Historic county of England
Yorkshire
Pennines west, Vale through the middle, Wolds and North Sea east.
Yorkshire is Britain’s largest geographic county, and its scale is matched by the variety of its landscapes. The Pennines and Yorkshire Dales dominate the west; the Vale of York opens into a broad north–south corridor through the middle; eastwards rise the North York Moors and Yorkshire Wolds before the land reaches Holderness and the North Sea.
York stands close to the geographical heart, where the three Riding boundaries meet at the walls of the historic city. Across the wider county lie great industrial cities, remote dales, broad lowlands, moorland, chalk uplands, Humber country and a long eastern coast. Yorkshire is enormous, but its river systems, central vale and three Ridings give it strong internal order.
- Kingdom of Jórvík 9th Century
- Norse þriðjungr or þriðing (ridings) established c.889
- Kingdom of Jórvík > County of York 1065
- Domesday Book: Eurvicscir
- Population: 5,218,838
- County Top: Mickle Fell
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
England and Wales Census 2021. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 892.8 people per sq mi (344.7 people per km²)
- Population
- 5,426,985
Three Ridings, one county
Yorkshire is traditionally divided into the East, North and West Ridings. Their boundaries meet at the walls of York: the historic city within the walls lies outside all three, while the wider present-day city extends into all three Ridings.
The Riding name ultimately derives from the Old Norse idea of a third part. Each developed powerful identities and institutions, but the Ridings remain divisions of Yorkshire rather than separate geographic counties.
From Dales to Humber
The western uplands feed rivers flowing eastwards towards the great lowlands and eventually the Humber system.
Further north and east, the Vale of York, North York Moors, Yorkshire Wolds and Holderness produce entirely different landscapes. This west-to-east progression is one of the clearest ways to understand a county of such exceptional size.
County questions
Questions about Yorkshire
Are the three Ridings separate counties?
No. They are Yorkshire’s three great traditional territorial divisions. Their identities are ancient and important, but each remains part of the geographic county of Yorkshire.
Why are they called Ridings?
The name has nothing to do with riding horses. It derives through Old Norse from a term meaning a third part.
Is Hull in Yorkshire?
Yes. Kingston upon Hull is geographically in Yorkshire, within the East Riding. Its historic county-corporate jurisdiction did not remove it from Yorkshire.
Are Yorkshire and County of York different territories?
No. They are different expressions of the same county name.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of York
- Name note
- Domesday Book: Eurvicscir
- County day
- 1 August
- Foundation
- Jórvík 800s > Yorkshire 1065
Yorkshire and County of York are forms of the same county name. The three Ridings provide its enduring internal structure, while the Pennines, Vale, moors, Wolds and Humber make its immense geography comprehensible.