Essex

Essex () is a county in the East of England, north-east of London. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south and London to the south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, the only city in the county. For the purposes of government statistics, Essex is placed in the East of England region.
There are four definitions of the extent of Essex, the widest being the ancient county. Next largest is the former postal county, followed by the ceremonial county with the smallest being the administrative county – the area administered by the County Council, which excludes the two unitary authorities of Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea and the areas administered by the Greater London Authority.
The ceremonial county occupies the eastern part of what was, during the Early Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Essex. As well as rural areas, the county also includes London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury and the borough of Southend-on-Sea.
Physical geography and boundaries.
The ceremonial county of Essex is bounded by Kent, south of the Thames Estuary; Greater London to the south-west; Hertfordshire, broadly west of the River Lea and the Stort ; Cambridgeshire to the northwest; Suffolk broadly north of the River Stour; with the North Sea to the east.
Definitions.
The county of Essex has four definitions; the Ancient, Ceremonial, Administrative and Postal Counties.
Ancient County.
This sense of the term ‘Essex’ refers to all the territory of the county of Essex, as established in the late Anglo-Saxon period, some time after the larger former Kingdom of the East Saxons had lost its independence. The Ancient County includes areas such as the three north-western parishes transferred to Cambridgeshire at the time of the creation of the administrative counties in 1889, and Metropolitan Essex (the five London boroughs east of the Lea) transferred in 1965.
The ancient county also includes Thurrock and Southend, which became unitary authorities in 1998.
Ceremonial County.
The ceremonial county is the area represented by the Lord Lieutenant of Essex. It excludes the areas transferred in 1889 and 1965, but includes the unitary authorities of Thurrock and Southend which separated from the administrative county in 1998.
Administrative County.
The Administrative County is the area for which Essex County Council has responsibility. The administrative county was formed in 1889, and has reduced in size since that time. The administrative county excludes Metropolitan Essex, Thurrock, Southend and the much smaller areas transferred in 1889.
Postal County.
The Postal County of Essex was a term in use by the Royal Mail until 1996, intended to facilitate the sorting of mail by assisting the differentiation of similar Post Towns.
The Postal County was a collection of post towns approximating to the Ancient and Ceremonial County areas. There were two main distinctions, the first that the Postal County of Hertfordshire extended deep into west Essex, with Stansted isolated as an exclave of postal Essex. The other was that the eastern part of Metropolitan Essex, broadly speaking east of the Roding, was part of the Essex Postal County with the area to the west of the Roding part of the "Eastern" division of the London Post Town. Sewardstone in the Epping Forest District is also part of the London Post Town, using the E4 post code. Postal Counties were abolished in 1996, but Post Towns are still used.
Metropolitan Essex.
The term applies to areas that are part of both Essex and London; the five east London boroughs of Newham, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, and Havering. These areas are part of the Ancient County of Essex, but not the Administrative or Ceremonial County. The eastern part of Metropolitan Essex (roughly east of the Roding) was part of the former Postal County of Essex. The area west of the Roding was, and is, part of the Eastern division of the London Post Town.
Coast.
The deep estuaries on the east coast give Essex, by some measures, the longest coast of any county. These estuaries mean the county's North Sea coast is characterised by three major peninsulas, each named after the Hundred based on the peninsula:
A consequence of these features is that the broad estuaries defining them have been a factor in preventing any transport infrastructure linking them to neighbouring areas on the other side of the river estuaries, to the north and south.
Highest point.
The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches .
Human and economic geography.
The county's infrastructure is shaped by its physical geography and proximity to London. Together, these influences both stimulate and constrain the Essex economy.
Economy.
A high proportion of the population, especially in the south, work outside the county, commuting to London and elsewhere by rail and by road. These London-based jobs are often well paid and complement the contribution made by the employers based within Essex.
Industry is largely limited to the south of the county, with the majority of the land elsewhere being given over to agriculture. Harlow is a centre for electronics, science and pharmaceutical companies. Chelmsford has been an important location for electronics companies, such as the Marconi Company, since the industry was born; it is also the location for a number of insurance and financial services organisations and, until 2015, was the home of the soft drinks producer Britvic. Basildon is home to New Holland Agriculture's European headquarters and Basildon is home to the Ford Motor Company's British HQ. Debden, near Loughton, is home to a production facility for British and foreign banknotes.
Other businesses in the county are dominated by mechanical engineering, including but not limited to metalworking, glassmaking and plastics and the service sector. Colchester is a garrison town and the local economy is helped by the Army's personnel living there. Basildon is the location of State Street Corporation's United Kingdom HQ International Financial Data Services and remains heavily dependent on London for employment, due to its proximity and direct transport routes. Southend-on-Sea is home to the Adventure Island theme park and is one of the few still growing British seaside resorts, benefiting from modern and direct rail links from Fenchurch Street railway station and Liverpool Street station (so that housing is in high demand, especially for financial services commuters), which maintains the town's commercial and general economy.
Parts of eastern Essex suffer from high levels of deprivation; one of the most highly deprived wards is in the seaside town of Clacton. In the Indices of deprivation 2007, Jaywick was identified as the most deprived Lower Super Output Area in Southern England. Unemployment was estimated at 44% and many homes were found to lack very basic amenities. The Brooklands and Grasslands area of Jaywick was found to be the third-most deprived area in England; two areas in Liverpool and Manchester were rated more deprived. In contrast, mid, west and south-west Essex is one of the most affluent parts of eastern England, forming part of the London commuter belt. There is a large middle class here and the area is widely known for its private schools. In 2008, "The Daily Telegraph" found Ingatestone and Brentwood to be the 14th- and 19th-richest towns in the UK respectively.
Settlement patterns.
The pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. The areas closest to London are the most densely settled, though the Metropolitan Green Belt has prevented the further sprawl of London into the county. The Green Belt was initially a narrow band of land, but subsequent expansions meant it was able to limit the further expansion of many of the commuter towns close to the capital. The Green Belt zone close to London includes many prosperous commuter towns, as well as the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, originally developed to resettle Londoners after the destruction of London housing in the Second World War; they have since been significantly developed and expanded. Epping Forest also prevents the further spread of the Greater London Urban Area. As it is not far from London, with its economic magnetism, many of Essex's settlements, particularly those near or within short driving distance of railway stations, function as dormitory towns or villages where London workers raise their families. In these areas a high proportion of the population commute to London, and the wages earned in the capital are typically significantly higher than more local jobs. Many parts of Essex therefore, especially those closest to London, have a major economic dependence on London and the transport links that take people to work there.
Part of the south-east of the county, already containing the major population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway and designated for further development. Parts of the south-west of the county, such as Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell, are contiguous with Greater London neighbourhoods and therefore form part of the Greater London Urban Area.
A small part of the south-west of the county, Sewardstone, is the only settlement outside Greater London to be covered by a postcode district of the London post town (). Besides the city of Chelmsford and major towns such as Colchester and Southend-on-Sea, the county is rural, with many small towns, villages and hamlets largely built in the traditional materials of timber and brick, with clay tile or thatched roofs.
Transport.
Much of Essex lies within the London commuter belt, with radial transport links to the capital an important part of the area's economy. There are nationally or regionally important ports and airports and these also rely on the Essex infrastructure, causing an additional load on the local road and rail links.
Railway.
Essex's railway routes to London are, running clockwise:
The Essex Thameside franchise is operated by c2c. The Greater Anglia routes (both the West Anglia and Great Eastern Main Line and their branches) are operated by Greater Anglia.
Road.
Essex has six main strategic routes, five of which reflect the powerful influence exerted by London.
The M25 is London's orbital motorway which redistributes traffic across the London area. It includes the Dartford Road Crossings, over the Thames Estuary, linking Essex to Kent.
There are four radial commuter routes into the capital:
The A120 is a major route heading west from the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe (Suffolk) and, like the A12, the route was in use during the Roman period and, in part at least, before then.
Ports and waterborne transport.
The Port of Tilbury is one of Britain's three major ports and has proposed a major extension onto the site of the former Tilbury power stations. The port of Harwich has passenger and freight services to the Hook of Holland and a freight service to Europoort. A service to Esbjerg, Denmark ceased in September 2014 and earlier a service to Cuxhaven in Germany was discontinued in December 2005.
The UK's largest container terminal London Gateway at Shell Haven in Thurrock partly opened in November 2013; final completion date is yet to be confirmed. The port was opposed by the local authority and environmental and wildlife organisations.
The ports have branch lines to connect them to the national rail network. These freight movements conflict with the needs of commuter passenger services, limiting their frequency and reliability.
East of the Dartford Road Crossing to Dartford in Kent, across the Thames Estuary, a pedestrian ferry to Gravesend, Kent operates from Tilbury during limited daily hours; there are pedestrian ferries across some of Essex's rivers and estuaries in spring and summer.
Airports.
The main airport in Essex is Stansted Airport, serving destinations in Europe, North Africa and Asia. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, formed in May 2010, agreed not to allow a further runway until a set time period, so curtailing the operator's ambitions for expansion. London Southend Airport, once one of Britain's busiest airports, opened a new runway extension, terminal building and railway station in March 2012. It has a station on the Shenfield to Southend Line, with a direct link to London.
Southend Airport has scheduled flights to Ireland, the Channel Islands and multiple destinations in Europe. Essex has several smaller airfields, some of which owe their origins to military bases built during World War I or World War II, giving pleasure flights or flying lessons; these include Clacton Airfield, Earls Colne Airfield and Stapleford Aerodrome.
History.
Essex evolved from the Kingdom of the East Saxons, a polity which is likely to have its roots in the territory of the Iron Age Trinovantes tribe.
Iron Age.
Essex corresponds, fairly closely, to the territory of the Trinovantes tribe. Their production of their own coinage marks them out as one of the more advanced tribes on the island, this advantage (in common with other tribes in the south-east) is probably due to the Belgic element within their elite. Their capital was the oppidum (a type of town) of Colchester, Britain's oldest recorded town, which had its own mint.
The tribe were in extended conflict with their western neighbours, the Catuvellauni, and steadily lost ground. By AD 10 they had come under the complete control of the Catuvellauni, who took Colchester as their own capital.
Roman.
The Roman invasion of AD 43 began with a landing on the south coast, probably in the Richborough area of Kent. After some initial successes against the Britons, they paused to await reinforcements, and the arrival of the Emperor Claudius. The combined army then proceeded to the capital of the Catevellauni-Trinovantes at Colchester, and took it.
Claudius held a review of his invasion force on Lexden Heath where the army formally proclaimed him Imperator. The invasion force that assembled before him included four legions, mounted auxiliaries and an elephant corps – a force of around 30,000 men. At Colchester, the kings of 11 British tribes surrendered to Claudius.
Colchester became a Roman Colonia, with the official name Colonia Claudia Victricensis ('the City of Claudius' Victory'). It was initially the most important city in Roman Britain and in it they established a temple to the God-Emperor Claudius. This was the largest building of its kind in Roman Britain.
The establishment of the Colonia is thought to have involved extensive appropriation of land from local people, this and other grievances led to the Trinovantes joining their northern neighbours, the Iceni, in the Boudiccan revolt. The rebels entered the city, and after a Roman last stand at the temple of Claudius, methodically destroyed it, massacring many thousands. A significant Roman force attempting to relieve Colchester was destroyed in pitched battle, known as the Massacre of the Ninth Legion.
The rebels then proceeded to sack London and St Albans, with Tacitus estimating that 70–80,000 people were killed in the destruction of the three cities. Boudicca was defeated in battle, somewhere in the west midlands, and the Romans are likely to have ravaged the lands of the rebel tribes, so Essex will have suffered greatly.
Despite this, the Trinovantes identity persisted. Roman provinces were divided into "civitas" for local government purposes – with a civitas for the Trinovantes strongly implied by Ptolemy. Christianity is thought to have been flourishing among the Trinovantes in the fourth century, indications include the remains of a probable church at Colchester, the church dates from sometime after 320, shortly after the Constantine the Great granted freedom of worship to Christians in 313. Other archaeological evidence include a chi-rho symbol etched on a tile at a site in Wickford, and a gold ring inscribed with a chi-rho monogram found at Brentwood.
The late Roman period, and the period shortly after, was the setting for the King Cole legends based around Colchester. One version of the legend concerns Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. The legend makes her the daughter of Coel, Duke of the Britons (King Cole) and in it she gives birth to Constantine in Colchester. The legend is at variance with historic facts as they are now known, but it is likely that Constantine, and his father, spent time in Colchester during their years in Britain.
Anglo-Saxon Period.
The name "Essex" originates in the Anglo-Saxon period of the Early Middle Ages and has its root in the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) name "Ēastseaxe" ("East Saxons"), the eastern kingdom of the Saxons who had come from the continent and settled in Britain. Excavations at Mucking have demonstrated the presence of Anglo-Saxon settlers in the early fifth century, however the way in which these settlers became ascendent in the territory of the Trinovantes is not known. Studies suggest a pattern of typically peaceful co-existence, with the structure of the Romano-British landscape being maintained, and with the Saxon settlers believed to have been in the minority.
The first known king of the East Saxons was Sledd in 587, though there are less reliable sources giving an account of Aescwine (other versions call him Erkenwine) founding the kingdom in 527. The early kings of the East Saxons were pagan and uniquely amongst the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms traced their lineage back to Seaxnēat, god of the Saxons, rather than Woden. The kings of Essex are notable for their S-nomenclature, nearly all of them begin with the letter S.
The Kingdom of the East Saxons included not just the subsequent county of Essex, but also Middlesex (including the City of London), much of Hertfordshire and at times also the sub-Kingdom of Surrey. The Middlesex and Hertfordshire parts were known as the "Province of the Middle Saxons" since at least the early eighth century but it isn’t known if the province was previously an independent unit that came under East Saxon control. Charter evidence shows that the Kings of Essex appear to have had a greater control in the core area, east of the Lea and Stort, that would subsequently become the county of Essex. In the core area they granted charters freely, but further west they did so while also making reference to their Mercian overlords.
The early kings were pagan, together with much and perhaps by this time all of the population. Sledd’s son Sebert converted to Christianity around 604 and St Pauls Cathedral in London was established. On Seberts death in 616 his sons renounced Christianity and drove out Mellitus, the Bishop of London. The kingdom re-converted after St Cedd, a monk from Lindisfarne and now the patron saint of Essex, converted Sigeberht II the Good around 653.
In AD 824, Ecgberht, the King of the Wessex and grandfather of Alfred the Great, defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun in Wiltshire, fundamentally changing the balance of power in southern England. The small kingdoms of Essex, Sussex and of Kent, previously independent albeit under Mercian overlordship, were subsequently fully absorbed into Wessex.
The later Anglo-saxon period shows three major battles fought with the Norse recorded in Essex; the Battle of Benfleet in 894, the Battle of Maldon in 991 and the Battle of Assandun (probably at either Ashingdon or Ashdon) in 1016.
The county of Essex was formed from the core area, east of the Lea, of the former Kingdom of the East Saxons in the 9th or 10th centuries and divided into groupings called Hundreds.
Before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England.
After the Norman Conquest.
Having conquered England, William the Conqueror initially based himself at Barking Abbey, an already ancient nunnery, for several months while a secure base, which eventually became the Tower of London could be established in the city. While at Barking William received the submission of some of England’s leading nobles. The invaders established a number of castles in the county, to help protect the new elites in a hostile country. There were castles at Colchester, Castle Dedingham, Rayleigh, Pleshey and elsewhere. Hadleigh Castle was developed much later, in the thirteenth century.
After the arrival of the Normans, the Forest of Essex was established as a Royal forest, however, it is important to note that at that time, the term was a legal term. There was a weak correlation between the area covered by the "Forest of Essex" (the large majority of the county) and the much smaller area covered by woodland. An analysis of Domesday returns for Essex has shown that the "Forest of Essex" was mostly farmland, and that the county as a whole was 20% wooded in 1086.
After that point population growth caused the proportion of woodland to fall steadily until the arrival of the Black Death, in 1348, killed between a third and a half of England’s population, leading to a long term stabilisation of the extent of woodland. Similarly, various pressures led to areas being removed from the legal "Forest of Essex" and it ceased to exist as a legal entity after 1327, and after that time Forest Law applied to smaller areas: the forests of Writtle (near Chelmsford), long lost Kingswood (near Colchester), Hatfield, and Waltham Forest.
Waltham Forest had covered parts of the Hundreds of Waltham, Becontree and Ongar. It also included the physical woodland areas subsequently legally afforested (designated as a legal forest) and known as Epping Forest and Hainault Forest).
Armada.
In 1588 Tilbury Fort was chosen as the focal point of the English defences against King Philip II’s Spanish Armada, and the large veteran army he had ordered to invade England. The English believed that the Spanish would land near the Fort, so Queen Elizabeth’s small and relatively poorly trained forces gathered at Tilbury, where the Queen made her famous speech to the troops.
Civil War.
Essex, London and the eastern counties backed Parliament in the English Civil War, but by 1648, this loyalty was stretched. In June 1648 a force of 500 Kentish Royalists landed near the Isle of Dogs, linked up with a small Royalist cavalry force from Essex, fought a battle with local parliamentarians at Bow Bridge, then crossed the River Lea into Essex.
The combined force, bolstered by extra forces, marched towards Royalist held Colchester, but a Parliamentarian force caught up with them just as they were about to enter the city’s medieval walls of Colchester, and a bitter battle was fought but the Royalists were able to retire to the security of the city walls. The Siege of Colchester followed, but after ten weeks starvation and news of Royalist defeats elsewhere led the Royalists to surrender.
Administrative history.
Before the County Council.
Before the creation of the county councils, county-level administration was limited in nature; lord-lieutenants replaced the sheriffs from the time of Henry VIII and took a primarily military role, responsible for the militia and the Volunteer Force that replaced it.
Most administration was carried out by justices of the peace (JPs) appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Essex based upon their reputation. The JPs carried out judicial and administrative duties such as maintenance of roads and bridges, supervision of the poor laws, administration of county prisons and setting the County Rate. JPs carried out these responsibilities, mainly through quarter sessions, and did this on a voluntary basis.
At this time the county was sub-divided into units known as Hundreds. At a very early but unknown date, small parts of the county on the east bank of the Stort, near Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth were transferred to Hertfordshire
County Councils.
Essex County Council was formed in 1889. However, County Boroughs of West Ham (1889–1965), Southend-on-Sea (1914–1974) and East Ham (1915–1965) formed part of the county but were county boroughs (not under county council control, in a similar manner to unitary authorities today). 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, as shown in the map on the right.
The north-west tip of Essex, the parishes of Great Chishill, Little Chishill and Heydon, were transferred to Cambridgeshire when the County Councils were created in 1889.
At the same time, parts of the parishes of Helions Bumpstead, Sturmer, Kedington and Ballingdon-with-Brundon were transferred to Suffolk. Later, part of Hadstock, Ashton and Chrishall were transferred to Cambridgeshire, and part of Great Horkesley went to Suffolk.
Greater London established.
The boundary with Greater London was established in 1965, when East Ham and West Ham county boroughs and the Barking, Chingford, Dagenham, Hornchurch, Ilford, Leyton, Romford, Walthamstow and Wanstead and Woodford districts were transferred to form the London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
Two unitary authorities.
In 1998, the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were separated from the administrative county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities.
Administration and politics.
Essex County Council.
The county council governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, some of which elect more than one member, but before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party.[2] The council meets at County Hall in the centre of Chelmsford.
At the time of the 2011 census it served a population of 1,393,600, which makes it one of the largest local authorities in England. As a non-metropolitan county council, responsibilities are shared between districts (including boroughs) and in many areas also between civil parish (including town) councils. Births, marriages/civil partnerships and death registration, roads, libraries and archives, refuse disposal, most of state education, of social services and of transport are provided at the county level.[3]
The county council was formed in 1889, governing the administrative county of Essex. The county council was reconstituted in 1974 as a non-metropolitan county council, regaining jurisdiction in Southend-on-Sea; however, the non-metropolitan county was reduced in size in 1998 and the council passed responsibilities to Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council in those districts. For certain services the three authorities co-operate through joint arrangements, such as the Essex fire authority.
At the 2013 County Council elections the Conservative Party retained overall control of the council, but its majority fell from twenty-two to four councillors. UKIP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats each won nine seats. Out of those three parties, UKIP gained the largest share of the county-wide vote, more than 10% ahead of Labour.[3] The Liberal Democrats remain as the official Opposition, despite winning fewer votes.[3] The Green Party gained two seats on the council, despite its overall share of the vote falling. The Independent Loughton Residents Association and the Canvey Island Independent Party both returned one member and an Independent candidate was also elected.
The 2017 County Council elections saw a county-wide wipeout of UKIP. The Conservative Party profited most from this loss, regaining many of the seats it had lost at the previous election. Labour, despite a slight rise in its share of the vote, had fewer councillors elected. The Liberal Democrats also saw a notable revival, but were unable to translate this into seats. The Conservatives retained firm control of the council. The next election will be in 2021.
2017 Essex County Council election
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Party
! colspan="4"|Votes cast
! colspan="4"|%
! colspan="4"|Seats
!2009
!2013
!2017
!2009
!2013
!2017
!2009
!2013
!2017
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Total
! 392,506
! 328,435
! 372,834
! 100%
! 100%
! 100%
! 75
! 75
! 75
County Hall.
The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford. Before 1938, the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts of the county close to that point and the dominance of railway travel had been more convenient than any place in the county. The County Hall, made a listed building in 2007, dates largely from the mid-1930s and is decorated with fine artworks of that period, mostly the gift of the family who owned the textile firm Courtaulds.
English region.
Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region.
Essex Police.
Essex Police covers the administrative county and the two unitary authorities.
Youth councils.
The Essex County Council also has a Youth Assembly, 75 members aged between 11 and 19 who aim to represent all young people in their districts across Essex. They decide on the priorities for young people and campaign to make a difference. With this, some district and unitary authorities may have their own youth councils, such as Epping Forest, Uttlesford and Harlow.
All these councillors are elected by their schools. The elections to the Young Essex Assembly occur in the respective schools in which the candidates are standing, likewise for the youth councils at a district and unitary level. These young people will then go on to represent their school and their parish/ward or (in the case of the Young Essex Assembly) their entire district.
The initiative seeks to engage younger people in the county and rely on the youth councillors of all status to work closely with schools and youth centres to improve youth services in Essex and help promote the opinions of Essex youth.
Local government.
Borough and district level.
The county of Essex is divided into 12 district and borough councils with 2 unitary authorities (Southend on Sea and Thurrock). The 12 councils manage housing, local planning, refuse collection, street cleaning, elections and meet in their respective civic offices. The local representatives are elected in parts in local elections, held every year.
Town and parish level.
Town and parish councils vary in size from those with a population of around 200 to those with a population of over 30,000. Annual expenditure can vary greatly, depending on the circumstances of the individual council. Parish and town councils (local councils) have the same powers and duties, but a town council may elect a town mayor, rather than a chairman, each year in May.
There are just under 300 town and parish councils within Essex. These Councils have no statutory duties but can contribute to local life in a range of ways, such as maintaining allotments and open spaces, to crime prevention and providing recreation facilities. They can also influence other decision makers and can deliver services to meet local needs. Their powers and duties range
Town and parish councils have the right to become statutory consultees at both district and county level and, although the decision remains with the planning authorities, local councils can influence the decision-making process by making informed comments and recommendations.
Westminster and the 2016 EU referendum.
As of the 2019 general election, all 18 Essex seats are represented by Conservatives, all of which recorded absolute majorities (over 50% of the vote). There have previously been some Labour MPs: most recently, Thurrock, Harlow and Basildon in Labour's 2005 election victory. The Liberal Democrats until 2015 had a sizeable following in Essex, gaining Colchester in the 1997 general election. The 2015 general election saw a large vote in Essex for the UK Independence Party (UKIP), with its only MP, Douglas Carswell, retaining the seat of Clacton that he had won in a 2014 by-election, and other strong performances, notably in Thurrock and Castle Point. But in the 2017 general election, UKIP's vote share plummeted by 15.6% while both Conservative and Labour vote shares rose by 9%. This resulted in Labour regaining second place in Essex, increasing their vote share across the county and cutting some Conservative majorities in areas which had been unaffected by the 1997 general election, namely Rochford and Southend East and Southend West.
In 2015, Thurrock epitomised a three-party race with UKIP, Labour and the Conservatives gaining 30%, 31% and 32% respectively. In 2017, the Conservatives held Thurrock with an increased share of the vote, but a smaller margin of victory. It was the constituency in which UKIP performed best in 2017, with 20% of the vote while all other areas had been reduced to low single figure vote shares. Several new MPs were elected in the 2017 election, with Alex Burghart, Vicky Ford, Giles Watling and Kemi Badenoch all replacing senior Conservative politicians such as Sir Eric Pickles, Sir Simon Burns, Douglas Carswell and Sir Alan Haselhurst, respectively.
At the 2019 general election, Castle Point constituency recorded the highest vote share for the Conservatives in the entire United Kingdom, with 76.7%. The most marginal constituency in the county is Colchester, however the Conservative Party still command a majority of over 9,400 votes.
In the 2016 EU referendum, 62.3% of voters in Essex voted to leave the EU, with all 14 District Council areas voting to leave, the smallest margin being in Uttlesford.
2019 UK general election in Essex
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Party
! colspan="4"|Votes cast
! colspan="4"|%
! colspan="4"|Seats
!2015
!2017
!2019
!2015
!2017
!2019
!2015
!2017
!2019
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Total
! 879,918
! 896,231
! 894,608
! 100%
! 100%
! 100%
! 18
! 18
! 18
Culture and community.
Coat of arms.
The county's coat of arms comprises three Saxon seax knives (although they look rather more like scimitars), mainly white and pointing to the right (from the point of view of the observer), arranged vertically one above another on a red background ("Gules three Seaxes fesswise in pale Argent pommels and hilts Or, points to the sinister and notches to the base"); the three-seax device is also used as the official logo of Essex County Council; this was granted in 1932.
The emblem was attributed to Anglo-Saxon Essex in Early Modern historiography. The earliest reference to the arms of the East Saxon kings was by Richard Verstegan, the author of "A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence" (Antwerp, 1605), claiming that "Erkenwyne king of the East-Saxons did beare for his armes, three [seaxes] argent, in a field gules". There is no earlier evidence substantiating Verstegan's claim, which is an anachronism for the Anglo-Saxon period seeing that heraldry only evolved in the 12th century, well after the Norman Conquest.
John Speed in his "Historie of Great Britaine" (1611) follows Verstegan in his descriptions of the arms of Erkenwyne, but he qualifies the statement by adding "as some or our heralds have emblazed".
Traditions.
Essex is also home to the Dunmow Flitch Trials, a traditional ceremony that takes place every four years and consists of a test of a married couple's devotion to one another. A common claim of the origin of the Dunmow Flitch dates back to 1104 and the Augustinian priory of Little Dunmow, founded by Lady Juga Baynard. Lord of the Manor Reginald Fitzwalter and his wife dressed themselves as humble folk and begged blessing of the Prior a year and a day after marriage. The prior, impressed by their devotion, bestowed upon them a flitch of bacon. Upon revealing his true identity, Fitzwalter gave his land to the priory on condition that a flitch should be awarded to any couple who could claim they were similarly devoted.
By the 14th century, the Dunmow Flitch Trials appear to have achieved a significant reputation outside the local area. The author William Langland, who lived on the Welsh borders, mentions it in his 1362 book "The Vision of Piers Plowman" in a manner that implies general knowledge of the custom among his readers.
Dialect.
The Essex dialect, an accent related to the Suffolk dialect, was formerly prevalent in the county but has now been mostly replaced by Estuary English.
Sport.
Football.
Essex is home to two English Football League teams: Southend United and Colchester United. Both teams have reached as high as the Championship (the second tier of English football) at some point in their history. As of 2020–21, both teams are in League Two.
Billericay Town, Braintree Town, Chelmsford City and Concord Rangers all play in the National League South. The highest domestic trophy for non-league teams, the FA Trophy, has been won on three occasions by Essex teams: Colchester United (1992), Canvey Island (2001) and by Grays Athletic in 2006. The FA Vase has been won three times by Billericay Town in 1976, 1977 and 1979, and by Stansted in 1984.
While the area was later annexed into Greater London, West Ham United was founded in what was then Essex and is the most successful club founded in the county.
Cricket.
Essex County Cricket Club became a First-Class County in 1894. The county has won 8 County Championship league titles; 6 of these were won during the dominant period between 1979 and 1992, with a gap of 25 years before the county's next titles in 2017 and 2019.
Other sports.
The county is also home to the Romford Raiders and Chelmsford Chieftains ice hockey teams and the Essex Leopards basketball team. It is home to the amateur rugby league football teams the Eastern Rhinos and Brentwood Eels (Essex Eels). Defunct teams include the Essex Pirates basketball team, as well as speedway teams the Lakeside Hammers (formerly Arena Essex Hammers), the Rayleigh Rockets and the Romford Bombers.
During the 2012 London Olympics, Hadleigh Farm played host to the mountain bike races. London Stadium, which was the host of the games, is located within the historical Essex boundaries.
Essex has one horse racing venue, Chelmsford City Racecourse at Great Leighs. Horse racing also took place at Chelmsford Racecourse in Galleywood until 1935. The county has one current greyhound racing track, Harlow Stadium. Rayleigh Weir Stadium and Southend Stadium are former greyhound venues.
Team Essex Volleyball Club is Chelmsford's national league volleyball club. It has four teams which play in Volleyball England's national volleyball league. Its men's 1st team currently competes in the top division in the country, the Super 8s, while the women's 1st team competes one tier below the men. The club has a strong junior programme and trains at The Boswells School in Chelmsford.
Sportspeople.
Many famous sports stars have come from or trained in Essex. These have included swimmer Mark Foster; cricket stars Trevor Bailey, Nasser Hussain, Alastair Cook and Graham Gooch; footballers Peter Taylor, James Tomkins, Justin Edinburgh, Nigel Spink; tennis stars John Lloyd and David Lloyd; Olympic Gold-winning gymnast Max Whitlock; Olympic sailing champion Saskia Clark; World Champion snooker stars Stuart Bingham and Steve Davis; world champion boxers Terry Marsh, Nigel Benn and Frank Bruno; London Marathon winner Eamonn Martin; international rugby players Malcolm O'Kelly and Stuart Barnes; Formula 1 sports car drivers Johnny Herbert and Perry McCarthy.
Education.
Education in Essex is substantially provided by three authorities: Essex County Council and the two unitary authorities, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. In all there are some 90 state secondary schools provided by these authorities, the majority of which are comprehensive, although one in Uttlesford, two in Chelmsford, two in Colchester and four in Southend-on-Sea are selective grammar schools. There are also various independent schools particularly, as mentioned above, in rural parts and the west of the county.
The University of Essex, which was established in 1963, is located just outside Colchester, with two further campuses in Loughton and Southend-on-Sea.
University Campus Suffolk, with a main campus in Ipswich and five centres in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, is a joint venture between University of Essex and East Anglia polytechnic.
Anglia Ruskin University has a campus in Chelmsford. Lord Ashcroft International Business School, Faculty of Medical Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Anglia Law School, Faculty of Health, Social Care & Education and School of Medicine are located in the campus area.
Writtle University College, at Writtle, near Chelmsford, offers both higher and further education in land-management subjects.
Landmarks.
Over 14,000 buildings have listed status in the county and around 1,000 of those are recognised as of Grade I or II* importance. The buildings range from the 7th century Saxon church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club which was the United Kingdom's entry in the 'International Exhibition of Modern Architecture' held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1932. Southend Pier is in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest pleasure pier in the world.


Scottish

Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:


Svitavy District

Svitavy District () is a district ("okres") within Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Svitavy. As a part of Pardubice Region the district has borders with Ústí nad Orlicí District to the north and Chrudim District to the west. The district was administratively formed in 1960, when the former districts of Litomyšl, Moravská Třebová, Polička and Svitavy were merged.
Svitavy District incorporates parts of historical regions of Bohemia and Moravia. From a total of 116 municipalities, 44 municipalities (including the district's capital) are situated in Moravia. As of 1 January 2007, 48,864 inhabitants live in the Moravian part of the district. The Bohemian part counted 67 municipalities with 50,885 inhabitants. Five municipalities (Brněnec, Březová nad Svitavou, Kamenná Horka, Karle and Radiměř altogether having 4,769 inhabitants) lie in Bohemia as well as Moravia.
Geography.
With a total area of 1,379 km² it is the largest district of the Pardubice Region. From the total area of the district, agricultural land occupies 835.1 km² (arable land 628,8 km², permanent pastures 171.3 km² and water bodies 10.8 km²). Forests cover 31.3% of the district's area.
The district is divided into drainage basins of the Elbe and the Danube. The main rivers in the district are Svitava (central part of the district), Svratka (south-eastern part), Třebůvka (eastern part), Třebovka and Loučná (both in the north-western part). The former three rivers comprise part of the Danube basin, while the latter two comprise part of the Elbe basin. The largest water body in Svitavy District is the pond Hvězda, with an area of 82 ha.
Demography.
As of 31 December 2012, the district had 104,971 inhabitants from which 53,120 were women and 51,851 were men. The average age was 40.9 years; 15.3% of the inhabitants were 14 years or younger, while 16.5% were 65 years or older. The district's workforce counted 53,955 people.
Climate.
The district has a continental climate which is characterised by significant variations in temperature in the course of the year. There are slight variations between the climate in various parts of the district. The northwestern and southeastern part of the district have an average temperature of 7 °C and precipitation up to 600 mm in one year. The central part of the district is slightly cooler and more humid, with an average temperature of 6 °C and precipitation of 700 mm. The southeastern part of the district is even cooler and even more humid.
Economy.
The district has been suffering from the highest unemployment rate in the Pardubice region, reaching 8.6% at the end of 2012.
The economy of the district is oriented towards agriculture and manufacturing. The share of the district's employment accounted for by agriculture has been steadily decreasing, yet it is still higher than in other districts of the Pardubice Region. The agricultural sector mainly produces cereals and rapeseed.
There is a relatively varied structure of manufacturing in the Svitavy district. Food and textile production comprise the main volume of manufacturing. However, the long-term importance of textile manufacturing is decreasing. Glass fibre production, metalworking and mechanical engineering are other important branches of manufacturing in the district.


Nymburk District

Nymburk District () is a district ("okres") within Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Nymburk.
Complete list of municipalities.
Běrunice -
Bobnice -
Bříství -
Budiměřice -
Černíky -
Chleby -
Choťánky -
Chotěšice -
Chrást -
Chroustov -
Čilec -
Činěves -
Dlouhopolsko -
Dobšice -
Dvory -
Dymokury -
Hořany -
Hořátev -
Hradčany -
Hradištko -
Hrubý Jeseník -
Jíkev -
Jiřice -
Jizbice -
Kamenné Zboží -
Kněžice -
Kněžičky -
Kolaje -
Kostelní Lhota -
Kostomlátky -
Kostomlaty nad Labem -
Košík -
Kounice -
Kouty -
Kovanice -
Krchleby -
Křečkov -
"Křinec" -
Libice nad Cidlinou -
"Loučeň" -
Lysá nad Labem -
Mcely -
Městec Králové -
Milčice -
Milovice -
Netřebice -
Nový Dvůr -
Nymburk -
Odřepsy -
Okřínek -
Opočnice -
Opolany -
Oseček -
Oskořínek -
Ostrá -
Pátek -
Písková Lhota -
Písty -
Poděbrady -
Podmoky -
Přerov nad Labem -
Rožďalovice -
Sadská -
Sány -
Seletice -
Semice -
Senice -
Sloveč -
Sokoleč -
Stará Lysá -
Starý Vestec -
Straky -
Stratov -
Třebestovice -
Úmyslovice -
Velenice -
Velenka -
Vestec -
Vlkov pod Oškobrhem -
Vrbice -
Vrbová Lhota -
Všechlapy -
Vykáň -
Záhornice -
Zbožíčko -
Žitovlice -
Zvěřínek


Province of Grosseto

The province of Grosseto () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people.
Geography.
The Province of Grosseto completely occupies the southern end of Tuscany, and with a territorial area of , it is the most extensive in the region and one of the least dense in population in Italy. The province is bordered to the northwest by the Province of Livorno, to the north by the Province of Pisa, to the northeast by the Province of Siena, and to the southeast by the Province of Viterbo in Lazio. To the south is the Tyrrhenian Sea, which includes the southern islands of the Tuscan archipelago, including Isola del Giglio and the smaller Giannutri islands and Formiche di Grosseto and Formica di Burano. The Arcipelago Toscano National Park spans both the provinces of Grosseto and Livorno, and includes the seven main islands of the Tuscan Archipelago: Elba, Isola del Giglio, Capraia, Montecristo, Pianosa, Giannutri, Gorgona, and some of the minor islands and rock outcrops. The highest point in the park is Mount Capanne, at in elevation, on the island of Elba.
The Colline Metallifere (Metalliferous Hills) line the border in the south with Lazio, and contain the Natural Park of Maremma, that protects also some of the remainings of the large swamps that once covered the area. Other protected areas are the Diaccia Botrona marshland. The principal rivers are the Ombrone, Fiora, Albegna, Pecora, Bruna, Merse, , Farma and Chiarone. The coastline between the Gulf of Follonica and the mouth of the Chiarone is dominated by blue waters and pine forests, and is home to resorts such as Marina di Grosseto, Principina a Mare, Castiglione della Pescaia, Punta Ala, Puntone di Scarlino and Talamone. Lakes include Lago dell'Accesa, Lago di Burano, Lago di San Floriano and Lago Acquato. Also of note is the volcanic cone of Mount Amiata, Bandite di Scarlino (213 m), Promontorio di Punta Ala e delle Rocchette (350 m), Monti dell'Uccellina (417 m), Monte Argentario (635 m), and Promontorio di Ansedonia (113 m).
"Comuni".
There are 28 (singular: ) in the province.
As of June 2014, the main by population are:
This is the complete list of "comuni" in the province of Grosseto:
"Frazioni".
This is the complete list of the (singular: ) – towns and villages – in the province of Grosseto:


County Durham

County Durham ( ) is a ceremonial county in North East England. The county town is Durham, a cathedral city. During the Middle Ages, the county was an ecclesiastical centre, due largely to the presence, of St Cuthbert's shrine in Durham Cathedral, and the extensive powers granted to the Bishop of Durham as ruler of the County Palatine of Durham.
The historic county's boundaries stretched between the rivers Tyne and Tees. Historic borders were shared with four counties: Northumberland to the north, now along with the county of Tyne and Wear; North Riding of Yorkshire to the south, now North Yorkshire; Westmorland and Cumberland, latter two to the west and both now Cumbria.
Within the Durham County Council area, the largest settlements are Durham, Peterlee and Newton Aycliffe. The largest ceremonial settlement is Darlington, closely followed by Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees. The North East Combined Authority region includes the towns of Gateshead, Jarrow, South Shields and the city of Sunderland. The ceremonial and combined authority overlapped roughly correspond to historic boundaries.
The county has a mixture of mining, farming and heavy railway heritage, with the latter especially noteworthy in the southeast of the county, in Darlington, Shildon and Stockton. In the centre of the city of Durham, Durham Castle and Cathedral are UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites.
Etymology.
Many counties are named after their principal town, and the expected form here would be Durhamshire, but this form has never been in common use. The ceremonial county is officially named "Durham", but the county has long been commonly known as "County" Durham and is the only English county name prefixed with "County" in common usage (a practice common in Ireland). Its unusual naming (for an English shire) is explained to some extent by the relationship with the Bishops of Durham, who for centuries governed Durham as a county palatine (the County Palatine of Durham), outside the usual structure, of county administration in England.
The situation regarding the formal name in modern local government is less clear:
Politics.
Parliament.
The county boundaries used for parliamentary constituencies are those used between 1974 and 1996 (i.e. consisting of only the area governed by Durham County Council and the Borough of Darlington). This area of the county elects seven Members of Parliament. As of the 2019 General Election, four of these MPs are Conservatives and three MPs are Labour. The rest of the ceremonial county is included in constituencies in the Cleveland parliamentary constituency area.
Local government.
The ceremonial county of Durham is administered by four unitary authorities. The ceremonial county has no administrative function, but remains the area to which the Lord Lieutenant of Durham and the High Sheriff of Durham are appointed.
Civil parishes.
The county is partially parished.
Emergency services.
Durham Constabulary operate in the area of the two unitary districts of County Durham and Darlington. Ron Hogg was first elected the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner for the force on 15 November 2012. The other areas in the ceremonial county fall within the police area of the Cleveland Police.
Fire service areas follow the same areas as the police with County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service serving the two unitary districts of County Durham and Darlington and Cleveland Fire Brigade covering the rest. County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service is under the supervision of a combined fire authority consisting of 25 local councillors: 21 from Durham County Council and 4 from Darlington Borough Council.
The North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust are responsible for providing NHS ambulance services throughout the ceremonial county, plus the boroughs of Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, which are south of the River Tees and therefore in North Yorkshire, but are also part of the North East England region.
Air ambulance services are provided by the Great North Air Ambulance. The charity operates three helicopters, including one at Teesside International Airport covering the County Durham area.
Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team, are based at Sniperly Farm in Durham City and respond to search and rescue incidents in the county.
History.
Anglian Kingdom of Bernicia.
Around AD 547, an Angle named Ida founded the kingdom of Bernicia after spotting the defensive potential of a large rock at Bamburgh, upon which many a fortification was thenceforth built. Ida was able to forge, hold and consolidate the kingdom; although the native British tried to take back their land, the Angles triumphed and the kingdom endured.
Kingdom of Northumbria.
In AD 604, Ida's grandson Æthelfrith forcibly merged Bernicia (ruled from Bamburgh) and Deira (ruled from York, which was known as Eforwic at the time) to create the Kingdom of Northumbria. In time, the realm was expanded, primarily through warfare and conquest; at its height, the kingdom stretched from the River Humber (from which the kingdom drew its name) to the Forth. Eventually, factional fighting and the rejuvenated strength of neighbouring kingdoms, most notably Mercia, led to Northumbria's decline. The arrival of the Vikings hastened this decline, and the Scandinavian raiders eventually claimed the Deiran part of the kingdom in AD 867 (which became Jórvík). The land that would become County Durham now sat on the border with the Great Heathen Army, a border which today still (albeit with some adjustments over the years) forms the boundaries between Yorkshire and County Durham.
Despite their success south of the river Tees, the Vikings never fully conquered the Bernician part of Northumbria, despite the many raids they had carried out on the kingdom. However, Viking control over the Danelaw, the central belt of Anglo-Saxon territory, resulted in Northumbria becoming isolated from the rest of Anglo-Saxon Britain. Scots invasions in the north pushed the kingdom's northern boundary back to the River Tweed, and the kingdom found itself reduced to a dependent earldom, its boundaries very close to those of modern-day Northumberland and County Durham. The kingdom was annexed into England in AD 954.
City of Durham founded.
In AD 995, St Cuthbert's community, who had been transporting Cuthbert's remains around, partly in an attempt to avoid them falling into the hands of Viking raiders, settled at Dunholm (Durham) on a site that was defensively favourable due to the horseshoe-like path of the River Wear. St Cuthbert's remains were placed in a shrine in the White Church, which was originally a wooden structure but was eventually fortified into a stone building.
Once the City of Durham had been founded, the Bishops of Durham gradually acquired the lands that would become County Durham. Bishop Aldhun began this process by procuring land in the Tees and Wear valleys, including Norton, Stockton, Escomb and Aucklandshire in 1018. In 1031, King Canute gave Staindrop to the Bishops. This territory continued to expand, and was eventually given the status of a liberty. Under the control of the Bishops of Durham, the land had various names: the "Liberty of Durham", "Liberty of St Cuthbert's Land" "the lands of St Cuthbert between Tyne and Tees" or "the Liberty of Haliwerfolc" (holy Wear folk).
The bishops' special jurisdiction rested on claims that King Ecgfrith of Northumbria had granted a substantial territory to St Cuthbert on his election to the see of Lindisfarne in 684. In about 883 a cathedral housing the saint's remains was established at Chester-le-Street and Guthfrith, King of York granted the community of St Cuthbert the area between the Tyne and the Wear, before the community reached its final destination in 995, in Durham.
Following the Norman invasion, the administrative machinery of government extended only slowly into northern England. Northumberland's first recorded Sheriff was Gilebert from 1076 until 1080 and a 12th-century record records Durham regarded as within the shire. However the bishops disputed the authority of the sheriff of Northumberland and his officials, despite the second sheriff for example being the reputed slayer of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots. The crown regarded Durham as falling within Northumberland until the late thirteenth century.
County Palatine of Durham.
Matters regarding the bishopric of Durham came to a head in 1293 when the bishop and his steward failed to attend proceedings of "quo warranto" held by the justices of Northumberland. The bishop's case went before parliament, where he stated that Durham lay outside the bounds of any English shire and that "from time immemorial it had been widely known that the sheriff of Northumberland was not sheriff of Durham nor entered within that liberty as sheriff. . . nor made there proclamations or attachments". The arguments appear to have prevailed, as by the fourteenth century Durham was accepted as a liberty which received royal mandates direct. In effect it was a private shire, with the bishop appointing his own sheriff. The area eventually became known as the "County Palatine of Durham".
Sadberge was a liberty, sometimes referred to as a county, within Northumberland. In 1189 it was purchased for the see but continued with a separate sheriff, coroner and court of pleas. In the 14th century Sadberge was included in Stockton ward and was itself divided into two wards. The division into the four wards of Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Easington and Stockton existed in the 13th century, each ward having its own coroner and a three-weekly court corresponding to the hundred court. The diocese was divided into the archdeaconries of Durham and Northumberland. The former is mentioned in 1072, and in 1291 included the deaneries of Chester-le-Street, Auckland, Lanchester and Darlington.
The term "palatinus" is applied to the bishop in 1293, and from the 13th century onwards the bishops frequently claimed the same rights in their lands as the king enjoyed in his kingdom.
Early administration.
Overview.
The historic boundaries of County Durham included a main body covering the catchment of the Pennines in the west, the River Tees in the south, the North Sea in the east and the Rivers Tyne and Derwent in the north. The county palatinate also had a number of liberties: the Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire and Norhamshire exclaves within Northumberland, and the Craikshire exclave within the North Riding of Yorkshire. In 1831 the county covered an area of and had a population of 253,910. These exclaves were included as part of the county for parliamentary electoral purposes until 1832, and for judicial and local-government purposes until the coming into force of the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, which merged most remaining exclaves with their surrounding county. The boundaries of the county proper remained in use for administrative and ceremonial purposes until the 1972 Local Government Act.
The Early English and Norman period.
Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror appointed Copsig as Earl of Northumbria, thereby bringing what would become County Durham under Copsig's control. Copsig was, just a few weeks later, killed in Newburn. Having already being previously offended by the appointment of a non-Northumbrian as Bishop of Durham in 1042, the people of the region became increasingly rebellious. In response, in January 1069, William despatched a large Norman army, under the command of Robert de Comines, to Durham City. The army, believed to consist of 700 cavalry (about one-third of the number of Norman knights who had participated in the Battle of Hastings), entered the city, whereupon they were attacked, and defeated, by a Northumbrian assault force. The Northumbrians wiped out the entire Norman army, including Comines, all except for one survivor, who was allowed to take the news of this defeat back.
Following the Norman slaughter at the hands of the Northumbrians, resistance to Norman rule spread throughout Northern England, including a similar uprising in York. William The Conqueror subsequently (and successfully) attempted to halt the northern rebellions by unleashing the notorious Harrying of the North (1069–1070). Because William's main focus during the harrying was on Yorkshire, County Durham was largely spared the Harrying. The best remains of the Norman period include Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, and several parish churches, such as St Laurence Church in Pittington. The Early English period has left the eastern portion of the cathedral, the churches of Darlington, Hartlepool, and St Andrew, Auckland, Sedgefield, and portions of a few other churches.
11th to 15th centuries.
Until the 15th century, the most important administrative officer in the Palatinate was the steward. Other officers included the sheriff, the coroners, the Chamberlain and the chancellor. The palatine exchequer originated in the 12th century. The palatine assembly represented the whole county, and dealt chiefly with fiscal questions. The bishop's council, consisting of the clergy, the sheriff and the barons, regulated judicial affairs, and later produced the Chancery and the courts of Admiralty and Marshalsea.
The prior of Durham ranked first among the bishop's barons. He had his own court, and almost exclusive jurisdiction over his men. A UNESCO site describes the role of the Prince-Bishops in Durham, the "buffer state between England and Scotland":From 1075, the Bishop of Durham became a Prince-Bishop, with the right to raise an army, mint his own coins, and levy taxes. As long as he remained loyal to the king of England, he could govern as a virtually autonomous ruler, reaping the revenue from his territory, but also remaining mindful of his role of protecting England’s northern frontier.
A report states that the Bishops also had the authority to appoint judges and barons and to offer pardons.
There were ten palatinate barons in the 12th century, most importantly the Hyltons of Hylton Castle, the Bulmers of Brancepeth, the Conyers of Sockburne, the Hansards of Evenwood, and the Lumleys of Lumley Castle. The Nevilles owned large estates in the county. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby rebuilt Raby Castle, their principal seat, in 1377.
Edward I's "quo warranto" proceedings of 1293 showed twelve lords enjoying more or less extensive franchises under the bishop. The repeated efforts of the Crown to check the powers of the palatinate bishops culminated in 1536 in the Act of Resumption, which deprived the bishop of the power to pardon offences against the law or to appoint judicial officers. Moreover, indictments and legal processes were in future to run in the name of the king, and offences to be described as against the peace of the king, rather than that of the bishop. In 1596 restrictions were imposed on the powers of the chancery, and in 1646 the palatinate was formally abolished. It was revived, however, after the Restoration, and continued with much the same power until 5 July 1836, when the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836 provided that the palatine jurisdiction should in future be vested in the Crown.
15th century to the modern era.
During the 15th-century Wars of the Roses, Henry VI passed through Durham. On the outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 Durham inclined to support the cause of the Parliament, and in 1640 the high sheriff of the palatinate guaranteed to supply the Scottish army with provisions during their stay in the county. In 1642 the Earl of Newcastle formed the western counties into an association for the King's service, but in 1644 the palatinate was again overrun by a Scottish army, and after the Battle of Marston Moor (2 July 1644) fell entirely into the hands of the parliament.
In 1614, a bill was introduced in parliament for securing representation to the county and city of Durham and the borough of Barnard Castle. The bishop strongly opposed the proposal as an infringement of his palatinate rights, and the county was first summoned to return members to parliament in 1654. After the Restoration of 1660 the county and city returned two members each. In the wake of the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned two members for two divisions, and the boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland acquired representation. The bishops lost their secular powers in 1836. The boroughs of Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool returned one member each from 1868 until the Redistribution Act of 1885.
'Durham Castle and Cathedral' is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other attractions in the County include; Auckland Castle, North of England Lead Mining Museum and Beamish Museum.
Modern government.
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 reformed the municipal boroughs of Durham, Stockton on Tees and Sunderland. In 1875, Jarrow was incorporated as a municipal borough, as was West Hartlepool in 1887. At a county level, the Local Government Act 1888 reorganised local government throughout England and Wales. Most of the county came under control of the newly formed Durham County Council in an area known as an administrative county. Not included were the county boroughs of Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland. However, for purposes other than local government, the administrative county of Durham and the county boroughs continued to form a single county to which the Crown appointed a Lord Lieutenant of Durham.
Over its existence, the administrative county lost territory, both to the existing county boroughs, and because two municipal boroughs became county boroughs: West Hartlepool in 1902 and Darlington in 1915. The county boundary with the North Riding of Yorkshire was adjusted in 1967: that part of the town of Barnard Castle historically in Yorkshire was added to County Durham, while the administrative county ceded the portion of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in Durham to the North Riding. In 1968, following the recommendation of the Local Government Commission, Billingham was transferred to the county borough of Teesside, in the North Riding. In 1971, the population of the county—including all associated county boroughs (an area of )—was 1,409,633, with a population outside the county boroughs of 814,396.
In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the administrative county and the county boroughs, reconstituting County Durham as a non-metropolitan county. The reconstituted County Durham lost territory to the north-east (around Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland) to Tyne and Wear and to the south-east (around Hartlepool) to Cleveland. At the same time it gained the former area of Startforth Rural District from the North Riding of Yorkshire. The area of the Lord Lieutenancy of Durham was also adjusted by the Act to coincide with the non-metropolitan county (which occupied in 1981).
In 1996, as part of 1990s UK local government reform by Lieutenancies Act 1997, Cleveland was abolished. Its districts were reconstituted as unitary authorities. Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees (north Tees) were returned to the county for the purposes of Lord Lieutenancy. Darlington also became a third unitary authority of the county. The Royal Mail abandoned the use of postal counties altogether, permitted but not mandatory being at a writer wishes.
As part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England initiated by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the seven district councils within the County Council area were abolished. The County Council assumed their functions and became the fourth unitary authority. Changes came into effect on 1 April 2009.
On 15 April 2014, North East Combined Authority was established under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 with powers over economic development and regeneration. In November 2018, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Borough Council, and Northumberland County Council left the authority. These later formed the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
In May 2021, four parish councils of the villages of Elwick, Hart, Dalton Piercy and Greatham all issued individual votes of no confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council, and expressed their desire to re-join County Durham.
Tourism.
Bishop Auckland.
An October 2019 article in "The Guardian" referred to Bishop Auckland as a "rundown town ... since the closure of the mines" but predicted that the re-opening of Auckland Castle would transform the area into a "leading tourist destination". After renovations by the Auckland Project, the castle re-opened on 2 November 2019, operated by the Auckland Castle Trust, started by the owner of the castle, Jonathan Ruffer. In 2012 Ruffer had purchased the property and all of its contents, including the artwork, with works by Francisco de Zurbarán.
Other projects in the town include the Mining Art Gallery, which opened in 2017 (thanks to support provided to the Castle Trust by Bishop Auckland and Shildon AAP and Durham County Council), a viewing tower, an open-air theatre show (Kynren) depicting "An Epic Tale of England", and the Bishop Trevor Gallery at the Castle (which started displaying the National Gallery's "Masterpiece" touring exhibit in October 2019). In a few years, other attractions were expected to open at or near the Castle: a display of Spanish art, a Faith Museum, a site that will feature the works of Francisco de Zurbarán, a boutique hotel and two additional restaurants.
Reports suggest that the revival of the area, dubbed "the Auckland Project", will eventually cost a total of about £150m. According to "The Guardian", "The aim is to make the town – the heart of the abandoned Durham coalfields – a tourist destination that holds people for a day or two rather than just a couple of hours. The scheme will create hundreds of entry-level jobs in a county that suffers high unemployment and has some of the most deprived areas in northern Europe".
A "Financial Times" report in early November 2019 stated that "Kynren [theatre] has attracted 250,000 people and the Auckland Project, even with the castle closed, welcomed 35,500 visitors in the past year" to this community.
A September 2019 report identified Bishop Auckland as one of the towns designated to receive up to £25 million in funding from a new Towns Fund intended "to improve industrial areas that have not benefitted from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas". Durham County Council's Cabinet member for economic regeneration said that the funds would help the partners in Bishop Auckland to regenerate the town center area.
Geography.
Geology.
County Durham is underlain by Carboniferous rocks in the west. Permian and Triassic strata overlie these older rocks in the east. These sedimentary sequences have been cut by igneous dykes and sills.
Climate.
The following climate figures were gathered at the Durham weather station between 1981 and 2010:
Green belt.
County Durham contains a small area of green belt in the north of the county, surrounding primarily the city of Durham, Chester-le-Street and other communities along the shared county border with Tyne and Wear, to afford a protection from the Wearside conurbation. There is a smaller portion of belt separating Urpeth, Ouston, Pelton, and Perkinsville from Birtley in Tyne and Wear. A further small segment by the coast separates Seaham from the Sunderland settlements of Beckwith Green and Ryhope. It was first drawn up in the 1990s.
North Pennines.
The county contains a sizeable area of the North Pennines, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, primarily west of Tow Law and Barnard Castle. The highest point (county top) of historic County Durham is the trig point (not the summit) of Burnhope Seat, height , between Weardale and Teesdale on the border with historic Cumberland in the far west of the county. The local government reorganisation of 1974 placed the higher Mickle Fell south of Teesdale (the county top of Yorkshire) within the administrative borders of Durham (where it remains within the ceremonial county), although it is not generally recognised as the highest point of Durham.
The two main dales of County Durham (Teesdale and Weardale) and the surrounding fells, many of which exceed in height, are excellent hillwalking country, although not nearly as popular as the nearby Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks. The scenery is rugged and remote, and the high fells have a landscape typical of the Pennines with extensive areas of tussock grass and blanket peat bog in the west, with heather moorland on the lower slopes descending to the east. Hamsterley Forest near Crook is a popular recreational area for local residents.
Biology.
Birds.
152 species of birds are recorded as breeding; however, not all are considered regular breeders.
Demography.
Population.
The Office for National Statistics estimated in 2016 that the Durham County Council area had a population of 522,100, the Borough of Darlington a population of 105,600, the Borough of Hartlepool a population of 92,800, and the part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham (the other part being in North Yorkshire) a population of 137,300. This gives the total estimated population of the ceremonial county at 857,800.
At the 2001 Census, Easington and Derwentside districts had the highest proportion (around 99%) in the county council area of resident population who were born in the UK. 13.2% of the county council area's residents rate their health as "not good", the highest proportion in England. This table shows the historic population of the current remit of Durham County Council between 1801 and 2001.
96.6% of County Durham's residents are indigenous White British, with other white groups making up a further 1.6% of the population. The largest non-white ethnic group is formed by those of Chinese descent, at around 1,600 people (0.3%), most of whom living in and around Durham itself, and with many of those studying at the university. Around 77% of the county's population are Christian whilst 22% have no religion, and around 1% come from other religious communities. These figures exclude around 6% of the population who did not wish to state their religion.
Settlements.
Changes in the 1900s.
Since the Local Government Act 1972 historic county boundaries now lie within other administrative counties. These include:
Changes in the 1800s.
Throughout the 1800s exclaves, of the historic county, each were given back to surrounding shires and lands they were closer associated with:
Employment.
The proportion of the population working in agriculture fell from around 6% in 1851 to 1% in 1951; currently less than 1% of the population work in agriculture. There were 15,202 people employed in coal mining in 1841, rising to a peak of 157,837 in 1921.
As at 2001, Chester-le-Street district has the lowest number of available jobs per working-age resident (0.38%).
Economy.
Economic history.
County Durham has long been associated with coal mining, from medieval times up to the late 20th century. The Durham Coalfield covered a large area of the county, from Bishop Auckland, to Consett, to the River Tyne and below the North Sea, thereby providing a significant expanse of territory from which this rich mineral resource could be extracted.
King Stephen possessed a mine in Durham, which he granted to Bishop Pudsey, and in the same century colliers are mentioned at Coundon, Bishopwearmouth and Sedgefield. Cockfield Fell was one of the earliest Landsale collieries in Durham. Richard II granted to the inhabitants of Durham licence to export the produce of the mines, the majority being transported from the Port of Sunderland complex which was constructed in the 1850s.
Among other early industries, lead-mining was carried on in the western part of the county, and mustard was extensively cultivated. Gateshead had a considerable tanning trade and shipbuilding was undertaken at Sunderland, which became the largest shipbuilding town in the world – constructing a third of Britain's tonnage.
The county's modern-era economic history was facilitated significantly by the growth of the mining industry during the nineteenth century. At the industry's height, in the early 20th century, over 170,000 coal miners were employed, and they mined 58,700,000 tons of coal in 1913 alone. As a result, a large number of colliery villages were built throughout the county as the industrial revolution gathered pace.
The railway industry was also a major employer during the industrial revolution, with railways being built throughout the county, such as The Tanfield Railway, The Clarence Railway and The Stockton and Darlington Railway. The growth of this industry occurred alongside the coal industry, as the railways provided a fast, efficient means to move coal from the mines to the ports and provided the fuel for the locomotives. The great railway pioneers Timothy Hackworth, Edward Pease, George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson were all actively involved with developing the railways in tandem with County Durham's coal mining industry. Shildon and Darlington became thriving 'railway towns' and experienced significant growths in population and prosperity; before the railways, just over 100 people lived in Shildon but, by the 1890s, the town was home to around 8,000 people, with Shildon Shops employing almost 3000 people at its height.
However, by the 1930s, the coal mining industry began to diminish and, by the mid-twentieth century, the pits were closing at an increasing rate. In 1951, the Durham County Development Plan highlighted a number of colliery villages, such as Blackhouse, as 'Category D' settlements, in which future development would be prohibited, property would be acquired and demolished, and the population moved to new housing, such as that being built in Newton Aycliffe. Likewise, the railway industry also began to decline, and was significantly brought to a fraction of its former self by the Beeching cuts in the 1960s. Darlington Works closed in 1966 and Shildon Shops followed suit in 1984. The county's last deep mines, at Easington, Vane Tempest, Wearmouth and Westoe, closed in 1993.
Boosting tourism.
An October 2019 article in "The Guardian" referred to town of Bishop Auckland as a "rundown town ... since the closure of the mines" but predicted that the re-opening of Auckland Castle would transform the community into a "leading tourist destination". The castle re-opened on 2 November 2019 after renovations by the Auckland Project, operated by the Auckland Castle Trust, started by the owner of the castle, Jonathan Ruffer.
The interior had been fully restored, including the bishops' "palatial" apartments. The Faith Museum of world religion and a huge glass greenhouse were under construction.
Other attractions already operating include the Mining Art Gallery which opened in 2017, an open-air theatre, Kynren, depicting "An Epic Tale of England", and the Bishop Trevor Gallery at the Castle; the latter started displaying the National Gallery's Masterpiece touring exhibit in October 2019. In a few years, other attractions were expected to open at or near the Castle: a display of Spanish art, the Faith Museum (already being built), a site that will feature the works of Francisco de Zurbarán, a boutique hotel and two restaurants, in addition to the Bishop's Kitchen café. According to "The Guardian",
The aim is to make the town – the heart of the abandoned Durham coalfields – a tourist destination that holds people for a day or two rather than just a couple of hours. The scheme will create hundreds of entry-level jobs in a county that suffers high unemployment and has some of the most deprived areas in northern Europe.
Economic output.
The chart and table summarise unadjusted gross value added (GVA) in millions of pounds sterling for County Durham across 3 industries at current basic prices from 1995 to 2004.
Post markings.
Postal Rates from 1801 were charged depending on the distance from London. Durham was allocated the code 263 the approximate mileage from London. From about 1811, a datestamp appeared on letters showing the date the letter was posted. In 1844 a new system was introduced and Durham was allocated the code 267. This system was replaced in 1840 when the first postage stamps were introduced.
Businesses.
Phileas Fogg snacks are made by the United Biscuits subsidiary KP Snacks in Consett on the Number One Industrial Estate. Nearby CAV Aerospace make ice protection systems for aircraft. Thomas Swan, an international chemicals company, is in Crookhall. The Explorer Group, who own Elddis, make caravans at Delves. The LG Philips Displays cathode ray tube factory at Carrville, Durham was the second largest employer in the north east after Nissan, before the company went bankrupt in 2006. Northumbrian Water is in Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor. Esh Group is a large construction company based south of Durham in Bowburn. Schmitz Cargobull UK is the UK's biggest trailer manufacturer, notably for refrigerated trailers, and is based at Harelaw near the Pontop Pike mast.
Black & Decker and Electrolux had large factories at Spennymoor, but moved production overseas. Thorn Lighting of the Zumtobel Lighting Group are on the Green Lane Industrial Estate at Spennymoor. Since 2007 RF Micro Devices (RFMD) have made electronic wafers on the Heighington Lane Business Park at Newton Aycliffe, on the site formerly owned by Fujitsu. Slightly to the north, TKA Tallent make automotive axles and chassis components. Husqvarna-Flymo, formerly owned by Electrolux, are on the Aycliffe Industrial Estate, where the world's first hover mower was built in 1965. In West Auckland, Potters Europe make road reflectors. GlaxoSmithKline has a site at Barnard Castle that makes pharmaceuticals.
NSK make ball bearings on the North West Industrial Estate at Peterlee, and GWA International subsidiary Gliderol UK build garage doors. Mecaplast Group UK produce automotive components on the Low Hills Industrial Estate in Easington Village near Peterlee. Reckitt Benckiser make cough syrup and indigestion remedies at Shotton, near Peterlee until 2014. Walkers Crisps have a site north of Peterlee.
Culture.
Mining and heavy industry.
A substantial number of colliery villages were built throughout the county in the nineteenth century to house the growing workforce, which included large numbers of migrant workers from the rest of the UK. Sometimes the migrants were brought in to augment the local workforce but, in other cases, they were brought in as strike breakers, or "blacklegs". Tens of thousands of people migrated to County Durham from Cornwall (partly due to their previous experience of tin mining) between 1815 and the outbreak of the First World War, so much so that the miners' cottages in east Durham called "Greenhill" were also known locally as "Cornwall", and Easington Colliery still has a Cornish Street. Other migrants included people from Northumberland, Cumberland, South Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Coal mining had a profound effect on trade unionism, public health and housing, as well as creating a related culture, language, folklore and sense of identity that still survives today.
The migrants also were employed in the railway, ship building, iron, steel and roadworking industries, and the pattern of migration continued, to a lesser extent, up until the 1950s and 1960s. Gateshead was once home to the fourth-largest Irish settlement in England, Consett's population was 22% Irish and significant numbers of Irish people moved to Sunderland, resulting in the city hosting numerous events on St. Patrick's Day due to the Irish heritage.
The culture of coal mining found expression in the Durham Miners' Gala, which was first held in 1871, developed around the culture of trade unionism. Coal mining continued to decline and pits closed. The UK miners' strike of 1984/5 caused many miners across the county to strike. Today no deep-coal mines exist in the county and numbers attending the Miners' Gala decreased over the period between the end of the strike and the 21st century. However recent years have seen numbers significantly grow, and more banners return to the Gala each year as former colliery communities restore or replicate former banners to march at the Gala parade.
Art.
In 1930, the Spennymoor Settlement (otherwise known as the Pitman's Academy) opened. The settlement, initially funded by the Pilgrim Trust, aimed to encourage people to be neighbourly and participate in voluntary social service. The settlement operated during the Great Depression, when unemployment was widespread and economic deprivation rife; Spennymoor was economically underprivileged. The settlement provided educational and social work, as well as hope; this included providing unemployed miners with on outlet for their creativity, a poor person's lawyer service, the town's first library and the Everyman Theatre. The output included paintings, sewing, socially-significant plays, woodwork and sculptures. Several members went on to win adult scholarships at Oxford University when such a route would normally be closed to the underprivileged. Former members include artists Norman Cornish and Tom McGuinness, writer Sid Chaplin OBE and journalist Arnold Hadwin OBE. The Spennymoor Settlement at its home in the Everyman Theatre (Grade 2 listed) is still operating, administered by the current trustees, offering community events and activities, including Youth Theatre Group, an Art Group and various classes, as well as offering community accommodation facilities.
Several Durham miners have been able to turn their former mining careers into careers in art. For example, Tom Lamb, as well as the aforementioned Tom McGuinness and Norman Cornish. Their artworks depict scenes of life underground, from the streets in which they lived and of the people they loved; through them, we can see, understand and experience the mining culture of County Durham.
In 2017, The Mining Art Gallery opened in Bishop Auckland in a building that was once a bank. Part of the Auckland Project, the gallery includes the work of artists from within County Durham and beyond, including such other North-Eastern mining artists as Robert Olley, as well as contributions from outside the region. It features three permanent areas and a temporary exhibition area; the gallery's Gemini Collection includes 420 pieces of mining art.
 Much of the artwork was donated, by Dr Robert McManners and Gillian Wales, for example.
In 2019, 100 years after his birth, a permanent tribute to the work of the artist Norman Stansfield Cornish MBE was opened within the Town Hall, and a Cornish Trail around the town was established to include areas of the town depicted in Cornish's artwork.
Music.
As with neighbouring Northumberland, County Durham has a rich heritage of Northumbrian music, dating back from the Northumbrian Golden Age of the 7th and 8th centuries. Bede made references to harp-playing, and abundant archeological evidence has been found of wooden flutes, bone flutes, panpipes, wooden drums and lyres (a six-string form of harp). North-East England has a distinctive folk music style that has drawn from many other regions, including southern Scotland, Ireland and the rest of northern England, that has endured stably since the 18th century. Instruments played include, in common with most folk music styles, stringed instruments such as the guitar and fiddle, but also the Northumbrian smallpipe, which is played and promoted by people including the Northumbrian Pipers' Society throughout the North East, including County Durham, with the society having an active group in Sedgefield. Contemporary folk musicians include Jez Lowe and Ged Foley.
In 2018, The Arts Council funded the Stories of Sanctuary project in the city of Durham. The project aims to assist people living in the city to share their stories about seeking sanctuary in the North East through photography, stories, poetry and music. The art is based on a history of sanctuary in Durham, from St Cuthbert's exile, through to the miners' strike of 1984, and to refugees escaping civil war in the Middle East. The music produced as part of the project includes contributions from singer-songwriter Sam Slatcher and viola player Raghad Haddad from the National Syrian Orchestra.
Other notable performers/songwriters who were born or raised in the county include Paddy McAloon, Eric Boswell, Jeremy Spencer, Alan Clark, Martin Brammer, Robert Blamire, Thomas Allen, Zoe Birkett, John O'Neill, Karen Harding and Courtney Hadwin.
Flag.
County Durham has its own flag, registered with the Flag Institute on 21 November 2013.
Katie, Holly and James Moffatt designed the flag and entered their design into a competition launched by campaigner Andy Strangeway, who spoke of the flag as ""free, public symbol for all to use, especially on 20th March each year, which is not only County Durham Day but also St Cuthbert’s birthday.”"
The flag consists of St Cuthbert's cross counterchanged with the county's blue and gold colours.
Education.
Durham LEA has a comprehensive school system with 36 state secondary schools (not including sixth form colleges) and five independent schools (four in Durham and one in Barnard Castle). Easington district has the largest school population by year, and Teesdale the smallest with two schools. Only one school in Easington and Derwentside districts have sixth forms, with about half the schools in the other districts having sixth forms.
The University of Durham is based in Durham city and is sometimes held to be the third oldest university in England.


Western Transdanubia

Western Transdanubia () is a statistical (NUTS 2) region of Hungary. It is part of the Transdanubia (NUTS 1) region. Western Transdanubia includes the counties of Zala, Vas, and Győr-Moson-Sopron.


Tori Parish

Tori is a municipality located in Pärnu County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia.
Settlements.
Sindi
Are, Tori, Sauga
Aesoo - Eametsa - Eavere - Elbi - Elbu - Jõesuu - Kiisa - Kildemaa - Kilksama - Kõrsa - Kuiaru - Kurena - Lepplaane - Levi - Mannare - Muraka - Murru - Muti - Niidu - Nurme - Oore - Parisselja - Pärivere - Piistaoja - Pulli - Räägu - Randivälja - Rätsepa - Rütavere - Riisa - Selja - Suigu - Taali - Tabria - Tammiste - Tohera - Urge - Urumarja - Vainu - Võlla - Võlli


Transdanubia

Transdanubia (; , ; or "", , ) is a traditional region of Hungary. It is also referred to as Hungarian Pannonia, or Pannonian Hungary.
Administrative divisions.
Traditional interpretation.
The borders of Transdanubia are the Danube River (north and east), the Drava and Mura rivers (south), and the foothills of the Alps roughly along the border between Hungary and Austria (west).
Transdanubia comprises the counties of Győr-Moson-Sopron, Komárom-Esztergom, Fejér, Veszprém, Vas, Zala, Somogy, Tolna, Baranya and the part of Pest that lies west of the Danube. (In the early Middle Ages the latter was known as Pilis county.)
This article deals with Transdanubia in this geographical meaning.
Territorial changes.
While the northern, eastern and southern borders of the region are clearly marked by the Danube and Drava rivers, the western border was always identical with the political boundary of Hungary, therefore it was affected by the territorial changes of the 20th century. Before the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 the present-day regions of Burgenland, Prekmurje and Međimurje were integral parts of Transdanubia. The three villages of Rusovce, Jarovce and Čunovo also belonged to Transdanubia before the Paris Peace Treaty in 1947. Transdanubia is essentially a Hungarian geographical concept so these areas ceased to be parts of it when they were annexed by neighbouring countries.
EU regions.
Transdanubia is a NUTS territorial unit in the European Union, consisting of Central Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia and Southern Transdanubia (see ). Pest county and Budapest belong to the region of Central Hungary. It has an area of 37,000 km2 and a population of around 3.1 million.
Geography.
The territory of the region is 38,000 km², and it comprises almost half of the whole territory of Hungary. In therms of historical geography it also comprised major part of northern Pannonia, and thus the term "Hungarian Pannonia" refers to this region. The terrain is very varied with gentle hills, valleys, basins, mountains and plains. The main geographical formations are the Transdanubian Mountains, the southern half of the Little Alföld, the Alpokalja, the Transdanubian Hills, and the Mezőföld (part of the Great Alföld). The main rivers are the Danube, Drava, Rába, Zala, and Kapos. In the middle of Transdanubia lies the biggest freshwater lake of Central Europe, the Lake Balaton. Other importants lakes are the Lake Velence and the Lake Fertő.
History.
Historically the counties of Transdanubia were Moson, Győr, Sopron, Vas, Zala, Veszprém, Fejér, Komárom, Esztergom, Somogy, Tolna and Baranya. They comprised the so called "Districtus Trans-Danubianus" from the beginnings of the 18th century. The boundaries of these counties, established by Stephen I of Hungary remained unchanged for almost 900 years until 1920.
Ancient history.
Transdanubia has been populated since the Stone Age. Between 10 BCE and 434 CE, it was part of the Roman Empire. With some present-day Austrian and Croatian territories, it comprised the Province of Pannonia, a romanised, Latin-speaking border region with important Roman towns (Scarbantia, Aquincum, Sopianae, Gorsium, Savaria) and rural villas.
Middle Ages.
In the Age of Migrations it was occupied by the Huns, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Gepids, Avars, Franks and the Slavic peoples. In 900 Pannonia was occupied by the Magyars and after 1000 became part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Transdanubia has been one of the most important regions of Hungary since the 11th century. Esztergom has been the ecclesiastical capital of the country since 1001 until today, and Stephen I of Hungary established his royal seat at Székesfehérvár, later the coronation town of the kings. Other important medieval cities were Veszprém, Pécs, Győr and Sopron. After the devastating Mongol invasion (see Mongol invasion of Europe) new castles were built, and King Béla IV of Hungary established a new royal capital at Buda, next to the Danube. The region's rich medieval heritage is seen everywhere from the little village churches to the old castles, monasteries and town houses.
Early modern times.
In the Ottoman era (16-17th centuries) the eastern and southern part of Transdanubia came under Turkish rule. The ever changing border ran along the Transdanubian Mountains and the southern shore of the Lake Balaton. The dangerous border was guarded by frontier-fortresses ("végvár"), the most important of which were Győr and Nagykanizsa. The Asian-style Ottoman rule and the constant war had devastating effects: dozens of villages were destroyed, the population was decimated and parts of the region became almost totally deserted. The territories belonging to the Royal Hungary (except the border regions) were more lucky, because the European-like developments were continuous. Here the 17th century was the period of the Catholic Counter-reformation, the fights for national independence from the Habsburgs and the formation of a new, powerful Catholic aristocracy.
In 1686 the allied Habsburg, Polish and Bavarian army reconquered Buda and terminated the Ottoman rule. In the 18th century the region was slowly rebuilt, and many new settlers (Magyars, Germans, Poles, Slovaks, and Croatians) arrived. Famous baroque castles were built to show the power of the big landowner families, for example the Esterházys in Fertőd and the Festetics in Keszthely. The baroque townscape of the cities survived until today in Győr, Székesfehérvár, Pécs, etc.
In the 19th century Trandanubia underwent a capitalist development. Due to its closeness of Austria it became again the richest part of the country, and – at least after the public opinion – more "European" and Western-like than any other region of Hungary or most regions of post-communist Central Europe.
Modern times.
Under the People's Republic of Hungary (1949–1989) new industrial cities were built at Tatabánya, Dunaújváros, Ajka and Komló, and new industries and factories were established, for example Hungary's only atomic power plant at Paks. In Pécs uranium was mined and big industrial suburbs were built. One of the most famous plant of Socialist Hungary, the Ikarus Bus was established in Székesfehérvár. After the fall of socialism, northern Transdanubia was more successful at adapting to the new economic situation than other parts of Hungary (except Budapest) and most of the foreign investment came here to help the radical economic renewal. In the 1990s Székesfehérvár was counted as probably the economically most successful Hungarian town. Esztergom, Győr and Szentgotthárd became centers of the automobile industry with the establishment of the Suzuki, Audi and Opel factories. On the other hand, some rural regions remained impoverished, especially in Southern Transdanubia and along the River Drave.