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| − | '''Northumberland''' is a county in the north east of [[England]]. It is predominantly rural, although the south-east of the county contains several former coal mining towns and villages. The county town is [[Morpeth]]; other important towns include [[Berwick upon Tweed]], [[Alnwick]], [[Hexham]] and Haltwhistle. [[Hadrian's Wall]] crosses the southern part of Northumberland; other major historic sites in the county include the island of [[Lindisfarne]] or [[Holy Island]], and medieval fortresses at Bamburgh, Norham, Dunstanburgh, Alnwick, Warkworth and elsewhere. In Berwick, Northumberland has England's only sixteenth century walled town. The traditional county of Northumberland also included areas of [[Tyneside]] north of the [[River Tyne]] including the city of [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] (which, however, was made an independent county as early as 1400) and [[North Tyneside]]. These two districts became part of the administrative and ceremonial county of [[Tyne and Wear]] in 1974. | + | '''Northumberland''' is a ceremonial county in the North East of [[England]], lying along the border with [[Scotland]] to the north and bounded by the [[North Sea]] to the east and the English counties of [[Cumbria]] to the west and [[Durham]] and [[Tyne and Wear]] to the south. |
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| | + | The county has a land area of 1,936 square miles, with a population of 316,028 at the 2011 census. It is predominantly rural, although the south-east of the county contains several former coal mining towns and villages. The county town is [[Morpeth]]; other important towns include [[Berwick upon Tweed]], [[Alnwick]], [[Hexham]] and Haltwhistle. |
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| | + | Northumberland is one of the most ancient counties in England, with a distinct identity (as part of the old Anglo-Saxon kingdom of [[Northumbria]]) dating back to the mid-7th century AD. [[Hadrian's Wall]] crosses the southern part of Northumberland; other major historic sites in the county include the island of [[Lindisfarne]] or [[Holy Island]], and medieval fortresses at Bamburgh, Norham, Dunstanburgh, Alnwick, Warkworth and elsewhere. In Berwick, Northumberland has England's only sixteenth century walled town. The traditional county of Northumberland also included areas of [[Tyneside]] north of the [[River Tyne]] including the city of [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] (which, however, was made an independent county as early as 1400) and [[North Tyneside]]. These two districts became part of the administrative and ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in 1974. |
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| | + | Northumberland is sometimes referred to as the "cradle of Christianity" in England, due to the early activity of monks in the region during the 6th century, especially on Lindisfarne, where a major monastery flourished |
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| | [[Category:United Kingdom Counties]] | | [[Category:United Kingdom Counties]] |