Southern England

Last updated

Southern England
South of England
The South
Sub-national area of England
North-South divide in England.svg
In this image, the official definition of Southern England is illustrated in yellow.
Sovereign state
Country
Major cities Brighton
Bristol
London
Portsmouth
Plymouth
Southampton
Boroughs
Area
 • Total
62,042 km2 (23,955 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
27,945,000
 • Density450/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
 •  Urban
22,806,000
 •  Rural
5,139,000
Demonym Southerner
Time zone GMT (UTC)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)

Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of London, the South East, the South West and the East. [1] Altogether, it forms a population of nearly 28 million and an area of 62,042 square kilometres (23,955 sq mi).

Contents

Southern England has cultural, economic and political differences from both the Midlands (which borders it to its north) and the North of England; the Midlands form a dialect chain in a notable north–south divide of England. The South is considerably wealthier and politically influential as opposed to the North. [2] Within the South itself, multiple influences shape geographic and political divisions, defined by closeness to the capital; Greater London itself, its surrounding Home Counties and outer areas, as well as East Anglia and the West Country. Greater London is by far the most populous county in Southern England, followed by Hampshire, Kent and Essex. On the other hand, Bristol is the largest city in the South excluding London.

Definitions

For official purposes, the UK government does not refer to Southern England as a single entity, but the Office for National Statistics divides UK into twelve regions. In England, the North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber make up the North ("centre-north"); the West Midlands and East Midlands (as well as Wales) make up the Midlands ("centre-south") and the rest of England make up the South. [1]

Culturally speaking, the majority of people think that the South consists of the South East (92%), Greater London (88%), South West (87%), and to lesser extent the East of England (57%). [3] However, 35% of people surveyed placed the East of England as part of the Midlands. Generally people in the North tend to put the East of England in the South more than people in the South or Midlands.[ citation needed ]

The Home Counties identify in a similar way to the neighbouring Midlands, in this case sharing culture with London and the outer areas yet identifying as separate from each.[ citation needed ]

Geography

The South contains approximately a quarter of the United Kingdom's area. The geographic split is north-east (fenlands), south (downlands and a coastal plain) and west (following the River Thames to the Bristol channel and a peninsula).

The South has land borders with Wales and the English Midlands and a sea border with France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The South is generally more low-lying than the North. There are a number of hill ranges, such as the Cotswolds and the Chilterns. The highest point in the South is High Willhays 2,037 ft (621 m), located in Devon within Dartmoor National Park.

Largest cities and settlements

London is the largest city in the South of England and is the capital of the United Kingdom. The London Metropolitan Area has a population of 14.2 million (2019), making it the largest metropolitan area in Europe. [4]

 
 
Largest cities and towns in Southern England
2021 Census [5]
Rank Counties Pop.Rank Counties Pop.
Trafalgar Square by Christian Reimer.jpg
London
2023-09-15 Bristol Cathedral 01.jpg
Bristol 		1 London Greater London 8,776,53511 Bournemouth Dorset 196,455 Clock Tower Brighton 2016-06-05.jpeg
Brighton and Hove
National Marine Aquarium Building.jpg
Plymouth
2 Bristol Bristol 425,21512 Peterborough Cambridgeshire 190,605
3 Brighton and Hove East Sussex 277,10513 Swindon Wiltshire 183,680
4 Plymouth Devon 266,95514 Southend-on-Sea Essex 182,305
5 Southampton Hampshire 249,62015 Oxford Oxfordshire 170,805
6 Luton Bedfordshire 233,52516 Slough Berkshire 160,270
7 Portsmouth Hampshire 223,30517 Cambridge Cambridgeshire 152,740
8 Reading Berkshire 203,79518 Ipswich Suffolk 151,565
9 Norwich Norfolk 200,77019 Poole Dorset 141,005
10 Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire 197,34020 Watford Hertfordshire 131,325

The table below shows the urban areas in the region with a population of at least 250,000.

Largest urban areas in the South, South West, and East Anglia (2011 census) [6]
RankAreaPopulationArea (km2)Density (People/km2)Primary settlements [a]
1 Greater London 9,787,4261,737.95,630 London boroughs and City of London, Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Harlow, Bracknell, Guildford, Woking, St Albans
2 South Hampshire 855,569192.04,455 Southampton, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Gosport, Horndean, Havant, Locks Heath, Fareham
3 Bristol 617,280144.44,274 Bristol, Filton, Kingswood
4 Brighton and Hove 474,48589.45,304 Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Littlehampton, Shoreham
5 Bournemouth/Poole 466,266131.03,559 Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch
6 Reading 318,01483.73,800 Reading, Wokingham, Woodley
7 Southend-on-Sea 295,31071.84,111 Southend-on-Sea, Rayleigh
8Plymouth260,20359.74,356 Plymouth
9 Luton 258,01850.75,088 Luton, Dunstable
10 Farnborough/Aldershot 252,39778.53,217 Farnborough, Aldershot, Camberley, Farnham

Demographics

Map of southern England showing cities and other population centres alongside the historic counties (with the exception of Greater London) Map of Southern England with settlements and traditional counties.png
Map of southern England showing cities and other population centres alongside the historic counties (with the exception of Greater London)

Wealth and class

Broadly speaking, Southern England is considerably wealthier than the Midlands and the North. The South East England region was found to have the highest concentration of high-wealth families in the country, followed by London. [2] Studies have shown that the areas making up Surrey and Sussex are the wealthiest in Britain based on the value of assets owned by the average resident. [7] Many of the home counties in particular have been considered to be "posh", including Surrey, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire, based on factors such as number of golf clubs, independent schools, and noted "beautiful" countryside villages. [8] Additionally, the single wealthiest district in Britain, based on residents's income, is London's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. As many as eight of the top ten are districts of London, with the remaining two being Borough of Guildford and Borough of Elmbridge, both within the London commuter belt. [9] The "least deprived" neighbourhood in England has been found to be near Amersham in the county of Buckinghamshire, in the South of England. [10]

However, despite overall higher wealth in the regions of Southern England, there also exist highly impoverished areas here. Cornwall, in the South West, is one of the poorest counties in England based on income. [11] The town of Jaywick, in Essex, was found to be England's single most deprived neighbourhood. [10] Many London boroughs were also found to be highly deprived, including Kensington and Chelsea where significant wealth inequality exists. Numerous other districts in the South also ranked among the country's most deprived in these statistics including Swale, Thanet, Hastings and Great Yarmouth. [12]

Language

English

English is the native language of the English people and the main language spoken in the South. The South of England has a dialect and accent distinct from that of other parts of the UK. Due to the prominence of the South in media and politics, Standard British English is largely based on the English spoken in the South. For example, the standard British accent, Received Pronunciation, is very similar to the educated speech of London, Oxford and Cambridge. [13]

Standard Southern British English, a "modern" form of Received Pronunciation, is now considered to be the most commonly spoken form of English in much of the South. [14] [15] Estuary English has grown to become one of the most spoken dialects in London and counties including Kent and Essex. [16] London's expansion has also affected language and dialect in surrounding areas of Southern England, such as the north-east fenlands in East Anglia; the traditional Cockney dialect's population of London's East End has moved out to the north and east Home Counties with a knock on effect to East Anglia's population, which itself has had its own long time dialect, East Anglian English.

In the South West of England, West Country English is a common regional dialect and is the only rhotic dialect spoken in Southern England.

Cornish

Cornish is a revived language spoken in Cornwall and is an important part of the identity and culture of the Cornish people. [17]

People

People often apply the terms "southern" and "south" loosely, without deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Southern England. This can cause confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas. As in much of the rest of England, people tend to have a deeper affiliation to their county or city. Thus, residents of Essex are unlikely to feel much affinity with people in Oxfordshire. Similarly, there is a strong distinction between natives of the south-west and south-east. The broadcaster Stuart Maconie has noted that culturally "there's a bottom half of England [...] but there isn't a south in the same way that there's a north". [18]

Health

Life expectancy at birth for boys in 2012-2014 by local authority district in England and Wales. Lighter colours indicate longer life expectancy. EWHealthMap.svg
Life expectancy at birth for boys in 2012-2014 by local authority district in England and Wales. Lighter colours indicate longer life expectancy.

One major manifestation of the North–South divide is in health and life expectancy statistics. [19] All three Northern England statistical regions have lower than average life expectancies and higher than average rates of cancer, circulatory disease and respiratory disease. [20] [21] The South of England has a higher life expectancy than the North, however, regional differences do seem to be slowly narrowing: between 1991–1993 and 2012–2014, life expectancy in the North East increased by 6.0 years and in the North West by 5.8 years, the fastest increase in any region outside London, and the gap between life expectancy in the North East and South East is now 2.5 years, down from 2.9 in 1993. [21] Furthermore, all such figures represent an average – affluent northern towns such as Harrogate have higher life expectancies than less affluent areas of the South such as Southampton or Plymouth.

Education

The South of England has a number of world-renowned universities, such as the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and many Russell Group universities, such as Imperial College London, University of Exeter and the London School of Economics.

Sport

Football

The South Coast Derby is used to describe football matches played mainly between Portsmouth Football Club and Southampton Football Club. However, in Portsmouth's absence from top flight football, AFC Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion – based about 30 miles (48 km) and 60 miles (97 km) from Southampton respectively – gained promotion to the Premier League, with some media outlets marketing fixtures against them as a South Coast derby; [22] [23] [24]

Other major derbies in Southern England are West Country derbies and London derbies. [25] [26]

Rugby

Rugby union is the dominant code played in the south with a minor rugby league presence. [b] One of the biggest derbies is the West Country derby (Bath v Gloucester). [27]

Divisions

Regions and ceremonial counties

Southern England consists of four regions and 22 counties: the East of England, London, South East and South West. Ceremonial counties are:

South West:

South East:

London:

East:

Historic counties

The historic counties ceased to be used for any administrative purpose in 1899 but remain important to some people, notably for county cricket.

Devolution

There is a network of local enterprise partnerships, some areas are further devolved:

Catalyst South (strategic alliance):

  • Coast to Capital
  • Enterprise M3
  • Hertfordshire
  • South East
  • Solent
  • Thames Valley Berkshire
  • GFirst
  • Heart of the South West

Other

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ ONS definition.[ citation needed ]
  2. ↑ The sport of rugby experienced a schism in 1895 with many teams based in Yorkshire, Lancashire and surrounding areas breaking from the Rugby Football Union and forming their own rugby code. The disagreement was over the professional payments and "broken time" or injury payments.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Anglia</span> Region of England

East Anglia is an area of Southern England often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. East Anglia is both a geographical and cultural term. Officially, these places form part of the East of England region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midlands</span> Place in England

The Midlands is the central part of England, between Northern England to its north, and Southern England to its south and east. The region also shares a border with Wales to the west, while it also shares a coastline at the North Sea. The Midlands correspond to the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Country</span> Southwestern area of England

The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The West Country has a distinctive regional English dialect and accent, and is also home to the Cornish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Midlands</span> Region of England

The South Midlands is an area of England which includes Northamptonshire, the northern parts of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and the western part of Bedfordshire. Unlike the East Midlands or West Midlands, the South Midlands is not one of the NUTS statistical regions of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of schools in England</span>

The schools in England are organised into local education authorities. There are 150 local education authorities in England organised into nine larger regions. According to the Schools Census, there were 3,408 maintained government secondary schools in England in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of England</span>

England comprises most of the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, in addition to a number of small islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. England is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of mainland Britain, divided from France only by a 33 km (21 mi) sea gap, the English Channel. The 50 km (31 mi) Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to mainland Europe. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English language in Southern England</span> Varieties of English language in Southern England

English in Southern England is the collective set of different dialects and accents of Modern English spoken in Southern England.

England is divided by a number of different regional schemes for various purposes. Since the creation of the 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands English</span> Dialect of English

East Midlands English is a dialect, including local and social variations spoken in most parts of East Midlands England. It generally includes areas east of Watling Street, north of an isogloss separating it from variants of Southern English and East Anglian English, and south of another separating it from Northern English dialects.

The Local Government Commission for England was established by the Local Government Act 1958 to review the organisation of local government, and make "such proposals as are hereinafter authorised for effecting changes appearing to the Commissions desirable in the interests of effective and convenient local government". Most of the commission's proposals failed to reach consensus and were not implemented, and the body was dissolved in 1967.

The English language spoken and written in England encompasses a diverse range of accents and dialects. The language forms part of the broader British English, along with other varieties in the United Kingdom. Terms used to refer to the English language spoken and written in England include English English and Anglo-English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of United Kingdom–related articles</span>

The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local transport body</span> Transportation authorities in England

A local transport body is a partnership of local authorities in England outside Greater London. There are 38 local transport bodies. They cover similar areas to local enterprise partnerships, but are not permitted to overlap each other. Decision making for major transport infrastructure spending is devolved to these bodies from the Department for Transport. They will receive funding from April 2015.

The RFU Junior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since 1990. It is mostly contested by 1st XV teams at level 9 of the English rugby union system, although sides as low as level 12 or even outside the league system can sometimes enter. The competition is a national one, but split into regions until the national semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. Presently, the RFU Junior Vase is the fifth most important club cup competition in England, behind the Premiership Rugby Cup, RFU Championship Cup, RFU Intermediate Cup and RFU Senior Vase.

References

  1. 1 2 "United Kingdom, NUTS 2013" (PDF). Eurostat.
  2. 1 2 https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2020/12/The-UKs-wealth-distribution.pdf
  3. ↑ "What regions make up the North and South of England? | YouGov". yougov.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Eurostat - Data Explorer". 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Figure 1: Explore population characteristics of individual BUAs" . Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "2011 Census – Built-up areas". ONS . Retrieved 1 July 2013. (needs a more direct citation)
  7. ↑ "Map shows the richest area of Great Britain - and how much wealth people there have". Yahoo News. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Surrey named as 'poshest' home county in England". Surrey Comet. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Sleigh, Sophia (26 July 2019). "Capital wealth: eight of the UK's 10 richest areas are in London". The Standard. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  10. 1 2 "England's most deprived areas named as Jaywick and Blackpool". BBC News. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Forget the North/South Divide: Poverty in the South of England is Being Ignored - Shout Out UK". https://www.shoutoutuk.org/ . Retrieved 31 January 2025.{{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  12. ↑ https://20schemesequip.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/LLL-ENGLAND-RESEARCH-1.pdf
  13. ↑ Robinson, Jonnie. "Received Pronunciation". British Library. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "English accents have changed so much that two big ones are brown bread". Metro. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Cockney and King's English becoming less common, researchers find". BBC News. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  16. ↑ "How well do you know your Kentish words?". Kent Online. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  17. ↑ "Funding boost to safeguard Cornish language announced". GOV.UK. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  18. ↑ Maconie, Stuart (2007). Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North. Ebury Press. p. 1. ISBN   978-0-09-191022-8.
  19. ↑ Kirk, Ashley (15 September 2015). "Life expectancy increases to 81 years old - but north-south divide remains". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  20. ↑ Ellis, Amy; Fry, Robert (2010). "Regional health inequalities in England" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  21. 1 2 Olatunde, Olugbenga (4 November 2015). "Life Expectancy at Birth and at Age 65 by Local Areas in England and Wales: 2012 to 2014". Office of National Statistics. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  22. ↑ AFC Bournemouth: What should we call the derby between Cherries and Southampton?, Bournemouth Daily Echo, 30 October 2015
  23. ↑ Southampton snatch equaliser against Brighton in the south coast derby but remain in the relegation zone, The Independent, 31 January 2018
  24. ↑ Bournemouth against Southampton the “other” South Coast Derby, Vital Football, 18 October 2018
  25. ↑ "London derbies ranked on ferocity of rivalry, including Tottenham v Arsenal and West Ham v Chelsea". TalkSport. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  26. ↑ "The 10 biggest rivalries in London football" . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  27. ↑ "Gloucester v Bath: The legend of the West County derby". BBC Sport. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
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