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A riding is an administrative jurisdiction or electoral district, particularly in several current or former Commonwealth countries. [1]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2010) |
A riding is an administrative jurisdiction or electoral district, particularly in several current or former Commonwealth countries. [1]
The word riding is descended from late Old English þriðing or *þriding (recorded only in Latin contexts or forms, e.g., trehing, treding, trithing, with Latin initial t here representing the Old English letter thorn). It came into Old English as a loanword from Old Norse þriðjungr, meaning a third part (especially of a county) – the original "ridings", in the English counties of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, were in each case a set of three, though once the term was adopted elsewhere it was used for other numbers (compare to farthings). The modern form riding was the result of the initial th being absorbed in the final th or t of the words north, south, east and west, by which it was normally preceded. [2] [3] [4]
A common misconception holds that the term arose from some association between the size of the district and the distance that can be covered or encircled on horseback in a certain amount of time (compare the Walking Purchase).
The term was used in Australia as a division of some shire councils, similar to a ward in city, borough, town and many shire councils. [5]
The term was used in 19th-century Canada to refer to subdivisions of counties.
In Canadian politics, riding is a colloquial term for a constituency or electoral district. Officially, electoral district is generally used, although government documents sometimes use the colloquial term. In colloquial Canadian French, a riding is known as comté, i.e., 'county', as the electoral districts in Quebec were historically identical to its counties; the official French term is circonscription.
The Canadian use of riding is derived from the English local government term, which was widely used in Canada in the 19th century. Most Canadian counties never had sufficient population to justify administrative subdivisions. Nonetheless, it was common, especially in Ontario, to divide counties with sufficient population into multiple electoral districts, which thus became known as ridings in official documents. The term was used in the legal descriptions of the electoral districts of Canada West in the Province of Canada. It was later used in the description of the new electoral districts which were created by the Constitution Act, 1867 , for the first elections to the new federal House of Commons and the new provincial Legislative Assembly of Ontario, immediately following Confederation. Soon after Confederation, the urban population grew (and more importantly, most city dwellers gained the franchise after property ownership was no longer required to gain the vote). Rural constituencies therefore became geographically larger through the 20th century and generally encompassed one or more counties each, and the word riding was then used to refer to any electoral division.
The local association for a political party, which legally is known as an electoral district association, is often referred to as a riding association.
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The ancient county of Yorkshire had three ridings, [4] [6] [7] North, West and East, originally each subdivided into wapentakes which were created by the Vikings. Note that the bounds of the City of York lay outside all the ridings to emphasise its political impartiality.
The Yorkshire ridings were in many ways treated as separate administrative counties, having had separate quarter sessions and also separate lieutenancies since the Restoration. This practice was followed by the Local Government Act 1888, which made each of the three ridings an administrative county with an elected county council. These county councils, along with the ancient lieutenancies, were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.
A local government area, East Riding of Yorkshire, was created in 1996, but this does not cover the entire area of the former East Riding and includes areas from the historical West Riding.
According to the 12th century compilation known as the Leges Edwardi Confessoris , the riding was the third part of a county (provincia); to it causes were brought which could not be determined in the wapentake, and a matter which could not be determined in the riding was brought into the court of the shire. [2]
Riding courts were held after the Norman Conquest. A charter which Henry I granted to the Church of St Peters at York mentions wapentacmot,tridingmot and shiresmot (-mot designates popular assemblies), and exemptions from suit to the thriding or riding are described in the charters of the Norman kings. As yet, however, the jurisdiction and functions of these courts have not been ascertained. It seems probable from the silence of the records that they had already fallen into disuse early in the 13th century. [2]
Although no longer having any administrative role, the ridings of Yorkshire still play a part as cultural entities – they are used for the names of a number of groups and organisations and some people in Yorkshire associate themselves with one riding or another (see current usage of West Riding of Yorkshire). Winifred Holtby's 1936 novel South Riding and its adaptations were set in a fictional fourth riding. The title of the novel trilogy Red Riding by David Peace, set in Yorkshire, is a play on the word.
The Yorkshire Ridings Society calls for wider recognition of the historic borders of Yorkshire.
The Parts of Lindsey, one of the Parts of Lincolnshire, also possessed ridings, in this case the North, West, and South ridings.
The Grand Jury (Ireland) Act 1836 empowered the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to divide Irish counties into ridings with separate assizes held in different towns. [8] This was to allow County Tipperary to be divided in 1838 into a North Riding and South Riding, because the county town of Clonmel was inconveniently far south for jurors from the north. [9] Nenagh became the North Riding's assize town. [10] The ridings became separate administrative counties, with minor boundary adjustments, under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, [11] [12] and were redenominated as counties "North Tipperary" and "South Tipperary" under the Local Government Act 2001. [13] They were merged back into a single County Tipperary by the Local Government Reform Act 2014. [14]
County Cork had been divided in 1823 into East and West Ridings for quarter sessions and petty sessions, [15] but not for assizes, and so had a single county council after the 1898 changes. [12] County Galway from 1837 had East and West Ridings for Royal Irish Constabulary and county surveyor purposes. [12] The Cork and Galway ridings became largely obsolete after independence in 1922, [12] although the names "Cork East[/West] Riding" were used for the relevant Garda Síochána (police) divisions into the 1990s. [16]
Ridings existed in rural New Zealand in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century as part of larger county councils in the area. For example, The Taranaki County Council was divided into three separate ridings: Moa (south), Omata (west) and Waitara (east). [17]
As use of the automobile became more popular with the improvement of roads, combined with the concurrent trend of urban drift (c. 1950s), the ridings were either merged back into their parent councils or separated off into county councils in their own right. The Taranaki County Council's three ridings eventually split, with the Omata Riding remaining part of the Taranaki County Council, the Moa riding merging with the Inglewood Borough Council and the Waitara Riding becoming part of the Clifton County Council. [18]
In 1989 these were again merged, reorganised into district and/or city councils. For example, the above three all merged with the New Plymouth Council and Waitara Borough Councils to form the New Plymouth District Council.
Examples:
Ridings are originally Scandinavian institutions.
In Iceland the third part of a thing which corresponded roughly to an English county was called þrithjungr. The island of Gotland and the Swedish provinces Närke and Hälsingland were also divided into þrithjungar instead of hundreds.
In Norway, the þrithjungr seems to have been an ecclesiastical division.
The term is analogous to fourths of a county, in a fashion similar to the old British farthing. They have also been found in Iceland and Gloucestershire.[ citation needed ] J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, The Shire, is divided into farthings, into the Fourth Age.
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
The counties of Ireland are historic administrative divisions of the island. They began as Norman structures, and as the powers exercised by the Cambro-Norman barons and the Old English nobility waned over time, new offices of political control came to be established at a county level. The number of counties varied depending on the time period, however thirty-two is the traditionally accepted and used number.
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French comté denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count (earl) or a viscount. Literal equivalents in other languages, derived from the equivalent of "count", are now seldom used officially, including comté, contea, contado, comtat, condado, Grafschaft, graafschap, and zhupa in Slavic languages; terms equivalent to 'commune' or 'community' are now often instead used.
County Tipperary is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland. It is Ireland's largest inland county and shares a border with eight counties, more than any other. The population of the county was 167,895 at the 2022 census. The largest towns are Clonmel, Nenagh and Thurles.
The historic counties of England are areas that were established for administration by the Normans, in many cases based on earlier kingdoms and shires created by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Celts and others. They are alternatively known as ancient counties, traditional counties, former counties or simply as counties. In the centuries that followed their establishment, as well as their administrative function, the counties also helped define local culture and identity. This role continued even after the counties ceased to be used for administration after the creation of administrative counties in 1889, which were themselves amended by further local government reforms in the years following.
The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York and as such was named "West Riding of the County of York and the County of the City of York". The riding ceased to be used for administrative purposes in 1974, when England's local government was reformed.
The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at 2,585 ft (788 m).
The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purposes of lieutenancy; the 84 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties for local government; and the 39 historic counties which were used for administration until 1974.
North Tipperary was a county in Ireland in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 48% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. North Tipperary County Council was the local authority for the county. In 2011, the population of the county was 70,322.
South Tipperary was a county in Ireland in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. South Tipperary County Council was the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 88,433 according to the 2011 census. It was abolished on 1 June 2014, and amalgamated with North Tipperary to form County Tipperary under a new Tipperary County Council.
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities is composed of the members of the council, elected by universal franchise in local elections every five years from multi-seat local electoral areas using the single transferable vote. Many of the authorities' statutory functions are, however, the responsibility of ministerially appointed career officials termed Chief executives. The competencies of the city and county councils include planning, transport infrastructure, sanitary services, public safety and the provision of public libraries. Each local authority sends representatives to one of three Regional Assemblies.
In Ireland, a barony is a historical subdivision of a county, analogous to the hundreds into which the counties of England were divided. Baronies were created during the Tudor reconquest of Ireland, replacing the earlier cantreds formed after the original Norman invasion. Some early baronies were later subdivided into half baronies with the same standing as full baronies.
Cork County Council is the local authority of County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, as amended. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 55 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The county administration is headed by a chief executive, Valerie O'Sullivan. The county seat is Cork.
The history of local government in England is one of gradual change and evolution since the Middle Ages. England has never possessed a formal written constitution, with the result that modern administration is based on precedent, and is derived from administrative powers granted to older systems, such as that of the shires.
The history of local government in Yorkshire is unique and complex. Yorkshire is the largest historic English county and consists of a diverse mix of urban and rural development with a heritage in agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. After a long period with little change, it has been subject to a number of reforms of local government structures in modern times, some of which were controversial. The most significant of these were the Local Government Act 1972, the 1990s UK local government reform, and the Localism Act 2011. The historic area currently corresponds to several counties and districts and is mostly contained within the Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Durham County Council is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of County Durham in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a unitary authority, having taken over district-level functions when the county's districts were abolished. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county of County Durham, which additionally includes Darlington, Hartlepool and the parts of Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees. The county council has its headquarters at County Hall in Durham.
Tipperary County Council is the local authority of County Tipperary, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach (chairperson). The county administration is headed by a chief executive, Joe MacGrath. The administrative centres are Nenagh and Clonmel.
The United Kingdom and its four constituent countries has a long history of complex administrative geography. Due to the ruling of the country by different ruling classes over the centuries, different parts of the country have different traditional and modern systems of territorial organisation. This article lists different subdivisions found historically and modernly in the different countries of the UK.
He subsequently became chief superintendent in charge of the old Cork East Riding Division, which has since been split into the two divisions of Cork City and Cork East.; "Indictable Offences per 1,000 population by Garda Divisions - 1991" (PDF). Report on Crime, 1991. Garda Síochána. August 1992. p. 6.
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