To what extent has a North-South divide been a structural feature of England's geography during the last millennium and to what extent has it been especially associated with, and recognized during, particular periods in the past? These are the central questions addressed in this pioneering exploration of the history of a fundamentally geographical concept. Six essays treating different historical periods in time are integrated by their common concern with two geographical questions: first, to what extent is it possible for us to detect a material or tangible North-South divide in England in those periods in terms of regional differences in, for example, population, economy, society and culture; and, secondly, how important was the idea of such a divide to the geographical imaginations of contemporaries? A concluding essay by the editors reviews the social construction of England's geography and history and the significance of the North-South divide as a cultural metaphor.
1. Material and imagined geographies of England Alan R. H. Baker and Mark Billinge; 2. The contemporary debate over the North-South divide: images and realities of regional inequality in late-twentieth-century Britain Ronald L. Martin; 3. Distressed times and areas: poverty, polarisation and politics in England, 1918-71 Danny Dorling; 4. Industry and identity: the North-South divide and the geography of belonging, 1830-1918 Philip Howell; 5. Divided by a common language: North and South, 1750-1830 Mark Billinge; 6. South, North and nation: regional differences and consciousness in an integrating realm, 1550-1750 John Langton; 7. North-South dichotomies in England, 1066-1550 Bruce M. S. Campbell; 8. Cultural constructions of England's geography and history Alan R. H. Baker and Mark Billinge; Index.
