Richard described his tussles with the publisher over the book’s title, driven by concerns about public preconceptions that might limit the book’s shelf appeal if the wrong impression were given. These preconceptions stem from the large volume of writings on, or set in, Yorkshire since the Industrial Revolution, driven by demand from the increasingly affluent residents of West Yorkshire towns. Many of these residents were immigrants from other parts of Britain who wanted to learn about their new home.

Richard noted that inward migration, along with geology and geography, have been highly significant drivers of human activity throughout Yorkshire’s history, influencing its culture, language, and built environment, as well as its shifting boundaries and loyalties over time.

From the Iron Age Parisi who lived in South Yorkshire near Hull (they came from around, and gave their name to, Paris), to the Normans who finally welded Yorkshire into the Kingdom of England by turning much of it into a wasteland: Romans, Welsh, Angles, and Vikings have all ruled over all or parts of Yorkshire. All were attracted to Yorkshire by the rich soils of the Vale of York and its stone, minerals, and other resources, most notably wool; all have left their mark on the landscape and language, and all are ancestral to those that live there today.

Yorkshire, centred on York, was for centuries a rival centre of wealth and power to London and the South, which anyone who would rule England had to control. The many great castles, estates, and monasteries that still inhabit the landscape are a legacy of this; as are the sites of the great battles fought over them along the narrow corridor between the impassable marshy east and the hilly west. The many navigable rivers, which created marshes and up which invaders rowed, also facilitated trade from an early date.

In medieval times, the unique qualities of Yorkshire wool became a prized resource for the weaving of fine cloth in Flanders and Italy. Wool production and trade thus became a major driver of Yorkshire’s economy and led to the development of a local cloth industry. The wealth and skills accumulated from this industry paved the way for the early adoption of industrialised cloth manufacture, as well as for the emergence of affluent, literate folk who wanted to read about Yorkshire.

But this is where we came in.