Do you know WHY it's Yorkshire Day today? How did it start? It’s now a region-wide event when you may spot Yorkshire flags (the white rose), celebratory events and social media posts showing pride in the area. It’s not existed for very long but Yorkshire folk have certainly embraced the chance to tell everyone they love Yorkshire.
It started in 1975 but the story goes back further – over 1100 years when Yorkshire’s boundaries were established.
Yorkshire was divided into three ridings, the North, East and West Ridings, plus York. 'Ridings' is from an old Norse word meaning a third (probably ‘thridding’). Each of these areas were then divided into administrative units known as 'wapentakes'. Parts of the Yorkshire Dales were previously in the West Riding (and North Riding higher up in the Dales and over towards the North York Moors), until 1974 when the boundaries changes and the county of North Yorkshire was created.
It was in protest to these boundary changes and local government organisation that Yorkshire Day started. Some people state the following declaration to mark the day:
"I, [Name], being a resident of the [West/North/East] Riding of Yorkshire [or City of York] declare:
That Yorkshire is three Ridings and the City of York, with these Boundaries of [Current Year minus 875, so for 2024, 1149 years' standing; That the address of all places in these Ridings is Yorkshire; That all persons born therein or resident therein and loyal to the Ridings are Yorkshiremen and women; That any person or corporate body which deliberately ignores or denies the aforementioned shall forfeit all claim to Yorkshire status.
These declarations made this Yorkshire Day [Year]. God Save the King!”
Over time, the reason for Yorkshire Day has been forgotten, and now it’s used by many as an opportunity to simply show pride in the area. Some say it means that all the old stereotypes come out - flat caps, racing whippets, distinctive accents & dialect, Yorkshire puddings etc - but others argue it’s a chance to talk about our local distinctiveness.
What do you think?