In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Yorkshire like this:
Yorkshire, maritime county of England; bounded N. by Durham and the Tees, NE. and E. by the North Sea, S. by the Humber and Lincolnshire, Notts, and Derbyshire, SW. by Cheshire, W. by Lancashire, and NVV. by Westmorland; length, E. and W., 96 miles; breadth, 80 miles; area, 3,882,851 ac., pop. ...
2,886,564. Yorkshire is the first county of England in point of size, and the third in point of population. From the mouth of the Tees to Flamborough Head the coast is bold and rocky; from Flamborough Head to Spurn Head it lies low. The interior presents the appearance of a great central valley stretching SE. to the Humber, and flanked on either side by heights - on the E. by the Cleveland Hills and the Wolds, and on the W. by the Pennine chain. The Humber receives almost all the drainage of the county by the Ouse, with its tributaries the Swale, Ure, Derwent, Wharfe, Aire, and Don. A small part of the west is drained by the Ribble, of the north by the Tees, and of the east by the North Sea. The general geological formation is limestone and coal in the west, succeeded towards the east by lias, oolite, and chalk. Yorkshire takes high rank as an agricultural, manufacturing, and mining county. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) It is well supplied with every means of communication. It has from an early period been divided into 3 Ridings - viz., East, North, and West, besides the Ainsty or Liberty of the city of York. Each Riding has a lord-lieutenant and a separate court of quarter sessions and a commission of the peace, and statistically is treated as a distinct county. It contains 26 wapentakes; 3 liberties; 1636 pars, with parts of 2 others; the parl. and mun. bors. of Bradford (3 members), Dewsbury (1 member), Halifax (2 members), Huddersfield (1 member), Kingston upon Hull (3 members), Leeds (5 members), Middlesbrough 1 member), Pontefract (1 member), Scarborough (1 member), Sheffield (5 members), Wakefield (1 member), and York (2 members); and the mun. bors. of Barnsley, Batley, Beverley, Doncaster, Hedon, Morley, Richmond, Ripon, and Rotherham. It is in the dioceses of York, Ripon, and Manchester. For parliamentary purposes it is divided into 26 divisions - viz. (East-Riding), Holderness, Buckrose, and Howdenshire; (North-Riding), Thirsk and Malton, Richmond, Cleveland, and Whitby; (N. div. West-Riding), Skipton, Keighley, Shipley, Sowerby, and Elland; (E. div. West-Riding), Ripon, Otley, Barkston Ash, Osgoldcross, Pudsey, and Spen Valley; (S. div. West-Riding), Batley, Normanton, Colne Valley, Holmfirth, Barnsley, Hallamshire, Rotherham, and Doncaster - 1 member for each division. The representation of Yorkshire was increased from 10 to 26 members in 1885.
Yorkshire through time
Yorkshire is now part of Yorkshire and the Humber region. Click here for graphs and data of how Yorkshire and the Humber has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Yorkshire itself, go to Units and Statistics.
Yorkshire -- but you should check this covers the area you are interested in.GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Yorkshire | Map and description for the county, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/17450
Date accessed: 30th October 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Yorkshire".