North Riding of Yorkshire

The North Riding of Yorkshire is the northernmost of the three Ridings that make up the county Yorkshire in northern England. Much of the Riding is rural, containing the North York Moors as well as an area of the Pennines including the north-eastern part of the Yorkshire Dales and southern Teesdale. It has a population of around 708,000, with many of its inhabitants living in the Teesside conurbation, which is centered on the Riding's largest town Middlesborough (pop. 174,000), and straddles the border with County Durham to the north along the River Tees, stretching to the seaside town of Redcar. Other notable towns in the Riding include the seaside resorts Scarborough and Whitby, as well as the county town Northallerton, market towns such as Thirsk and Richmond, and the military town Catterick Garrison (just west of Catterick village, the site of an old Roman fort).

The Riding is well-known for its coastline along the North Sea, which boasts such features as Robin Hood's Bay.

Administration

As of 2024, a large and mainly rural part of the Riding is under North Yorkshire Council. However, that also covers parts of the other two Ridings, and excludes the northernmost parts of the North Riding. The part of the Riding that contains southern Teesdale is administered by Durham County Council, whilst the more urbanised parts around the Teesside built-up area are under Middlesbrough Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.

Statistical

The part of the Riding under North Yorkshire Council is within the statistical region Yorkshire and the Humber, with the remainder of the Riding forming a part of North East England.

History

From the late 9th century until the mid-11th century, the North Riding formed the northernmost part of the Danelaw; an area of mainly northern, central and eastern England in which Danish laws applied. As such, many place-names in the Riding have Scandinavian origins. The name Whitby, for example, is derived from Old Norse hvite-byr meaning "white town". The hill near Great Ayton now known as Roseberry Topping was known as Othenesberg (recorded as such in 1119), which means "rock of Odin", a deity in Norse mythology.