Where does the North begin? It’s all gravy!

Those who live in the North know what counts as ‘The North’. This may sound obvious but where the North begins is a matter of some debate. While many counties like Lancashire, North Yorkshire and Northumberland are unquestionably considered ‘Northern’ there are questions asked of other counties.

As there is no established border, the answer to the question ‘where does the North begin?’ may depend on whom you ask. To some the North starts in Nottingham although not everyone agrees with this. Nottinghamshire is very close to South Yorkshire and also adjacent to Cheshire, two locations where there is much less debate about their status as Northern counties.

Others state the North begins in Leicestershire, while some will passionately argue that this is not the case. They will argue that Leicestershire counts as the Midlands. Like the North and South as terms, the ‘Midlands’ is an accepted geographical description by most, however there is an argument that the term Midlands is simply colloquial, and that really the Midlands are just part of the North and South. But if that’s the case then surely there must be a clearly defined point where the South ends and the North begins? Problem is there doesn’t seem to be one. If indeed there really is an established Midlands (and many of those who live there would argue there certainly is) then where does THAT start and end?

Our Scottish friends find the whole debate laughable, as far as many of them are concerned it doesn’t matter where you were born, London or Newcastle, if you’re south of Hadrian’s Wall then you’re a Southerner.  Speaking of Scotland, the Northern boundary of the North of England isn’t disputed by anyone, the North ends where Scotland begins. It’s the Southern boundary of the North of England that seems to be causing all the confusion.

According to Wikipedia the North is said to begin “near the River Trent” but this sounds awfully vague, also what authority established this and when? The answer to the question it seems is a cultural one, region-by-region, town-by-town, it may just come down to what the people there identify as. Should they identify as Northerners then that may be the answer we are looking for.

Where it seems likely that this debate will continue, there may be a simpler way to work out where the North begins, a way to end the question forever: Where do they stop serving chips with gravy?

One thing that is for certain however, is if you need an expert Building Consultancy “all over the North”, Anderton Gables have it covered.