represent the West Riding was registered with theFlag Institutecharity in 2013.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Civic Heraldry of England and Wales - Yorkshire, West Riding (Obsolete)".Civicheraldry.co.uk.
  2. ^Lewis, SamuelA topographical dictionary of England(Vol. IV, p. 618) S. Lewis & Co., London: 1831.
  3. ^Smith, A. H.(1962).The Place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire.Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. pp. 117–118.
  4. ^New Municipal Buildings at Wakefield,The Times,23 February 1898.
  5. ^Viner, D. 2007Discover Dorset: Roads, Tracks and TurnpikesWimborne: The Dovecote Press, p.68
  6. ^"West Riding of Yorkshire".Retrieved1 February2024.
  7. ^"West Riding Sailing Club | Yorkshire | England".Wrsc.org.uk.
  8. ^"Home".Ramblersyorkshire.org.
  9. ^"Masonic Province of Yorkshire, West Riding".Archived fromthe originalon 11 February 2010.Retrieved11 February2013.
  10. ^"Army Reserve Units | Sheffield Greenhill".Army.Retrieved27 December2023.
  11. ^"His Majesty's 33rd Regiment of Foot".33rdfoot.co.uk.
  12. ^"51stlight.co.uk".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved11 February2013.
  13. ^"Yorkshire – West Riding".Flag Institute.Retrieved13 March2015.

External links[edit]

53°52′N1°09′W/ 53.86°N 1.15°W/53.86; -1.15

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