AD 1900-2000 Modern

There were still many areas of unspoilt countryside in northern England during the 20th century. Farming benefited from subsidies in the second half of the century, but was badly hit by ‘mad cow’ disease in the early 1990s and 'foot-and-mouth' disease in 2001-2. The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, and later environmental protection measures, helped areas like Cumbria, Northumberland, and the Yorkshire Dales, which also attracted tourism.

As the home of traditional industries which were built up in the 19th century, northern England was a ‘depressed area’ for most of the 20th century, especially during the slump of the inter-war years. Coal, iron, steel and shipbuilding were in demand during wartime, but declined afterwards. There was population decline too, a drift towards more prosperous areas of the country, and higher than average unemployment. Close-knit working-class communities fragmented. New industries were sited outside towns and along the road network. Teeside in the north-east became a centre for the chemical industry, but at the cost of a polluted environment. A bitter and highly politicised miners’ strike in 1984-5, was a last effort of resistance to change.

At the end of the century, in spite of a cultural regeneration in cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, there was still a ‘north-south’ divide in England, with wealth being concentrated in the South East.