Culture of Yorkshire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The culture of Yorkshire has evolved over the county's long history, taking influences from various sets of cultures who have controlled the land throughout its history including the Celts (Brigantes and Parisii), Romans, Angles, Vikings, Normans and much more. Yorkshire people have a strong sense of regional identity and are sometimes viewed to identify more strongly with their county than they do with their country.^[1] The Yorkshire people have their own distinctive dialect, which some have argued is a fully fledged language in its own right.^[2]

Contents 1 Traditions and stereotypes 2 Cuisine 2.1 Industry 3 Sport 3.1 Cricket 3.2 Football 3.3 Rugby 3.4 Others 4 Popular culture 4.1 Literature 4.2 Music 4.3 Film and television 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Traditions and stereotypes

The people of Yorkshire are immensely proud of both their county and their identity, embracing the popular nickname of God's Own County given to Yorkshire.^[3][4] It is sometimes suggested that Yorkshiremen identify more strongly with their county than they do with their country.^[1]

Yorkshire people are often stereotyped as being warm and friendly but "bloody minded", stubborn (also known as "Yorkshire-stubborn") and argumentative.^[5][6][7] Indeed throughout the history of the area, going back to the time of the tribal Brigantes, through the Norman period and Wars of the Roses, the region has seen a number of rebellions, commonly not embracing non-Yorkshire or non-Northern associated rulers over them.^[8][9]

One social stereotype of a Yorkshireman had a tendency to include such accessories as a flat cap and a whippet, this alludes to rural life.^[10] While the stereotype might not always ring true, the county certainly has an illustrious rural history, many of the now prominent West Yorkshire cities grew thanks in part to the wool industry. Another stereotype often heard in connection with Yorkshire workers is the proverb "where there’s muck, there’s brass"; this refers to the widely held view that where one is willing to do unpalatable work, there is plenty of money to be made.^[11]

Tyke is now a colloquialism used to identify the Yorkshire dialect, as well as the term some Yorkshiremen affectionately use to describe themselves, especially in the West Riding. Originally "tyke" was used as a highly derogatory adjective, meaning "a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement"; Londoners used the term against Yorkshiremen,^[12] despite the negative connotations it was adopted taking on new meanings.^[13]

Among Yorkshire's unique traditions is the Long Sword dance, a traditional dance not found elsewhere in England. The most famous traditional song of Yorkshire is On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at ("On Ilkley Moor without a hat"), it is considered the unofficial anthem of the county.^[14] In celebration of its culture Yorkshire Day is celebrated annually on 1 August since 1975. Amongst the celebrations there is a Civic gathering of Lord Mayors, Mayors and other Civic Heads from across the county and convened by the Yorkshire Society.^[5]

[edit] Cuisine

The cuisine of Yorkshire and that of North England in general is known for using rich tasting ingredients, especially in regard to sweet dishes, which are widely affordable for the majority of people who live there. Below is a list of foods which either originated from Yorkshire or are heavily associated with it.

• Yorkshire pudding - far and away the most well known element of Yorkshire food, it is commonly served with roast beef and vegetables to form part of the standard Sunday roast, which itself grew from the county. It is created from batter and in most cases that it is eaten, the dish includes gravy.
• Yorkshire curd tart - a curd tart recipe which has been around since at least the 1750s, unique because of its use of rosewater.^[15][16]
• Parkin - a sweet ginger cake which is different from standard ginger cakes in that it includes oatmeal and treacle as part of the traditional recipe.^[17]
• Liquorice sweet - the plant was thought to have been brought over to Yorkshire by returning Crusaders or Dominican monks in the 14th century. It became synonymous with Pontefract in Yorkshire as local man, George Dunhill, in the 1760s thought to mix it with sugar, creating what was known locally as Pomfret Cakes, but is now well known as just liquorice. As liquorice requires deep soil to grow Pontefract was largely unique in growing it in the area, although no longer grown in the area Pontefract has two large confectionary factories as a legacy.^[18]
• Wensleydale cheese - a cheese associated with Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, the local pastures give the cheese the unique flavour for which it is renowned
• Ginger beer - a beverage flavoured with ginger, it has existed since the mid 1700s.^[19]

[edit] Industry

From the 1700s onwards, Yorkshire and in particular the city of York grew up many chocolate factories or companies, forming a highly important part of the confectionery industry with now globally known products.^[20][21]

• Rowntree's (York) - invented Kit Kat, Smarties, Aero, Fruit Pastilles, Black Magic and Polo.
• Terry's (York) - invented Terry's Chocolate Orange, York Fruits, Neapolitans and Terry's All Gold.
• Thorntons (Sheffield) - involved in the field of luxury chocolate such as elaborate truffles.

Yorkshire is also a powerhouse in the British ale industry, producing many breweries such as Tetley's, John Smith's, Black Sheep, Theakston, Timothy Taylor (Landlord), York Brewery, Copper Dragon, Leeds Brewery, Rooster's, Hambleton Ales and many more.^[22]

[edit] Sport

Yorkshire has played a highly important role in the development of sports, some forms of which have gone on to have world wide notoriety. Sport holds a significant role in the overall modern day culture of the county, the main sports are football, cricket and rugby league.

[edit] Cricket

Yorkshire County Cricket Club represent the historic county in first-class cricket, they compete in the County Championship against 17 others, playing at their home ground of Headingley, Leeds.^[23] Yorkshire are by far the most successful in the history of the championship, they have won the title on 30 separate occasions; their nearest competitor in terms of titles achieved is Surrey who have only won it 18 times in comparison.^[23] They participate in a derby with Lancashire County Cricket Club known as the Roses Match, named after the Wars of the Roses.^[24]

The first cricket club from Yorkshire is thought to have been Sheffield Cricket Club, who founded in 1751. Some of the players from Yorkshire have become highly acclaimed in the general history of the sport, these include; Herbert Sutcliffe, Sir Leonard Hutton, Wilfred Rhodes, George Herbert Hirst, Fred Trueman and Geoffrey Boycott.^[25] Outside of the county club and their achievements, Yorkshiremen have also made a distinct mark on cricket in general; Thomas Lord was the man who founded Lord's Cricket Ground in London. In terms of umpires, the man regarded as the most famous and a figure synonymous with cricket, Dickie Bird, is from Barnsley.^[26]

[edit] Football

Main article: Football in Yorkshire

Yorkshire is officially recognised by FIFA as the birth-place of club football, as Sheffield FC who were founded in 1857 are certified as the oldest association football club in the world.^[27] South Yorkshire hosted the first ever inter-club match and the first ever local derby on 26 December 1860; between Sheffield FC and Hallam FC.^[28] South Yorkshire is also home to what is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the Oldest Ground in the World, Sandygate Road.^[29] The Sheffield rules code was highly influential to the development of the FA's Laws of the Game, which is now the world wide standard code for the game and happened to be drafted by Ebenezer Cobb Morley from Hull.^[28]

Yorkshire clubs compete in the English football league system. While they are by no means the most dominant footballing county, Yorkshire has produced several national league winners, some of whom have won the title more than once, including; Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United. Some players from Yorkshire have gone on to become some of the most highly regarded in the history of the game, this includes World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks and two time European Footballer of the Year award winner Kevin Keegan.

[edit] Rugby

Main article: History of rugby league

Originally Yorkshire clubs formed part of the Rugby Football Union which covered all of England under the same code and they competed in competitions such as the Yorkshire Cup. The sport was popular amongst the working-class of the North, whilst in the South it was a middle-class mans game. This proved a problem in the pre-professional era for the Yorkshire clubs, as the working-class were limited by the need to earn a wage and did not have as much recreational time; it was against the rules for clubs to pay players at that time.

In 1895 the rugby schism took place, creating the sport of rugby league in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire. The association they founded, based in the North is what is today known as the Rugby Football League. Although in the modern day some Yorkshire clubs play rugby union, league is the main rugby focus for the county; of the 24 clubs who have competed in the Super League, 11 are from Yorkshire.

The five most decorated Yorkshire clubs in terms of league titles are Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC, Bradford Bulls, Hull KR and Leeds Rhinos. In total six Yorkshiremen have been inducted into the prestigious Rugby League Hall of Fame in the form of; Harold Wagstaff, Jonty Parkin, Roger Millward, Neil Fox, Billy Batten and Ellery Hanley.^[30]

[edit] Others

In other sports, people from that county have also had success. "Prince" Naseem Hamed from Sheffield, was one of the most famous boxers of the 1990s; he won world championships in the Bantamweight (EBU) and Featherweight (IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO) divisions.

Yorkshire has produced several noted athletes; 100 meter runner Dorothy Hyman won three gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and one in the European Championships, middle-runner Peter Elliott also won gold at the Commonwealth Games. Adrian Moorhouse was a gold medal winning Olympian in swimming, earning victory at the 1988 Summer Olympics, he also won gold at three European Championships and three Commonwealth Games.

[edit] Popular culture

[edit] Literature

There are several instances of the county providing an important role in literature, perhaps the most famous literacy association is that between Whitby in North Yorkshire and Bram Stoker's Dracula. When Stroker wrote the novel, he was living in Whitby at the time and parts of it are set there, it includes several parts of Whitby folklore such as the beaching of the Russian ship Dmitri, which became the basis of Demeter in the book.^[31] Today there is a Dracula Museum in the town, celebrating the association.^[32] In terms of poetry, one of the most well known from Yorkshire is Andrew Marvell from Winestead-in-Holderness, he was noted for writing metaphysical poetry during the 1600s and his association with several other noted British poets from the era.^[33][34]

“	Then music, the mosaic of the air, Did of all these a solemn noise prepare; With which she gain'd the empire of the ear, Including all between the earth and sphere.	”
—Andrew Marvell, "Music's Empire"

The Brontë sisters; Anne Brontë, Charlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë were all Yorkshire women born in Thornton, raised in Haworth, West Yorkshire.^[35] Their novels, written in the mid-1800s, caused a sensation when they were first published and were subsequently accepted into the canon of great English literature. Amongst the most noted novels credited to the sisters are; Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights.^[35]

[edit] Music

Yorkshire has played a significant part in popular music, starting with the unconventional Arthur Brown in the 1960s. During the following decade David Bowie, himself of a father from Tadcaster in North Yorkshire,^[36] hired three musicians from Hull in the form of Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey; together they recorded Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, an album that went on to become widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential of all time.^[37]

Perhaps the most significant time for Yorkshire music so far was the local post-punk scene of the 1980s, where the county produced several significant bands who went on to achieve wide spread acclaim and success, including; The Sisters of Mercy, The Cult, Gang of Four, The Human League, New Model Army, Soft Cell, Chumbawamba, The Wedding Present, The Mission and The Housemartins.^[38]

Pulp from Sheffield had a massive hit in the form of Common People during 1995, the song focuses on working-class Northern England life.^[39] The 2000s saw popularity of indie rock and post-punk revival bands from the area with the Kaiser Chiefs and the Arctic Monkeys, the latter of whom hold the record for the fastest-selling debut album in British music history with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.^[40]

[edit] Film and television

The three most prominent British television shows filmed in (and based around) Yorkshire are sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, drama series Heartbeat, and soap opera Emmerdale, the latter two of which are produced by Yorkshire Television. Last of the Summer Wine in particular is noted for holding the record of longest-running comedy series in the world, from 1973 until present.^[41]

Several noted films are set in Yorkshire, including Kes, This Sporting Life and Room at the Top. A comedy film set in Sheffield named The Full Monty, won an Academy Award and was voted the second best British movie of all-time by ANI.^[42] The county is also referenced in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life during a segment on birth where title card read, "The Miracle of Birth, Part II — The Third World". The scene then opened into a mill town street, subtitled "Yorkshire".^[43] Monty Python were also known to perform the Four Yorkshiremen sketch live, which first featured on At Last the 1948 Show.^[44]

[edit] External links

• digyorkshire - cultural guide for Yorkshire

[edit] References

v • d • e Yorkshire Portal:Yorkshire Counties of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 East Riding of Yorkshire • North Yorkshire • South Yorkshire • West Yorkshire Geography of Yorkshire Geology of Yorkshire • Topographical areas of Yorkshire • Cities, towns and villages History History • History of local government • East Riding of Yorkshire • North Riding of Yorkshire • West Riding of Yorkshire • Brigantia • Parisiorum • Britannia • Elmet • Ebrauc • Deira • Northumbria • Jórvík • Wars of the Roses • Wapentakes • Culture and heritage Culture • Dialect and accent • On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at • People • Flags and symbols • White Rose • Yorkshire Day •