image The Association of British Counties: The new North Riding of Yorkshire sign on the A167 in Croft
Campaigners keen to keep history and heritage alive mark boundaries with official signage 50 years after ancient counties were abolished, reports The Association of British Counties.
… plans are in place to pursue a roll-out of these signs over the next 12 months…
The Association of British Counties writes:
On the fiftieth anniversary of the infamous 1974 local government changes, the Yorkshire Ridings Society and the Historic Counties Trust have unveiled the first of a set of new road-signs marking the border of Yorkshire and the borders of its ridings. The first ‘Historic North Riding of Yorkshire’ sign was unveiled at 10.00am on 1st April 2024 in Croft, where the A167 crosses the River Tees from County Durham into Yorkshire. It is the first sign in a scheme to fully mark the borders of the ridings of Yorkshire, and the border of Yorkshire itself, on major routeways. Funds have been raised and plans are in place to pursue a roll-out of these signs over the next 12 months.
The new North Riding of Yorkshire sign on the A167 in Croft. Nigel Wilkin of the Yorkshire Ridings Society said, ‘1st April 2024 marks 50 years to the day since the enactment of the Local Government Act 1972, which was intended only to change the pattern of local government in England and Wales. As a result of this Act, the Ridings County Councils were abolished along with many other local authorities across the country. However, this Local Government Act 50 years ago only changed the pattern of local government. It did not alter counties as cultural, geographic and historic places. The ridings of Yorkshire as places with a long, (1000+) year history continue to exist to this day. The purpose of these new signs is to officially mark the border of Yorkshire and the ridings’ borders within it, to remind people of their identity as Yorkshire people and to show that historic counties continue to exist, alongside units of local government.’
The Yorkshire Ridings Society and the Historic Counties Trust wish to acknowledge and express their gratitude to North Yorkshire Council for its co-operation, significant help and support in order to make this project possible. The cost of the sign was met entirely by donation with no cost to public finances. Peter Boyce of the Association of British Counties (ABC) said, ‘One of the disastrous consequences of the 1974 local government changes, and the geographical confusion they unleased, was that many of the road signs which marked our historic counties were unceremoniously taken down and replaced by signs marking the then new local government areas. We are determined to see a full replacements of appropriate signage of the historic county borders, not just on roads, but footpaths, bridleways, canal paths and so on. We are delighted that the Historic Counties Trust, ABC’s charity arm, has been asked by the Yorkshire Ridings Society to be part of the scheme to see a full restoration of signs marking the border of Yorkshire and of its ridings. It is great to have North Yorkshire Council’s support in this scheme. We will be seeking to work with other local authorities in Yorkshire to ensure that the county and riding borders are marked throughout Yorkshire. We will, of course, continue to seek the erection of historic county signs throughout the whole UK.’
Since 2015, following lobbying by ABC, the Government’s Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions have permitted the erection of signs on highways marking the borders of the historic counties throughout the UK. Since then, a growing number of such signs have been erected. Some of the many road signs now marking historic county borders
Peter Boyce continued, ‘We are keen to work with local authorities, local groups and interested local people to see historic county border signs erected throughout the UK. In general such signs need to be funded by public donation. Any donations made to the Historic Counties Trust’s Border Signs Appeal will be used towards marking the borders of our historic counties and their traditional divisions throughout the UK.’
