Humberside
Encyclopedia
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county
in Northern England
from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East
and West
ridings of Yorkshire
and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire
. The county council's headquarters were County Hall at Beverley
, inherited from the East Riding, and its largest settlement and only city was Kingston upon Hull
. The county stretched from Wold Newton
in its northern tip, to a different Wold Newton at its most southern point.
It bordered North Yorkshire
to the north and west, South Yorkshire
and Nottinghamshire
to the south-west, and Lincolnshire
to the south. It faced east towards the North Sea
. It was abolished on 1 April 1996, with four unitary authorities being formed: North Lincolnshire
, North East Lincolnshire
, Kingston upon Hull
and East Riding of Yorkshire
. The name has continued in use as a geographic term and in the names of institutions such as Humberside Police
and Humberside Fire Service.
prior to the creation of the county. By the twentieth century the industrial development of both sides of the Humber Estuary was becoming increasingly integrated and "Humberside" was being widely applied to the ports of Hull, Grimsby and Goole and their hinterland. The use of the term to unify the two sides of the river was also driven by the desire of the local authorities of the area to promote the construction of a suspension bridge
.
It was first adopted as an official term in 1964 when the planning region of Yorkshire and Humberside was created consisting of the East
, West Ridings of Yorkshire
and Parts of Lindsey
from Lincolnshire
. From that time on the Humberside name was actively used to market the area. In 1971 the newly-launched local BBC
radio station was named Radio Humberside
.
on 1 April 1974. It covered the former county borough
s of Grimsby
and Kingston upon Hull
. From Lindsey it incorporated the boroughs of Cleethorpes
, Scunthorpe
the urban districts of Barton-upon-Humber
and Brigg
, and the rural district
s of Glanford Brigg
, Grimsby
and Isle of Axholme
. From the East Riding it took the boroughs of Beverley
, Bridlington
, Hedon
the urban districts of Driffield
, Haltemprice
, Hornsea
and Withernsea
, and the rural district
s of Beverley
, Bridlington
(part), Driffield
, Holderness
, Howden
, Pocklington
. From the West Riding it took both the borough of Goole
and the rural district of Goole
.
In the Redcliffe-Maud Report
no directly-analogous area had been proposed, with the part north of the Humber consisting of one unitary authority, and the part south of it constituting another. The White Paper as proposed did not include a cross-Humber authority, either, with the northern part forming an "East Yorkshire" area and the southern area forming a Lincolnshire area. Humberside finally emerged in the Local Government Bill as introduced to Parliament, which also gave it its name for the first time.
Paul Bryan
, the MP for Howden
moved an amendment to the Bill that would have created a county of East Yorkshire, covering the rural area of northern Humberside along with Selby
and York
(and also Flaxton Rural District
), leaving a Humberside including Haltemprice, Hull, Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole, whilst Cleethorpes and Grimsby Rural District
would have been kept in Lincolnshire. The amendment was rejected by the House.
At this time, there was very little connecting its two parts, aside from ferries and a circuitous journey via Goole (a road journey from Grimsby to Beverley, the headquarters, being something just under 100 miles). It was promised by the government that the Humber Bridge
would make it a more viable unit. By 1975 the bridge was planned to open in 1977. It finally opened on 24 June 1981, providing a permanent link between North and South (and cutting the journey from Grimsby to Beverley to a mere 30 or so miles), but did not secure Humberside's future.
s:
for the new county. The winning design was by a Mr E H Cook from Thorngumbald
and letters patent
granting the arms were issued by the College of Arms
on 28 July 1976.
The shield was an heraldic map of the county: at the top was a gold ducal coronet from the arms of the city of Hull between two white Yorkshire roses, while at the bottom of the shield were two gold fleurs-de-lis
representing Lincolnshire. Across the centre of the shield was a blue and silver wave for the River Humber.
The crest was a blue eagle taken from the East Riding County Council arms rising phoenix
-like from flames, suggesting a new authority emerging from the ashes of the old. The eagle's wings bore gold droplets standing for North Sea Oil
and held a sword in the beak for the Scunthorpe steel industry.
The supporters on either side were: a silver dolphin bearing a terrestrial globe and supporting an anchor for worldwide trade; and Ceres goddess of harvest, for the county's agriculture. They stood upon a compartment depicting the countryside and coastline of Humberside.
The blazon or technical description of the arms was:
Per fess Sable and Gules on a Fess wavy Argent between in chief a Coronet Or between two Roses Argent barbed and seeded proper and in base two Fleurs de Lis Or a Bar wavy Azure and for a Crest on a Wreath Or and Gules rising from Flames proper a demi-Eagle Azure Goutté d'Or armed also Gold holding in the beak a Sword point downwards proper hilt and pommel Or.
And for Supporters on the dexter a Dolphin Argent finned Or charged on the shoulder with a Terrestrial Globe Azure the land masses Or supporting an Anchor proper and on the sinister a Female Figure habited representing Ceres with Cornucopia all proper upon a Compartment per pale Water barry wavy Azure and Argent and a Grassy Field proper.
The motto
was United we Flourish.
On the abolition of the county council in 1996 the arms became obsolete. However, the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
continue to use a version of the shield as their badge.
(MP for Beverley
), "almost the day after the decision was announced, a campaign began to have Humberside abolished". North Wolds Borough Council changed its name to East Yorkshire Borough Council, likely to emphasise this, and Beverley Borough Council formally included 'East Yorkshire' in its name. According to Cran there was a campaign in 1987 to get Humberside County Council to change its name to something like 'East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire'.
This attitude was reported as less common in the port towns of the county - The Times noted that Hull and Grimsby "regard the advantages of unification as an exciting prospect".
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England
advised the Secretary of State for the Environment
, Michael Heseltine
, in 1982 that "a review of the Humberside county boundary [was] warranted". The Local Government Boundary Commission reviewed the existence of Humberside from 1985 to 1988, but found that "that Humberside County Council could not be shown to have failed". The Secretary of State for the Environment
called for a further review in 1989, which ultimately resulted in a proposal made in November 1990, to transfer the four districts south of the Humber to the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire (which would have left the remaining part north of the Humber free to change its name to include Yorkshire). A report prepared for the LGBC in 1990 indicated that 63% of respondents thought that the creation of Humberside was "bad", 14% that it was "good")
However, before this could be implemented, a general local government review
for England was announced. This was being conducted with an eye to creating unitary authorities, and Humberside was one of the areas that the Commission was expecting "early wins" in, and was in the first tranche of reviews. The Commission recommended it and its districts be abolished and replaced with four unitary authorities, which the government accepted. The Order to do so was debated in the House of Commons
on 28 February 1995, and in the House of Lords
on 6 March 1995, and came into effect on 1 April 1996.
This resulted in four successor unitary authorities
:
There was some debate as to the fate of the Goole area (historically part of the West Riding). The Secretary of State (John Gummer
) originally proposed that Goole should be "incorporated in Selby
of North Yorkshire
", but ultimately it was decided to associate it with the rest of North Humberside.
There were also questions raised as to whether the boundaries of Hull should be expanded from their present boundaries (which had been set many decades ago and not altered, despite continuous urbanisation outside these borders in the former urban district of Haltemprice
).
Michael Brown
the Conservative MP for Brigg and Cleethorpes, was particularly vociferous in support of the Order, saying 'I want to see the word "Humberside" expunged from the English language' in the debate regarding its abolition.
There were to be heard few voices in its defence. Elliot Morley
, Labour MP for Glanford and Scunthorpe
claimed that 'young people who were born in Humberside and have an affinity with Humberside identify with it', although he agreed that the council was a 'flawed idea'.
The office of Lord Lieutenant of Humberside
was also abolished. The Yorkshire part became the ceremonial county
of the East Riding of Yorkshire (which includes Hull); the Lincolnshire part reverted to Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes. The whole of the area once covered by the former non-metropolitan county of Humberside, including the Lincolnshire parts, is part of the government office region
of Yorkshire and the Humber
(originally Yorkshire and Humberside).
did not adopt Humberside as a postal county
, instead dividing the area into North Humberside
and South Humberside
for purposes of directing mail with effect from 1 July 1975. Counties ceased to form part of addresses in 1996.
Under the Royal Mail's flexible addressing policy, in force since that date, users can choose to add a county to an address as long as the post town and postcode are included. The policy allows for the use of either the "former postal", "traditional" or "administrative" county. The Postcode Address File
Code of Practice does not allow for changes in the former postal county. In 2008 the Postal Services Commission
(Postcomm) announced that it was holding a public consultation into the code. Accordingly, local council leaders and members of parliament
asked that Postcomm recommend the deletion of North and South Humberside from postal databases. The recommendations were expected to be issued in late summer 2009 and a decision made by the end of the year.
, a Humberside Airport
(roughly halfway between Scunthorpe
and Grimsby
), a Humberside Fire Service and BBC Radio Humberside
(founded in 1971).
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
in Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
and West
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
ridings of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire
Lindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
. The county council's headquarters were County Hall at Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, inherited from the East Riding, and its largest settlement and only city was Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. The county stretched from Wold Newton
Wold Newton, East Riding of Yorkshire
Wold Newton is a small Yorkshire Wolds village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south of Scarborough and north west of Bridlington. The hamlet of Fordon is also part of the civil parish of Wold Newton...
in its northern tip, to a different Wold Newton at its most southern point.
It bordered North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
to the north and west, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
to the south-west, and Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
to the south. It faced east towards the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. It was abolished on 1 April 1996, with four unitary authorities being formed: North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire
North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
, North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire
North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, bordering the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire...
, Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
. The name has continued in use as a geographic term and in the names of institutions such as Humberside Police
Humberside Police
Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing an area covering the East Riding of Yorkshire, the city of Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire...
and Humberside Fire Service.
Name
The name "Humberside" was used as an informal name and geographical term for the area surrounding the HumberHumber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
prior to the creation of the county. By the twentieth century the industrial development of both sides of the Humber Estuary was becoming increasingly integrated and "Humberside" was being widely applied to the ports of Hull, Grimsby and Goole and their hinterland. The use of the term to unify the two sides of the river was also driven by the desire of the local authorities of the area to promote the construction of a suspension bridge
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
.
It was first adopted as an official term in 1964 when the planning region of Yorkshire and Humberside was created consisting of the East
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, West Ridings of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
and Parts of Lindsey
Lindsey
Lindsey was a unit of local government until 1974 in Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it...
from Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. From that time on the Humberside name was actively used to market the area. In 1971 the newly-launched local BBC
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...
radio station was named Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Humberside is a BBC Local Radio service covering the area of the former English county of Humberside, which was returned to North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire the East Riding of Yorkshire and the City of Kingston upon Hull on 1 April 1996....
.
Formation
It was created by the Local Government Act 1972Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
on 1 April 1974. It covered the former county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
s of Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
and Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. From Lindsey it incorporated the boroughs of Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes is a town and unparished area in North East Lincolnshire, England, situated on the estuary of the Humber. It has a population of 31,853 and is a seaside resort.- History :...
, Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
the urban districts of Barton-upon-Humber
Barton-upon-Humber
Barton-upon-Humber or Barton is a small town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, and at the end of the Humber Bridge. It lies east of Leeds, southwest of Hull and north northeast of the county town of Lincoln...
and Brigg
Brigg
Brigg is a small market town in North Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 5,076 in 2,213 households . The town lies at the junction of the River Ancholme and east-west transport routes across northern Lincolnshire...
, and the rural district
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
s of Glanford Brigg
Glanford Brigg Rural District
Glanford Brigg was a rural district in Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Glanford Brigg rural sanitary district...
, Grimsby
Grimsby Rural District
Grimsby Rural District was a rural district in Lincolnshire, England, part of the administrative county of Lindsey, from 1894 to 1974.The district covered the town of Immingham and the parishes of Ashby-cum-Fenby, Aylesby, Barnoldby-le-Beck, Beelsby, Bradley, Brigsley, East Ravendale, Great...
and Isle of Axholme
Isle of Axholme Rural District
Isle of Axholme was a rural district in Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Lincolnshire parts of the Thorne rural sanitary district and two parishes of the Goole RSD .After the abolition of Crowle Urban District and...
. From the East Riding it took the boroughs of Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
, Hedon
Hedon
Hedon is a small town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads....
the urban districts of Driffield
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield....
, Haltemprice
Haltemprice
thumb|right|200px|Obsolete Arms of the Former Haltemprice Urban District CouncilHaltemprice is an area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, directly to the west of Hull. It comprises the villages, Anlaby, Cottingham, Hessle, Kirk Ella, Skidby, West Ella and Willerby...
, Hornsea
Hornsea
Hornsea is a small seaside resort, town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England at the eastern end of the Trans Pennine Trail.-Overview:According to the 2001 UK Census, Hornsea parish had a population of 8,243....
and Withernsea
Withernsea
Withernsea is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, and forms the focal point for a wider community of small villages in Holderness. Its most famous landmark is the white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road...
, and the rural district
Rural district
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...
s of Beverley
Beverley Rural District
Beverley was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1894 to 1974.The district surrounded but did not include Beverley, which formed a municipal borough.The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894...
, Bridlington
Bridlington Rural District
Bridlington was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England from 1894 to 1974. It covered a coastal area, and surrounded the municipal borough of Bridlington on its land borders. The district covered Flamborough and Flamborough Head....
(part), Driffield
Driffield Rural District
Driffield was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded the municipal borough of Driffield....
, Holderness
Holderness Rural District
Holderness was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1935 to 1974, covering the Holderness area.It was created by a County Review Order made under the Local Government Act 1929 by the merger of Patrington Rural District, most of Skirlaugh Rural District and part of Sculcoates Rural...
, Howden
Howden Rural District
Howden was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Howden rural sanitary district. It lost a few parishes to the newly created Derwent Rural District and parts to Beverley Rural District in...
, Pocklington
Pocklington Rural District
Pocklington was a rural district in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1894 to 1974.The district surrounded but did not originally include Pocklington, which formed a separate urban district.The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894...
. From the West Riding it took both the borough of Goole
Goole
Goole is a town, civil parish and port located approximately inland on the confluence of the rivers Don and Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England...
and the rural district of Goole
Goole Rural District
Goole was a rural district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was created under the Local Government Act 1894, based on most of the Goole rural sanitary district . The town of Goole itself formed a separate urban district...
.
In the Redcliffe-Maud Report
Redcliffe-Maud Report
The Redcliffe–Maud Report is the name generally given to the report published by the Royal Commission on Local Government in England 1966–1969 under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud.-Terms of reference and membership:...
no directly-analogous area had been proposed, with the part north of the Humber consisting of one unitary authority, and the part south of it constituting another. The White Paper as proposed did not include a cross-Humber authority, either, with the northern part forming an "East Yorkshire" area and the southern area forming a Lincolnshire area. Humberside finally emerged in the Local Government Bill as introduced to Parliament, which also gave it its name for the first time.
Paul Bryan
Paul Bryan
Sir Paul Elmore Oliver Bryan DSO MC was a British Conservative politician.Bryan was born in Karuizawa, Japan, the seventh of nine children of The Rev Ingram Bryan. He lived in Japan until he was eight and then returned to England and was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead...
, the MP for Howden
Howden
Howden is a small market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the M62, on the A614 road about north of Goole and south-west of York. William the Conqueror gave the town to the Bishops of Durham in 1080...
moved an amendment to the Bill that would have created a county of East Yorkshire, covering the rural area of northern Humberside along with Selby
Selby (district)
Selby is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby and provides services to an area which includes Tadcaster and a host of villages....
and York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
(and also Flaxton Rural District
Flaxton Rural District
Flaxton was a rural district in the North Riding of Yorkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the York Rural Sanitary District which was in the North Riding....
), leaving a Humberside including Haltemprice, Hull, Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole, whilst Cleethorpes and Grimsby Rural District
Grimsby Rural District
Grimsby Rural District was a rural district in Lincolnshire, England, part of the administrative county of Lindsey, from 1894 to 1974.The district covered the town of Immingham and the parishes of Ashby-cum-Fenby, Aylesby, Barnoldby-le-Beck, Beelsby, Bradley, Brigsley, East Ravendale, Great...
would have been kept in Lincolnshire. The amendment was rejected by the House.
At this time, there was very little connecting its two parts, aside from ferries and a circuitous journey via Goole (a road journey from Grimsby to Beverley, the headquarters, being something just under 100 miles). It was promised by the government that the Humber Bridge
Humber Bridge
The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world...
would make it a more viable unit. By 1975 the bridge was planned to open in 1977. It finally opened on 24 June 1981, providing a permanent link between North and South (and cutting the journey from Grimsby to Beverley to a mere 30 or so miles), but did not secure Humberside's future.
Districts
The county was divided into nine non-metropolitan districtNon-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
s:
 |
|
Coat of arms
Humberside County Council held a competition to design a coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
for the new county. The winning design was by a Mr E H Cook from Thorngumbald
Thorngumbald
Thorngumbald is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England in an area known as Holderness. It lies approximately to the east of Hull city centre on the A1033 road....
and letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
granting the arms were issued by the College of Arms
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
on 28 July 1976.
The shield was an heraldic map of the county: at the top was a gold ducal coronet from the arms of the city of Hull between two white Yorkshire roses, while at the bottom of the shield were two gold fleurs-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
representing Lincolnshire. Across the centre of the shield was a blue and silver wave for the River Humber.
The crest was a blue eagle taken from the East Riding County Council arms rising phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....
-like from flames, suggesting a new authority emerging from the ashes of the old. The eagle's wings bore gold droplets standing for North Sea Oil
North Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
and held a sword in the beak for the Scunthorpe steel industry.
The supporters on either side were: a silver dolphin bearing a terrestrial globe and supporting an anchor for worldwide trade; and Ceres goddess of harvest, for the county's agriculture. They stood upon a compartment depicting the countryside and coastline of Humberside.
The blazon or technical description of the arms was:
Per fess Sable and Gules on a Fess wavy Argent between in chief a Coronet Or between two Roses Argent barbed and seeded proper and in base two Fleurs de Lis Or a Bar wavy Azure and for a Crest on a Wreath Or and Gules rising from Flames proper a demi-Eagle Azure Goutté d'Or armed also Gold holding in the beak a Sword point downwards proper hilt and pommel Or.
And for Supporters on the dexter a Dolphin Argent finned Or charged on the shoulder with a Terrestrial Globe Azure the land masses Or supporting an Anchor proper and on the sinister a Female Figure habited representing Ceres with Cornucopia all proper upon a Compartment per pale Water barry wavy Azure and Argent and a Grassy Field proper.
The motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
was United we Flourish.
On the abolition of the county council in 1996 the arms became obsolete. However, the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the area of what was the county of Humberside , but now consists of the unitary authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire in northern England.-Fire...
continue to use a version of the shield as their badge.
Abolition
Humberside was not well-loved, and to quote James CranJames Cran
James Douglas Cran is a British former Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness in northern England until he stepped down at the 2005 general election, being succeeded as Conservative candidate and MP by Graham Stuart...
(MP for Beverley
Beverley (UK Parliament constituency)
Beverley has been the name of a parliamentary constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire for three separate periods. From medieval times until 1869, it was a parliamentary borough, consisting solely of the market town of Beverley, which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons...
), "almost the day after the decision was announced, a campaign began to have Humberside abolished". North Wolds Borough Council changed its name to East Yorkshire Borough Council, likely to emphasise this, and Beverley Borough Council formally included 'East Yorkshire' in its name. According to Cran there was a campaign in 1987 to get Humberside County Council to change its name to something like 'East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire'.
This attitude was reported as less common in the port towns of the county - The Times noted that Hull and Grimsby "regard the advantages of unification as an exciting prospect".
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England
Local Government Boundary Commission for England (1972)
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England was the statutory body established under the Local Government Act 1972 to settle the boundaries, names and electoral arrangements of the non-metropolitan districts which came into existence in 1974, and for their periodic review...
advised the Secretary of State for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
, Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
, in 1982 that "a review of the Humberside county boundary [was] warranted". The Local Government Boundary Commission reviewed the existence of Humberside from 1985 to 1988, but found that "that Humberside County Council could not be shown to have failed". The Secretary of State for the Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
called for a further review in 1989, which ultimately resulted in a proposal made in November 1990, to transfer the four districts south of the Humber to the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire (which would have left the remaining part north of the Humber free to change its name to include Yorkshire). A report prepared for the LGBC in 1990 indicated that 63% of respondents thought that the creation of Humberside was "bad", 14% that it was "good")
However, before this could be implemented, a general local government review
1990s UK local government reform
The structure of local government in the United Kingdom underwent large changes in the 1990s. The system of two-tier local government introduced in the 1970s by the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Government Act 1973 was abolished in Scotland and Wales on April 1, 1996, and replaced with...
for England was announced. This was being conducted with an eye to creating unitary authorities, and Humberside was one of the areas that the Commission was expecting "early wins" in, and was in the first tranche of reviews. The Commission recommended it and its districts be abolished and replaced with four unitary authorities, which the government accepted. The Order to do so was debated in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on 28 February 1995, and in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 6 March 1995, and came into effect on 1 April 1996.
This resulted in four successor unitary authorities
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
:
- Kingston upon HullKingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
- East Riding of YorkshireEast Riding of YorkshireThe East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
: BeverleyBeverley (borough)Beverley was a local government district and borough of Humberside, England, from 1974 to 1996.It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the previous borough of Beverley, with Beverley Rural District and Haltemprice Urban District...
, East YorkshireEast Yorkshire (district)The Borough of East Yorkshire was one of nine local government districts of the county of Humberside, England from April 1, 1974 to April 1, 1996....
, HoldernessHolderness (borough)Holderness was a local government district and borough in northern England, named for the Holderness peninsula.It was formed on 1 April 1974 along with the non-metropolitan county of Humberside in which it was situated...
, and northern Boothferry - North LincolnshireNorth LincolnshireNorth Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber in England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of Lincolnshire....
: Glanford, Scunthorpe and southern Boothferry - North East LincolnshireNorth East LincolnshireNorth East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, bordering the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire...
: Great Grimsby, CleethorpesCleethorpes (borough)Cleethorpes was a local government district in Humberside, England from 1974 to 1996. It was granted borough status in 1975.It was formed on April 1, 1974, and covered Cleethorpes itself along with a wider area including Humberston, Laceby, Stallingborough, New Waltham, and Immingham...
There was some debate as to the fate of the Goole area (historically part of the West Riding). The Secretary of State (John Gummer
John Gummer
John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal, now a member of the House of Lords. He is Chairman of the environmental consultancy company Sancroft International and Chairman of Veolia Water...
) originally proposed that Goole should be "incorporated in Selby
Selby (district)
Selby is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The local authority, Selby District Council, is based in the town of Selby and provides services to an area which includes Tadcaster and a host of villages....
of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
", but ultimately it was decided to associate it with the rest of North Humberside.
There were also questions raised as to whether the boundaries of Hull should be expanded from their present boundaries (which had been set many decades ago and not altered, despite continuous urbanisation outside these borders in the former urban district of Haltemprice
Haltemprice
thumb|right|200px|Obsolete Arms of the Former Haltemprice Urban District CouncilHaltemprice is an area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, directly to the west of Hull. It comprises the villages, Anlaby, Cottingham, Hessle, Kirk Ella, Skidby, West Ella and Willerby...
).
Michael Brown
Michael Brown (UK politician)
Michael Russell Brown is a British former Conservative Party politician and is now a newspaper and broadcast political journalist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1997.-Biography:...
the Conservative MP for Brigg and Cleethorpes, was particularly vociferous in support of the Order, saying 'I want to see the word "Humberside" expunged from the English language' in the debate regarding its abolition.
There were to be heard few voices in its defence. Elliot Morley
Elliot Morley
Elliot Anthony Morley is a former Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Glanford and Scunthorpe from 1987 to 1997 and then Scunthorpe from 1997 to 2010. In 2009, he was accused by The Daily Telegraph of continuing to claim parliamentary expenses for a mortgage that had...
, Labour MP for Glanford and Scunthorpe
Glanford and Scunthorpe (UK Parliament constituency)
Glanford and Scunthorpe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the borough of Glanford and the town of Scunthorpe in Humberside. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
claimed that 'young people who were born in Humberside and have an affinity with Humberside identify with it', although he agreed that the council was a 'flawed idea'.
The office of Lord Lieutenant of Humberside
Lord Lieutenant of Humberside
A list of the Lord Lieutenants of Humberside. The office was created on 1 April 1974, and abolished on 31 March 1996.-Lord Lieutenants of Humberside 1974-1996:...
was also abolished. The Yorkshire part became the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of the East Riding of Yorkshire (which includes Hull); the Lincolnshire part reverted to Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes. The whole of the area once covered by the former non-metropolitan county of Humberside, including the Lincolnshire parts, is part of the government office region
Regions of England
In England, the region is the highest tier of sub-national division used by central Government. Between 1994 and 2011, the nine regions had an administrative role in the implementation of UK Government policy, and as the areas covered by elected bodies...
of Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine regions of England and formally one of the government office regions. It covers most of the historic county of Yorkshire, along with the part of northern Lincolnshire that was, from 1974 to 1996, within the former shire county of Humberside. The...
(originally Yorkshire and Humberside).
Postal counties
The Royal MailRoyal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
did not adopt Humberside as a postal county
Postal counties of the United Kingdom
The postal counties of the United Kingdom, now known officially as the former postal counties, were postal subdivisions in routine use by the Royal Mail until 1996. The raison d'être of the postal county – as opposed to any other kind of county – was to aid the sorting of mail by...
, instead dividing the area into North Humberside
North Humberside
North Humberside is a former postal county of England. It was introduced by the Royal Mail on 1 July 1974, when some addresses were altered in response to the changes in administration brought about under the Local Government Act 1972....
and South Humberside
South Humberside
South Humberside is a former postal county of England. It was introduced by the Royal Mail on 1 July 1974, when some addresses were altered in response to the changes in administration brought about under the Local Government Act 1972....
for purposes of directing mail with effect from 1 July 1975. Counties ceased to form part of addresses in 1996.
Under the Royal Mail's flexible addressing policy, in force since that date, users can choose to add a county to an address as long as the post town and postcode are included. The policy allows for the use of either the "former postal", "traditional" or "administrative" county. The Postcode Address File
Postcode Address File
The Postcode Address File is a database which contains all known "Delivery Points" and postcodes in the United Kingdom. Buildings which contain several flats or businesses but only one external front door, will only have the external front door listed; the full addresses which include flat...
Code of Practice does not allow for changes in the former postal county. In 2008 the Postal Services Commission
Postal Services Commission
The Postal Services Commission, known as Postcomm, was a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom charged with overseeing the quality and universal service of post in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000 under the Postal Services Act 2000...
(Postcomm) announced that it was holding a public consultation into the code. Accordingly, local council leaders and members of parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
asked that Postcomm recommend the deletion of North and South Humberside from postal databases. The recommendations were expected to be issued in late summer 2009 and a decision made by the end of the year.
Legacy
Despite the abolition of the county, the term 'Humberside' has not fallen out of use as a general geographic designation. There is still a Humberside PoliceHumberside Police
Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing an area covering the East Riding of Yorkshire, the city of Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire...
, a Humberside Airport
Humberside Airport
-Cargo flights:Icelandair Cargo operate a weekly Sunday flight from Keflavík which then departs to Liege-Passenger statistics:-Bus service:An hourly daytime bus service runs from Grimsby and Hull to the airport from Monday to Saturday.-External links:**...
(roughly halfway between Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
and Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
), a Humberside Fire Service and BBC Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Humberside
BBC Radio Humberside is a BBC Local Radio service covering the area of the former English county of Humberside, which was returned to North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire the East Riding of Yorkshire and the City of Kingston upon Hull on 1 April 1996....
(founded in 1971).