View source for Historical and alternative regions of England

{{Short description|Sub-national divisions of England}}
[[England]] is divided by a number of different regional schemes for various purposes. Since the creation of the [[regions of England|Government Office Regions]] in 1994 and their adoption for statistical purposes in 1999, some historical regional schemes have become obsolete. However, many alternative regional designations also exist and continue to be widely used.

==Alternative==
{{see also| ONS Postcode Directory}}
===Cultural===
Informal and overlapping regional designations are often used to describe areas of England. They include:
*[[English Midlands|Midlands]], often considered interchangeable with Mercia
**{{flag|Black Country}}
**[[Welsh Marches]]
**[[Staffordshire Potteries]]
**[[Three Counties (Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire)|Three Counties]]
*[[Northern England]]
**[[Scottish Marches]]
**[[Yorkshire]]
*[[Southern England]]
** [[The Hundred Parishes]]
**[[Home Counties]]
***[[M4 corridor]]
****[[Thames Valley]]
**[[File:Cinque Ports towns flag.svg|border|22px]] [[Cinque Ports]]
**[[West Country]], often considered interchangeable with Wessex
**[[Cotswolds]]
**[[Weald]]

===Heptarchy===
[[Heptarchy]], former kingdom names which did not become counties have continued to be recognised by organisations as regions:
* {{flag|Wessex}}, generally interchangeable with the West Country (excluding Cornwall)
* {{flag|East Anglia}}
*{{flag|Mercia}}, often considered interchangeable with the Midlands
* {{flag|Northumbria}}, associated mainly with [[North East England]] (or the historic Counties of Northumberland and Durham), however, can also be considered interchangeable with Northern England

=== Counties ===

*{{flag|Sussex}}<ref>e.g. [http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisure/enjoy_west_sussex/sussex_day.aspx Sussex Day] and [[Sussex Police]]</ref>
*{{flag|Yorkshire}}<ref name="special">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5234444.stm| publisher=BBC|title=What's so special about Yorkshire?| date=1 August 2006| first=Liam| last=Allen| accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref>
**{{flag|North Riding of Yorkshire}}
**{{flag|West Riding of Yorkshire}}
**{{flag|East Riding of Yorkshire}} (historic)
*{{flag|Middlesex}}

===National parks===
[[National parks in England|National parks]] include:
*[[Peak District]]
*[[Lake District]]
*[[Dartmoor]]
*[[File:Exmoor Flag.svg|border|22px]] [[Exmoor]]
*[[North York Moors]]
*[[Northumberland National Park]]
*[[The Broads]]
*[[New Forest]]
*[[Yorkshire Dales]]
*[[South Downs]]

===Britain in Bloom regions===
[[Britain in Bloom]] divides England into 12 regions, bearing a mixture of government regions with some altered names. It also includes [[Cumbria]], Thames-and-Chilterns ([[Berkshire]], [[Buckinghamshire]] and [[Oxfordshire]]) and part of south east and south west as South-and-South-West.

===National Trust===
The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] has 10 regional offices in England.  These are
*[[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] – part of the official South West region
*[[East of England]] – as region
*[[East Midlands]] – as region
*North East England – [[North East England]] and [[Yorkshire and the Humber]]
*[[North West England]] – as region
*Thames and Solent – [[Berkshire]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[London]], [[Oxfordshire]], [[Hampshire]]
*South East England – [[East Sussex]], [[Kent]], [[Surrey]], [[West Sussex]]
*[[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] – as region
*[[Wessex]] – [[South West England]] without [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]]

===Postcodes===
{{main| Postcodes in the United Kingdom}}
Postcodes are used as alternatives to administrative units for statistics. Some areas and districts are close to geographic terminology where administrative borders differ, such as:
*The [[LA postcode area]], covering [[Morecambe Bay]]
* [[PE postcode area|PE]], [[The Fens]]
* E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W and WC for [[Inner London]]

==Historical==
[[File:Coenwulf.svg|thumb|Southern Great Britain around the year 800]]
===Before 500===
[[Dumnonia]] was a [[Celtic Britons|Brythonic]] kingdom in present-day part of [[South West England]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110810104811367 | title=Dumnonia }}</ref>
===500–1066===
[[File:Midland Map - 5 Boroughs 912 Ad.svg|thumb|An approximate depiction of [[Danelaw]]'s effect on [[Mercia]], showing the [[Five Burghs]], in the early 10th century]]

After the [[End of Roman rule in Britain|end of the Roman occupation of Britain]], the area now known as England became divided into seven [[Heptarchy|Anglo-Saxon kingdoms]]: [[Northumbria]], [[Mercia]], [[East Anglia]], [[Kingdom of Essex|Essex]], [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]], [[Kingdom of Sussex|Sussex]] and [[Wessex]]. A number of other smaller political divisions and sub-kingdoms existed. The kingdoms were eventually united into the [[Kingdom of England]] in a process beginning with [[Egbert of Wessex]] in 829 and completed by King [[Edred of England|Edred]] in 954. The [[Vikings|Norse]] kingdom of [[Scandinavian York|Jorvik]], also known as Scandinavian Yorkshire was not annexed into England until 1066 and the [[Harrying of the North]].

===1655–1657===
[[File:Rule of the Major-Generals map.svg|thumb|right|Map of the regions of England and Wales under the [[Rule of the Major-Generals|Major-Generals]], 1655–1657]]
During  [[The Protectorate]], [[Oliver Cromwell]] experimented with the [[Rule of the Major-Generals]]. There were [[rule of the Major-Generals#The Major-Generals and their regions|ten regional associations]] covering England and Wales administered by majors-general. Ireland under Major-General [[Henry Cromwell]],<ref>Henry Cromwell was nominally under the [[Lord Deputy of Ireland]], Charles Fleetwood, but Fleetwood's departure for England in September 1655 left him for all practical purposes the ruler of Ireland</ref> and Scotland under Major-General [[George Monck]] were in administrations already agreed upon and were not part of the scheme.<ref name=TR698>Royal, Trevor [[#References|References]]; pages 698,699</ref>

===World War II===
<!-- Table structure inserted to avoid text flow around image issues -->{|
| In the Second World War, England was divided into ten civil defence regions:
#Northern: [[County Durham|Durham]], [[Northumberland]], [[North Riding of Yorkshire|Yorkshire, North Riding]]
#North Eastern: Yorkshire, [[East Riding of Yorkshire|East]] and [[West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding]]
#North Midland: [[Derbyshire]], [[Leicestershire]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[Northamptonshire]], [[Nottinghamshire]], [[Rutland]]
#Eastern: [[Bedfordshire]], [[Cambridgeshire]], [[Essex]], [[Hertfordshire]], [[Huntingdonshire]], [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]]
#London: larger area than [[County of London]]/[[Middlesex]], possibly same as [[Metropolitan Police District]]
#Southern: [[Berkshire]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[Dorset]], [[Hampshire]], [[Oxfordshire]]
#South Western: [[Cornwall]], [[Devon]], [[Gloucestershire]], [[Somerset]], [[Wiltshire]]
#Midland: [[Herefordshire]], [[Shropshire]], [[Staffordshire]], [[Warwickshire]], [[Worcestershire]]
#North Western: [[Cheshire]], [[Cumberland]], [[Lancashire]] and [[Westmorland]]
#South Eastern: [[Kent]], [[Surrey]] and [[Sussex]]
|}<!-- End of table structure -->

===1945–1994===
====Economic planning regions====
Eight economic planning regions were named by the [[Secretary of State for Economic Affairs]], [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] in December 1964.  These were:

* Northern – [[Cumberland]], [[County Durham|Durham]], [[North Riding of Yorkshire]], [[Northumberland]], [[Westmorland]]
* North-West – [[Cheshire]], [[Lancashire]], [[High Peak (upland)|High Peak area of Derbyshire]]
* Yorkshire and Humberside – [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] – [[Lindsey (government district)|Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey]]
* East Midlands – [[Derbyshire|Derbyshire (minus High Peak)]], [[Leicestershire]], [[Holland, Lincolnshire|Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland]], [[Kesteven|Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven]], [[Northamptonshire]], [[Nottinghamshire]], [[Rutland]]
* West Midlands – [[Herefordshire]], [[Shropshire]], [[Staffordshire]], [[Warwickshire]], [[Worcestershire]]
* South West – [[Cornwall]], [[Devon]], [[Dorset]], [[Gloucestershire]], [[Somerset]], [[Wiltshire]]
* South East – [[Bedfordshire]], [[Berkshire]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[Essex]], [[Greater London]], [[Hampshire]], [[Kent]], [[Oxfordshire]], [[Hertfordshire]], [[Surrey]], [[Sussex]]
* East Anglia – [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]], [[Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely]], [[Huntingdon and Peterborough]]

====Standard statistical regions====<!-- This section is linked from [[East of England]] -->
Before the adoption of the government office regions for statistics, there were eight 'standard statistical regions':

[[File:EnglandStandStatRegionsNumbered.png|frame|Standard Statistical Regions]]
# North – current North East plus [[Cumbria]]
# North West – current North West less Cumbria
# Yorkshire and Humberside – as current [[Yorkshire and The Humber]]
# West Midlands – as now
# East Midlands – as now
# East Anglia – [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]], and [[Cambridgeshire]]
# South West – as now
# South East – as now, plus [[Greater London]], [[Bedfordshire]], [[Essex, England|Essex]], and [[Hertfordshire]]

====Civil defence regions====<!-- This section is linked from [[East of England]] -->
The present government office regions closely resemble Civil Defence Regions.  During the latter part of the Cold War, the United Kingdom was divided into 11 such regions, most of which were divided themselves into sub-regions.  The regions were numbered as shown in the list, numbers for sub-regions were of the form 1<sub>1</sub>.

The regions were based on pre-[[Second World War]] regions, but were substantially altered in the 1970s, with the merger of South East and Southern regions, and alterations in the north.  They were again altered in 1984, to merge the English regions 1 and 2 to become a single North East region, and Scotland's two southern regions (East and West Zones) becoming a single South Zone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/features/sfs/file_8.htm|title=File 8 Rethinking Regional Government|publisher=Subterranea Britannica|author=Steve Fox}}</ref>

=====1980s=====
From the mid-1980s, the eight English Civil Defence Regions were as follows (using 1974/1975 boundaries):

#North East England
##([[North East England]]) – [[Cleveland, England|Cleveland]]/[[County Durham|Durham]]/[[Northumberland]]/[[Tyne and Wear]]
##([[Yorkshire and the Humber]]) – [[Humberside]]/[[North Yorkshire]]/[[South Yorkshire]]/[[West Yorkshire]]
#[[East Midlands]]
##[[Derbyshire]]/[[Lincolnshire]]/[[Nottinghamshire]]
##[[Leicestershire]]/[[Northamptonshire]]
#[[East of England]]
##([[East Anglia]]) – [[Cambridgeshire]]/[[Norfolk]]/[[Suffolk]]
##[[Bedfordshire]]/[[Essex]]/[[Hertfordshire]]
#[[Greater London]] – see [[Civil defence centres in London]] for sub-regions
#[[South East England]]
##[[East Sussex]]/[[Kent]]/[[Surrey]]/[[West Sussex]]
##[[Berkshire]]/[[Buckinghamshire]]/[[Hampshire]]/[[Isle of Wight]]/[[Oxfordshire]]
#[[South West England]]
##[[Avon (county)|Avon]]/[[Dorset]]/[[Gloucestershire]]/[[Somerset]]/[[Wiltshire]]
##[[Cornwall]]/[[Devon]]
#[[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]
##[[Staffordshire]]/[[Warwickshire]]/[[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]]
##[[Hereford and Worcester]]/[[Shropshire]]
#[[North West England]]
##[[Cumbria]]/[[Lancashire]]
##[[Cheshire]]/[[Greater Manchester]]/[[Merseyside]]

====Redcliffe-Maud provinces====
[[Image:England RedcliffeMaud Provinces.png|frame|Redcliffe-Maud provinces]]
The [[Redcliffe-Maud Report]] produced by the [[Royal Commission]] on local government reform in 1969 recommended the creation of eight provinces.  In approximate terms, these were to be:

# North East – per [[North East England]]
# Yorkshire – per [[Yorkshire and the Humber]]
# North West – per [[North West England]], excluding southern [[Cheshire]]
# West Midlands – per [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]], including southern Cheshire
# East Midlands – per [[East Midlands]], less [[Northamptonshire]] and mid [[Lincolnshire]]
# South West – per [[South West England]]
# East Anglia – [[Cambridgeshire]], [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]], northern [[Essex]], southern Lincolnshire
# South East – [[South East England]] and [[Greater London]] with [[Northamptonshire]], [[Hertfordshire]], [[Bedfordshire]], southern [[Essex]]

==See also==
*[[List of ITV regions]]
*[[BBC English Regions]]
*[[International Territorial Level]]
*[[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics]]
*[[The United States of Europe, A Eurotopia?]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Regions of England|.]]
[[Category:Former subdivisions of England|.]]
[[Category:Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom]]