TERMINOLOGY

Term

Correct definition

Berwick-upon-Tweed

English border town, often occupied by Scotland in the past. Sometimes referred to as a separate state in English treaties.

Black Country

Heavily industrialized area just west of Birmingham and south of – but definitely not including - Wolverhampton. Major towns are Oldbury, Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge. Named for its industrial heritage.

Britain

Largest of the British Isles. Common term for the U.K.

Celtic Fringe

Scotland, Ireland, Cumberland, Isle of Man, Wales and Cornwall. Sometimes extended to include Brittany (France) and Galicia (Spain).

Channel Islands

Small islands off the French north coast that are a Crown Dependency (not a part of the U.K.). A leftover of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the British queen is referred to there as the Duchess of Normandy. Divided into two bailiwicks, Jersey and Guernsey.

Connaught

The counties of Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo, in Western Eire.

Cornwall

Western county of England, last outpost of the Celts in the south-west. Has own flag, language (very rare) and culture, and very proud of the lot.

East Anglia

Large bit that juts out north of London, comprised of Norfolk and Suffolk (literally lands of the Northern and Southern Folk).

Eire

The 26 counties of the Irish Republic, sometimes still called Southern Ireland.

Emerald Isle

Ireland. The term Emerald Isles originally referred to the British Isles.

Erin

Traditional name for the island of Ireland.

Fens

Flatlands around the Wash Estuary (eastern England), reclaimed from the sea.

Great Britain

England, Scotland and Wales.

Hebrides

Most of the islands off the west coast of Scotland, split between Inner (ones close to the mainland) and Outer (ones not).

Highlands

Most of Scotland north of the Fort William-Inverness line, although many areas south of it also claim membership. Famous for clans, rough lands and bad weather.

Home Counties

The counties adjoining the London conurbation.

Ireland

The island of Ireland, traditionally divided into the ancient kingdoms of Ulster, Munster, Connaught, Leinster and sometimes Meath.

Isle of Man

Island in the Irish Sea, another Crown Dependency (not a part of the U.K.). Has its own language, parliament and flag with three-legged symbol. Lovely place.

Lake District

Far corner of north-west England, renowned for its beautiful lakes (mostly man-made) and countryside (mostly God-made).

Leinster

The counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow, in eastern Eire.

(The) Marches

Border areas either side of England's borders with Scotland and Wales.

Meath

One of the five ancient provinces of Ireland, later subsumed into Leinster. It consisted of the counties of Meath and Westmeath, with bits of Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Louth and Offaly.

Mercia

Ancient kingdom of central England, roughly the part between the rivers Thames and Trent.

Monmouthshire

Traditional border county between England and Wales. Its status was ambiguous until the British government gave it to Wales in the 1970s in an ultimately failed attempt to stop the Welsh voting for their own parliament.

Munster

The counties of Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, in south-western Eire.

Northern Ireland

Part of the U.K., six – Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone - of the nine counties of ancient Ulster. The original inhabitants, the Scotti, crossed the North Channel and conquered the land there, naming it after themselves. Here, 'Scots' is a derogatory term used for Ulster Protestants by Nationalists, but one the former revel in.

Northern Isles

The Shetland and Orkney Isles, two island groups off Scotland's north coast. Once part of Norway.

Northumbria

Ancient kingdom of northern England, once stretching from the Trent to Glasgow. Later much reduced in size, which is why the last remaining bit became the modern county of Northumberland.

(The) Potteries

Area around the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Guess what they made there....

(The) Principality

Wales. Originally just Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Flintshire and Merionethshire. This area was placed under Direct Rule after England conquered Wales in 1284; the remaining counties – Breconshire, Denbighshire, Glamorganshire, Montgomeryshire, Pembrokeshire and Radnorshire – did not fully come into existence until the formal absorption of Wales in 1536.

(The) Province

Northern Ireland.

Ulster

Northern Ireland plus the Donegal, Cavan and Louth counties of Eire. Commonly used just for Northern Ireland.

United Kingdom

Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Wales

Wales. The Welsh name for Wales is Cymru (pronounced 'goomri'), meaning comrades.

Wessex

Small Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the only one to fight off the Vikings 1200 years ago, and which later grew to form England. Roughly defined as England south of the river Thames, excepting Cornwall.

West Country

The south-western counties of England; Cornwall, Devonshire and Somerset, and parts of Dorset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

Western Isles

The islands of Lewis-Harris, Benbecula, the Uists and Barra. Also called the Outer Hebrides.

Yorkshire

Northern English county, also the largest. Symbol is the White Rose. Very proud of its history.