Our regional identity 'is down to TV'

Jun 3 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

THE popular idea of a united North East is a media creation of only the last 50 years, it is claimed today.

Previously, the region had been sharply divided by the River Tyne into two distinct counties of Durham and Northumberland, says a new book out today.

There were also more localised loyalties, such as Redesdale, Tynedale and the Borders area in Northumberland.

The book, which examines how the region regarded itself over the last 700 years, began as a university research project.

It was given added impetus when in 2004 nearly half the electorate took part in a referendum and by a ratio of three to one rejected the proposal for a regional assembly.

Supporters of the assembly had stressed that the North East and its people shared a history and culture which made the region unique.

That sparked the question of just how deep-rooted was the identity of the North East as a region and did it exist in the past?

The conclusion of the book, Regional Identities in North East England 1300-2000, published by Boydell Press at £50, is that the term North East did not surface until the 19th Century.

It was only the development of regional TV broadcasting which ushered in the mass use of North East, say the experts.

And they suggest the current move towards city regions based on the Tyne, Wear and Tees could be a better bet than the promotion of a single North East region because they are more firmly rooted in history.

The book’s editors, Dr Adrian Green from Durham University and Prof Tony Pollard of Teesside University, say: “Of perhaps more concern, the current region, centuries in the making, may be more fissured and fragile than we like to imagine.”

Dr Green said that use of the term North East began to appear in the late 19th Century by an organisation of engineers and shipbuilders and was then slowly used by newspapers and the Great North East railway in the early 20th Century.

But he said: “The popular use of the term North East came with regional TV broadcasting, especially Tyne Tees Television, and now TV, radio and newspapers reinforce the sense of the North East.”

Prof Pollard said: “We were surprised to discover that the research by our contributors pointed to a more fragmented region than recent commentators have supposed.

“There may be implications for planners in that the smaller city regions now in vogue, based on the Tees Valley and the Tyne and Wear basin, have very ancient, pre-industrial roots. History might even provide a justification for splitting the region.”

Dr Green added: “What we found is that in the medieval period there were very strong county identities of Durham and Northumberland.

“The concept of a North East is recent, and within living memory. But the other side of the coin is that there is a shared culture, particularly in the industrial parts of the region.”

Tyne-Wear rivalry 'football-based'

THE rivalry between Tyneside and Wearside in a supposedly united North East is put under the spotlight.

Adrian Green and Tony Pollard claim that the rivalry can be traced back to the 17th Century when Sunderland and Newcastle took opposite sides in the English Civil War.

But the levels of hostility can vary. The co-editors quote geographer Gus Caesar who wrote in 1962: "If a Wearsider visits a pub in Newcastle on a Saturday evening, things may go hard with him. But if a Wearsider meets a Geordie in more distant parts of Britain, they may well linger over a drink for they have many interests in common."

But in another new book, An Agenda for Regional History, published by Northumbria University Press at £14.95, Bill Lancaster says: "Sunderland’s often commented- upon hostility to Newcastle is recent in its origins. In some ways this is puzzling.

"The origins of recent Tyne Wear hostility lies in post-1960s football rivalry."