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==Definitions==
For government and statistical purposes, Northern England is defined as the area covered by the three northernmost [[Regions of England|statistical regions]] of England –: [[North East England]], [[North West England]] and [[Yorkshire and the Humber]].{{sfn|IPPR North|2012|pages=20–22}} This area consists of the [[ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial counties]] of [[Cheshire]], [[Cumbria]], [[County Durham]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], [[Greater Manchester]], [[Lancashire]], [[Merseyside]], [[Northumberland]], [[North Yorkshire]], [[South Yorkshire]], [[Tyne and Wear]] and [[West Yorkshire]], plus the unitary authority areas of [[North Lincolnshire]] and [[North East Lincolnshire]].
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[[File:Northern England-Historic counties.svg|thumb|right|Northern England ''(red)'' as defined along historic county boundaries. Cheshire ''(purple)'' is also often included.|upright=0.9|alt=A map of the historic counties of England, with those counties normally taken as "northern" highlighted.]]
Other definitions use [[Historic counties of England|historic county]] boundaries, in which case the North is generally taken to comprise [[Cumberland, England|Cumberland]], Northumberland, [[Westmorland]], County Durham, Lancashire and [[Yorkshire]], often supplemented by Cheshire.{{sfn|Wales|2006|pages=13–14}} The boundary is sometimes drawn without reference to human borders, using geographic features such as the [[River Mersey]] and [[River Trent]].{{sfn|Russell|2004|pages=15–16}} The [[Isle of Man]] is occasionally included in broad geographical definitions of "the North" (for example, by the [[Survey of English Dialects]], [[VisitBritain]] and [[BBC North West]]), although it is politically and culturally distinct from England.{{sfn|Wales|2006|pages=13–14}}
Some areas of [[Derbyshire]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[Nottinghamshire]] and [[Staffordshire]] have Northernnorthern characteristics and include [[satellite town|satellites]] of Northernnorthern cities.{{sfn|Russell|2004|pages=15–16}} Towns in the [[High Peak, Derbyshire|High Peak]] borough of Derbyshire are included in the [[Greater Manchester Built-Up Area]], as villages and hamlets there such as Tintwistle, Crowden and Woodhead were formerly in Cheshire before local government boundary changes in 1974,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carlscam.com/gazet-m.htm|title=Gazetteer of Cheshire|website=Carlscam.com|access-date=22 December 2018}}</ref> due to their close proximity to the city of [[Manchester]], and before this the borough was considered to be part of the [[Greater Manchester Statutory City Region]]. More recently, the [[Borough of Chesterfield|Chesterfield]], [[North East Derbyshire]], [[Bolsover District|Bolsover]], and [[Derbyshire Dales]] districts have joined with districts of South Yorkshire to form the [[Sheffield City Region]], along with the [[Bassetlaw District]] of Nottinghamshire, although for all other purposes these districts still remain in their respective East Midlands counties. The historic part of Lincolnshire known as Lindsey (in essence the northern half of the county) is considered by many to be northern, or at least a larger part of Lincolnshire than merely the north and northeast Lincolnshire districts. The geographer [[Danny Dorling]] includes most of the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] and part of the [[East Midlands]] in his definition of the North, claiming that "ideas of a midlands region add more confusion than light".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/maps/nsdivide/ |title=The North-South Divide – Where is the line? |year=2007 |website=University of Sheffield |access-date=3 March 2017 |first=Danny |last=Dorling |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104200115/http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/maps/nsdivide/ |archive-date=4 November 2016 }}</ref> Conversely, more restrictive definitions also exist, typically based on the extent of the historical [[Northumbria]], which excludes Cheshire and northern Lincolnshire, though the latter formed the Kingdom of Lindsey, which was periodically under Northumbrian rule.<ref name="BIsles"/>
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