Aspects of North East Regional Identity

The most common geographical definition of the North East is that it encompasses the counties of Durham, Northumberland and Teeside.  These are regarded as an entity with its own culture.  However, this region is not homogenous; there are different identities within it.  For example, there is a strong rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle, two of the major conurbations, each of which has its own separate identity.  People from Newcastle are known as Geordies; people from Sunderland are known as Mackems.  To the south of the region, Teeside and Cleveland have a more ambiguous status, being simulataneously of the North East and of North Yorkshire.  Therefore, the identity of the North East is not uniform, but richly varied. 

Identity, whether personal, national or regional, is not fixed, but is culturally constructed.  Our identities are shaped by culture in ways we are barely conscious of most of the time.  Therefore, we have to ask who creates these images and for what purposes?  A similar process shapes our idea of place.  We build up a composite picture of a place through the different representations we encounter.  This discourse is always evolving as new images and texts add to it.  Regional identity is a cultural construction and it changes over time, which means we can study its history. 

Bill Lancaster is an historian who teaches at  Northumbria University.  He has published several books that address the question of North East regional identity, Newcastle upon Tyne: A Modern History and Geordies: The Roots of Regionalism.  He argues that regions form ‘imagined communities’ – they are bound together by shared histories, myths, traditions and popular culture.  What are the things that define the North East? 

• Accent
• Dialect
• Football
• Food – e.g. stottie cake and pease pudding
• Popular culture – songs such as the Blaydon Races and the Lambton Worm
• Landscape/architecture/monuments

In cultural representations, the North East is usually depicted as an industrial region, or a region in industrial decline.  Either way the North East is synonymous with industry.  We tend to take this image for granted, but it began at a precise historical moment.  In the 19th century Britain was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and the North East was at the forefront of this shift.  Industrial pioneers like George Stephenson became world-famous.  The local economy was dominated by mining, shipbuilding and heavy engineering.  The landscape was strewn with mines, shipyards and factories.