According to a genetic study published in Nature (19 March 2015), the local population of West Yorkshire is genetically distinct from the rest of the population of Yorkshire.[5]
The 2015 Oxford University study compared the current genetic distribution in Britain to the geographical maps of its historic Kingdoms, and found that the distinct West Yorkshire genetic cluster closely corresponds to Elmet's known territories. This suggests Yorkshire may have maintained a regional Celtic identity through the centuries.[6]
Traditions and stereotypes
A flat cap associated with the stereotypical YorkshiremanMr Pack dressed in traditional Yorkshire attire takes his horse, Danny, for a turn of the field in front of the crowd at Otley Show.
Many Yorkshire people are immensely proud of both their county and their identity, embracing the popular nickname of God's Own Country, which appears on mugs and tea towels and was first used by the writer Nigel Farndale, himself a Yorkshireman, as a headline in a special Yorkshire edition of Country Life magazine in 1995.[7][8][9]
The most common stereotype of a Yorkshire person is as tight with money: there is a British saying that "a Yorkshireman is a Scotsman with all the generosity squeezed out of him", which references how Scots are also stereotyped as being tight but not as tight as Yorkshire folk. This stereotype can also be seen in the Yorkshireman's Motto:
It is this stereotype which is referred to in the saying "Yo can allus tell a Yorkshireman, but yo can't tell him mich" ("you can always tell a Yorkshireman, but you can't tell him much") However, the popular understanding of the Wars of the Roses is mostly false. The House of York had its support mostly in southern England, while northern England on either side of the Pennines mainly supported the House of Lancaster. Indeed, the city of York itself was a Lancastrian power base.[13]
Yorkshire is often described as "God's own county/country" due to its beautiful landscape and unspoiled countryside
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. 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 "wheer ther's muck, ther's brass" ("where there's muck, there's money"); this refers to the widely held view that where one is willing to do unpalatable work, there is plenty of money to be made.[14]
Tyke or Yorkie 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 a highly derogatory word, meaning "a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement"; southerners used the term against Yorkshiremen,[15] but in defiance of the negative connotations it was adopted locally, taking on a new life.[16]
Long Sword dancers
Among Yorkshire's unique traditions is the Long Sword dance, a traditional dance not found elsewhere in England. The most famous song of Yorkshire is On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at ("On Ilkley Moor without a hat"); it is considered the unofficial anthem of the county.[17] In celebration of its culture, Yorkshire Day has been celebrated annually on 1 August since 1975. Amongst the celebrations is a civic gathering of Lord Mayors, Mayors and other civic heads from across the county, convened by the Yorkshire Society.
Food and drink
The cuisine of Yorkshire and that of Northern England in general is known for its rich ingredients, especially in sweet dishes. Below is a list of foods which either originated from Yorkshire or are strongly associated with it.
Yorkshire pudding – far and away the best known element of Yorkshire food, it is commonly served with roast beef, vegetables and potatoes, to form part of the standard Sunday roast, which itself grew from the county. It is created from batter and, in most cases, the dish includes gravy.
In its traditional form, it is easily large enough to fill the plate. It is eaten before the main meal as a starter – the idea being that you would then not want to eat as much of the more expensive meat.[citation needed]
It can also be served as a savoury dish with onions and herbs as part of the batter mix but can also be served afterwards with jam.
It is only those from outside the county who think it must be served with the main meal.[citation needed]
Yorkshire curd tart – a curdtart recipe which has been around since at least the 1750s, unique because of its use of rosewater.[18][19]
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.[20]
Gingerbread, one unusual form of gingerbread from Yorkshire has a layer of crystallised ginger in the middle, rather than an essence of ginger or ginger shavings.
Liquorice sweet – the plant was thought to have been brought over to Yorkshire by returning Crusaders or Dominican friars 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 "liquorice". As liquorice requires deep soil to grow, it was mainly grown in Pontefract. Although it is no longer grown in the area, Pontefract has two large confectionery factories as a legacy.[21]
From the 1700s onwards, Yorkshire, and in particular the city of York, saw the growth of several chocolate factories or companies, forming an important part of the confectionery industry and now with globally known products.[25][26] These include:
Yorkshire has played a highly important role in the development of sports, some forms of which have become world-famous. Sport is important in the modern culture of the county. The main sports are football, cricket and rugby league.
In the London 2012 Olympics, competitors from Yorkshire won 7 gold medals, 2 silver and 3 bronze. If Yorkshire had been treated as a country it would have come twelfth in the overall medal table.[28]
Brazilian legend Pelé (left) in Sheffield in November 2017, marking the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest football club, Sheffield F.C.[33]
Yorkshire is officially recognised by FIFA as the birthplace of club football, as Sheffield F.C. who were founded in 1857 are certified as the oldest association football club in the world.[34] 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.[35] South Yorkshire is also home to what is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the Oldest Ground in the World, Sandygate Road.[36] The Sheffield rules code was highly influential to the development of the FA's Laws of the Game, which is now the worldwide standard code for the game and happened to be drafted by Ebenezer Cobb Morley from Hull.[35]
Originally Yorkshire clubs formed part of the Rugby Football Union which covered all of England under the same code. They took part 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 man's game. This was 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.
The origin of ferret legging is disputed. The sport seems to have become popular among coal miners in Yorkshire, England, in the 1970s,[39][40] though some Scots claim it gained popularity in Scotland.[41] According to Marlene Blackburn of the Richmond Ferret Rescue League, ferret legging originated in public houses "where patrons would bet on who could keep a ferret in his pants the longest."[42] The sport may alternatively have originated during the time when only the relatively wealthy in England were allowed to keep ferrets used for hunting, forcing the animal poachers to hide their illicit ferrets in their trousers to avoid detection by gamekeepers.[43][44][45][46] This was also done by poachers and hunters to keep the animals warm in the cold weather.[41][44]
Retired miner Reg Mellor, from Barnsley,[47] set the new world record time of five hours and twenty-six minutes on 5 July 1981 at the Annual Pennine Show at Holmfirth, Yorkshire.[42][48][49][50] He had practised the sport since his youth, but had received no recognition until he set the new world record.[45] Mellor, who had hunted with ferrets in the dales outside of Barnsley for many years, had grown accustomed to keeping them in his trousers to keep them warm and dry when out working in the rain.[51] Mellor's "trick" was to ensure that the ferrets were well-fed before they were inserted into his trousers.[42]
In 1986, Mellor attempted to break his own record before a crowd of 2,500 spectators, intending to beat the "magic six-hour mark—the four-minute mile of ferret legging".[52] After five hours, most of the attendees had become bored and left; workmen arrived to dismantle the stage, despite Mellor's protests that he was on his way to a new record.[52] According to Adrian Tame of the Sunday Herald Sun, Mellor retired after that experience, "disillusioned and broken-hearted", but with his dignity and manhood intact.[53] Mellor had hoped to organise an annual national competition held in his home town of Barnsley, and offered a prize of £100 to anyone who could beat him.[39]
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 hosted the grand depart of the 2014 Tour de France. The county has produced many successful racing cyclists over the years. Notable male cyclists include Brian Robinson, the first British rider to finish and to win stages of the Tour de France, Barry Hoban, winner of eight Tour de France stages and two stages of the Vuelta a España, Malcolm Elliott, winner of the points classification at the 1989 Vuelta a España, Ed Clancy, a double Olympic and five time World Championship gold medallist on the track and Ben Swift, also a track cycling World Champion. Successful female cyclists include Beryl Burton, a double road cycling and five time track cycling World Champion, former individual pursuit World Champion Yvonne McGregor and World Championship track gold medallist and Olympic road racing silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead.
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 Stoker wrote the novel, he lived in Whitby, and parts of the novel are set there. It includes several stories of Whitby folklore such as the beaching of the Russian ship Dmitri, which became the basis of Demeter in the book.[54] Today there is a Dracula Museum in the town, celebrating the association.[55] In terms of poetry, one of the best 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.[56][57]
The Brontë sisters
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.
The Brontë sisters – Anne, Charlotte and Emily—were all Yorkshirewomen born in Thornton and raised in Haworth, West Yorkshire.[58] 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.[58]
Ted Hughes wrote two collections that show his love for Yorkshire: Remains of Elmet (1979) and Elmet (1994), in which the ghost of Emily Brontë still haunts the moor.
In the present day, the most prominent Yorkshire presences in English literature are the playwright, author, actor, screenwriter and commentator Alan Bennett, born 1934 in Leeds, where much of his work is set, and the poet, playwright and screenwriter Tony Harrison, born three years later in the same city.
Music
Folk music
Yorkshire has a rich heritage of folk music and folk dance including particularly Long Sword dance.[59] Folk songs were collected in the region from the 19th century, and it probably had more attention than other northern counties, but its rich heritage of northern and industrial folk song was relatively neglected.[60] It was not until the second folk revival in the 1950s that Nigel and Mary Hudleston began to attempt to redress the balance, collecting a large number of Yorkshire songs between 1958 and 1978.[61]
Yorkshire folk music traditions lacked the unique instrumental features of the music in other areas, like Northumbria, and was chiefly distinguished by the use of dialect, particularly in the West Riding and exemplified by the song On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at, probably written in the later 19th century and using a Kent folk tune (almost certainly borrowed via a Methodisthymnal), but often seen as an unofficial Yorkshire anthem.[62] Most Yorkshire folk songs were not unique and tended to be adapted to fit local geography and dialect, as with probably the most commercially successful Yorkshire song, Scarborough Fair. One unusual piece of music is the unique choral folk song, probably derived from an 18th-century ballad, known as the Holmfirth Anthem or Pratty Flowers.[63]
The most eminent folk performers from the county are the Watersons from Hull, who began recording Yorkshire versions of folk songs from 1965, and members of which are still performing today.[64] Also famous is the Leeds-born musician Jake Thackray, who became famous in the 1970s for singing witty, often bawdy songs, many of which related to rural Yorkshire life, in a style derived from the French chansonnier tradition. His work led him to be described by some as the "Northern Noel Coward". Other Yorkshire folk musicians include Heather Wood (b. 1945) of the Young Tradition, the short-lived electric folk group Mr Fox (1970–2), The Deighton Family, Julie Matthews, Kathryn Roberts, and the Mercury Prize nominated Kate Rusby.[65]
Yorkshire has a flourishing folk music culture, with over forty folk clubs and thirty annual folk music festivals.[66] In 2007 the Yorkshire Garland Group was formed to make Yorkshire folk songs accessible online and in schools.[67]
Yorkshire has also contributed heavily to the emergence of the electronic music industry from the 1990s until the present day. The nightclubs of Leeds and Sheffield helped to build the foundations for record labels such as Warp Records. The region has also been influential in the development of bassline, producing a huge hit with T2's "Heartbroken" in 2007, and has produced grime crews such as Scumfam. Music in these and related genres has been championed by Toddla T, a Sheffield-born DJ formerly on BBC radio.
^"John Major – Brighton Rally". The Conservatives Party. 29 May 2001. Archived from the original on 22 November 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2014. He's a shrewd, straight-talking Yorkshireman – not English, mind you, Yorkshire
^ abcWasson, Bill (29 October 2006). "Intimate sport of ferret legging / At annual Highland event, contestants put animal down their pants, then wait, pray". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. B.1.
^ abGeorge, Isabel (9 February 2002). "They've been companions to royalty and poachers, prized for their hunting skills and even used to lay underground cables. Now ferrets are being cast in a new role – as pets. And they're surprisingly good at that". The Guardian. p. F3.
^Hudleston, N.; Hudleston, M. (2001). Gordon, M.; Adams, R. (eds.). Songs of the Ridings: The Yorkshire Musical Museum. G. A. Pindar and Son. and Davenport, P., ed. (1998). The South Riding Songbook: Songs from South Yorkshire and the North Midlands. South Riding Folk Network.
^Kellett, A. (1988). On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at: the Story of the Song. Smith Settle.
^"The Holmfirth Anthem or Pratty Flowers". Journal of the Folk Song Society. VI: 9. 1922.
.jpg)
