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Northumberland is a County in the North East of England . The Non-metropolitan County of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne And Wear to the south east, as well as having a border with the Scottish Borders Council Area to the north, and nearly eighty Mile s of North Sea Coast line. Since 1974 the county council has been located in Morpeth , situated in the east of the county at ; however, both Morpeth and Alnwick claim the title County Town . As the kingdom of Northumbria under King Edwin , the region's historical boundaries stretched from the Humber in the south to the Forth in the north. The historic boundaries of the county cover a different area, including Newcastle-upon-Tyne , the traditional County Town , as well as Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside , areas administered by Tyne And Wear since 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . The historic boundaries of the county are sometimes taken to exclude Islandshire , Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire (collectively North Durham), exclaves of County Durham which were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844. Being on The Border of Scotland and England , Northumberland has been the site of many battles. The county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, a favourite with landscape painters, and now largely protected as a National Park . Northumberland's County Flower is the Bloody Cranesbill (''Geranium sanguineum'') and her affiliated Royal Navy ship is her namesake, HMS ''Northumberland'' . HISTORY See Also: History of Northumberland Once part of the Roman Empire and the scene of many wars between England and Scotland , Northumberland has a long and complicated history. Hence there are many castles in Northumberland, including among the better-known those at Bamburgh , Dunstanburgh , Warkworth and Alnwick . The region of present-day Northumberland once formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria . Northumberland is called the "cradle of Christianity" in England , because it was on Lindisfarne , a tidal island north of Bamburgh , also called ''Holy Island'', that Christianity flourished when monks from Iona were sent to convert the English . Lindisfarne was the home of the Lindisfarne Gospels and Saint Cuthbert , who is buried at Durham Cathedral. Bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the "royal" castle from before the unification of England under one monarch. The capital of Northumberland now, however, may be thought to be Morpeth , since Northumberland County Council's offices are in that town or may be thought of as the market town of Alnwick , mainly because the Duke Of Northumberland has his home there. The lords of Northumberland once wielded inordinate power in English affairs because, as the Lords of the Marches, they were entrusted with protecting England from Scottish invasion. Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising Of The North in Tudor times. These revolts were usually led by the then Dukes Of Northumberland , the Percy family. Shakespeare mentions one of the Percys, Harry Hotspur . The county was also a centre for Catholicism in England , as well as of Jacobite feelings after the Restoration. Northumberland became a sort of wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, for it was largely rural and unpopulated. However, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the union of the crowns of Scotland and England under King James VI And I . Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution . Coal-mines were once widespread in Northumberland, with collieries at Ashington , Ellington and Pegswood The region's Coal fields fuelled industrial expansion in other areas of the country, and the need to transport the coal from the collieries to the Tyne led to the development of the first railways. Ship -building and Armaments manufacture were other important industries. Today, Northumberland is still largely rural. As the least populated county in England , it commands much less power in British affairs than in times past. In recent years the county has had considerable growth in tourism due to its scenic beauty and the abundant evidence of its historical significance. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY The physical geography of Northumberland is diverse. It is low and flat near the , another Dolerite outcrop, famous for their Bird life. There are coal fields in the southeast corner of the county, extending along the coastal region north of the river Tyne. The term ''sea coal'' likely originated from chunks of coal, found washed up on beaches, that wave action had broken from coastal outcroppings. Being in the far north of England, above 55° annually, mostly falling in the west on the high land.Met Office, 2000. " Annual average rainfall for the United Kingdom ." Between 1971 and 2000 the county averaged 1321 to 1390 hours of sunshine per year.Met Office, 2000. " Annual average sunshine for the United Kingdom ." Approximately a quarter of the county is protected as the Northumberland National Park , an area of outstanding landscape that has largely been protected from development and Agriculture . The park stretches south from the Scottish border and includes Hadrian's Wall . Most of the park is over 800 Feet (240 Metres ) above sea level. The Northumberland Coast is also a designated Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty . ECOLOGY There are a variety of notable habitats and species in Northumberland including: Chillingham Cattle herd; Holy Island ; Farne Islands ; and Staple Island . ECONOMY AND INDUSTRY This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Northumberland at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Northumberland has a relatively weak economy amongst the counties and other local government areas of the ) A major source of employment and income in the county is Tourism . The county annually receives 1.1 million UK visitors and 50,000 foreign tourists who spend a total of £ 162million in the county.Northumberland InfoNet, 2004 " Key Statistics: Tourism ." (PDF). DEMOGRAPHICS At the , 0.8% as another religion, and 12% as having no religion.Office for National Statistics, 2001. " KS07 Religion: Census 2001, Key Statistics for local Authorities .". POLITICS See Also: List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northumberland Like most English Shire Counties Northumberland has a Two-tier System of Local Government . It has a County Council based in Morpeth and also has six districts, each with their own district council. These districts are, Blyth Valley , Wansbeck , Castle Morpeth , Tynedale , Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed . The county and district councils are responsible for different aspects of local government. The Department For Communities And Local Government have passed plans to reorganise Northumberland's administrative structure. Two proposals are being looked at - one to abolish all of the districts to create a Northumberland Unitary Authority ; and one to create two separate unitary authorities, South East Northumberland (the area now covered by Blyth Valley and Wansbeck), and Rural Northumberland (the area now covered by the other four districts). The changes are planned to be implemented no later than 1 April 2009 . One Future, One Council - proposal from Northumberland County Council One Northumberland Two Councils - proposal from the six district councils Communities and Local Government - Proposals for future unitary structures: Stakeholder consultation Northumberland is represented in the House Of Commons by four Members Of Parliament , of whom one is a Conservative , one is a Liberal Democrat and two are Labour . CULTURE Northumberland has traditions not found elsewhere in England , reflecting a mix of indigenous, Anglian , Celt ic and Norse influences. These include the Rapper Sword dance, the Clog Dance and the Northumbrian Smallpipe . Northumberland also has its own Kilt and Tartan , sometimes referred to in Scotland as the Shepherd’s Tartan. Traditional Northumberland Music sounds similar to Scottish music, reflecting the strong historical links between Northumbria and Scotland . In general, the culture of Northumberland, as with the north east of England, has much more it would seem in common with Scottish Lowland culture than with the rest of England, the two perhaps having more in common with each other in some respects, than with other parts of their respective countries. The links between Northumberland and Scotland are audible in the Dialect s of both, which include many Old English words, such as ''bairn'' for child. For further information, see Scots Language and Geordie . Attempts to raise the level of awareness of Northumberland culture have also started, with the formation of a Northumbrian Language Society to preserve the unique dialects ( Pitmatic and Northumbrian ) of this region, as well as to promote home-grown talent. Northumberland has its own flag, based on the design first used on the tomb of St Oswald in the 7th century. The current version was granted to the county council in 1951, and adopted as the flag of Northumberland county in 1995. {Link without Title} MEDIA Having no large population centres, the county's mainstream media outlets are served from nearby Tyne And Wear , including Radio Station s and Television Channel s (such as BBC Look North , BBC Radio Newcastle , Tyne Tees Television and Metro Radio ), along with the majority of daily newspapers covering the area ( The Journal , Evening Chronicle ). Newspapers focusing exclusively on Northumberland or its districts include the '' Northumberland Gazette '', '' Morpeth Herald '', '' Berwick Advertiser '', '' Hexham Courant '' and the '' News Post Leader ''. Lionheart FM , a Community Radio station based in Alnwick , has recently been awarded a five-year community broadcasting license by OFCOM . Radio Borders covers Berwick and the rural north of the county. PEOPLE was born in Northumbria]] Famous people born in Northumbria Ashington was the birth place of the three famous footballers Bobby and Jack Charlton in 1937 and 1935 respectively; and Jackie Milburn previously in 1924. The basketballer Alan Hoyle was born here in 1983 whilst in 1978 Steve Harmison , an international Cricket er was born here. Mickley was the birth place of Thomas Bewick , an artist, wood engraver and naturalist in 1753 and Bob Stokoe , a footballer, F.A. Cup winning manager in 1930 Other notable births include:
Famous people linked with Northumbria , the poet was raised in Northumberland]]
SETTLEMENTS See Also: List of places in Northumberland SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
NOTES AND REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY Tomlinson, W. W. (1888). ''Comprehensive guide to the county of Northumberland'' (reprinted 1968). Trowbridge, UK: Redwood. |
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