:''This article is about the English county. For other uses, see Yorkshire_(disambiguation).''
{{infobox England traditional county|
|County= Yorkshire
|Image= Image:EnglandYorkshireTrad.png
|SizeRank= 1st
|Size= 3,882,851 acres
|Water= ?
|CountyTown= York
|ChapmanCode=YKS
|detailedImage=Image:Yorkshire_Ridings.png
#North Riding
#West Riding
#East Riding
}}
Image:Yorkshire_rose.png.]]
Image:Yorkshire-734x560.jpg
'''Yorkshire''' is the largest Traditional_county_of_England, covering some 6,000 sq. miles (15,000 km²) with a population of some five million. It is traditionally divided into West, North and East Ridings (from Old_Norse ''þriðing'', "third part", a legacy of the area's Ninth_century Scandinavian settlers). The County_town, York, is not part of any riding.
The emblem of Yorkshire is the White Rose of the House_of_York, and there is a Yorkshire_Day celebrated on August_1. 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, in 2004 it was held in Leeds and in 2005 it was held in Bradford. The people of Penistone will be hosting the Civic gathering in 2006. There is also an "anthem" for the county in the form of the Folk_song "On_Ilkla_Moor_Baht'at" (on Ilkley Moor without a Hat).
The Yorkshire Dialect is colloquially known as "Tyke", and this is also the "affectionate" (!) term for a Yorkshireman, though the term is not universally used by all Yorkshiremen and is virtually non-existent on the North Riding coastline. The Social_stereotype of a Yorkshireman has a tendency to include such accessories as a Flat_cap and a Whippet. Among Yorkshire's unique traditions is the Long_Sword_dance, a traditional dance not found elsewhere in England. More recently, Yorkshire has been home to its own genre of techno music, Yorkshire_Bleeps_and_Bass.
==History==
:''Main article History_of_Yorkshire''
The Ridings were divided further into Wapentakes. In about 1823 these were
'''North Riding'''
*Allertonshire
*Birdforth
*Bulmer
*Gilling East and West
*Halikeld
*Hang East and West
*Langbaurgh East and West
*Pickering_Lythe
*Ryedale
*Whitby_Strand
'''East Riding'''
*Buckrose
*Dickering
*Harthill - Bainton beacon, Holme beacon, Hunsley beacon and Wilton beacon
*Holderness South Middle and North
*Howdenshire
*Ouse_and_Derwent
'''West Riding'''
*Agbrigg_and_Morley (Agbrigg and Morley divisions)
*Barkston_Ash
*Ewcross
*Claro Lower and Upper
*Morley
*Osgoldcross
*Skyrack Lower and Upper
*Staincliffe East and West
*Staincross
*Strafforth_and_Tickhill Lower and Upper
Apart from these there were the Ainsty wapentake, the City of York (not part of any riding), and Hullshire (geographically in the East Riding though not part of it).
The Ridings were used as the basis of administrative counties upon the introduction of Local_government, in 1888, although many boroughs within the area were made County_boroughs in their own right.
In 1974 the local government system was reformed, with the bulk of the area being split between:
* North_Yorkshire (including Yorkshire's county town of York — although the county town of North Yorkshire is Northallerton)
* South_Yorkshire
* West_Yorkshire
* Humberside (including parts of Lincolnshire)
* Cleveland (including parts of County_Durham)
South and West Yorkshire are termed metropolitan counties, as they cover mostly built-up areas. Additionally, small portions were ceded to the control of Cumbria (Sedbergh_Rural_District), Lancashire (Bowland_Rural_District, Barnoldswick, Earlby, and part of Skipton_Rural_District), County_Durham (Startforth_Rural_District) and Greater_Manchester (Saddleworth]]).
In 1986 the County_councils of West and South Yorkshire were abolished, and in 1996 Cleveland and Humberside were broken up into districts, which became independent administrative counties (Unitary_authority areas) in their own right, as did an expanded City_of_York. The bulk of the Yorkshire part of Humberside became known as the East_Riding_of_Yorkshire, with Kingston_upon_Hull being independent.
For ceremonial purposes the districts previously covered by Cleveland now fall in the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire and County Durham, and the districts previously covered by Humberside now fall in the ceremonial counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Much of Yorkshire is now represented by the region of Yorkshire_and_the_Humber.
==Villages, towns and cities in Yorkshire==
''See the List_of_places_in_Yorkshire.''
==Local government areas in ceremonial Yorkshire==
*East_Riding_of_Yorkshire
*Kingston_upon_Hull
*Middlesbrough
*North_Yorkshire
**Craven
**Hambleton
**Harrogate
**Richmondshire
**Ryedale
**Scarborough
**Selby
*Redcar_and_Cleveland
*Stockton-on-Tees south of the river
*South_Yorkshire
**Barnsley
**Doncaster
**Rotherham
**Sheffield
*West_Yorkshire
**Bradford
**Calderdale
**Kirklees
**Leeds
**Wakefield
*York
==See also==
* Yorkshire_County_Cricket_Club
* Yorkshire_Pudding
* Yorkshire_Wolds
* Yorkshire_Dales
* North Yorkshire Moors
* Famous Yorkshire people
* Yorkshire_Society
* Jorvik
* Kings_of_Jorvik
* Earl_of_York
* Duke_of_York
* Yorkshire_Regiment
==External links==
* The History of Yorkshire
* Samples of Yorkshire Dialect
* Yorkshire flags
* Yorkshire Images - a gallery of drawings depicting Yorkshire as it was in the 1800s.
{{England traditional counties}}
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