Where is “Northumbria”?
Northumbria is the name of a small kingdom of Angles; it was formed in Great Britain around the beginning of the 7th century. The kingdom of Northumbria was formed from two other smaller kingdoms. The other two small kingdoms were named ‘Bernicia’ and ‘Deira’. The earldom of Northumbria came when it was incorporated in ‘Danelaw’. Earlier the kingdom of Northumbria was an independent kingdom. However the kingdom later turned into a subordinate of the Danish Kingdom, thus losing out on the status of earldom. The name of Northumbria is derived from the river of Humber and from the 12th century writings of Henry of Huntingdon. The kingdom was also known as the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon kingdom. Northumbria is also the famous name for the North East of England. There is also a university by the name of Northumbria; this university is located in Newcastle.
“Northumbria” was the name of an ancient Saxon kingdom which covered roughly the same area as the counties of Northumberland and County Durham or, more correctly, these two counties as they were before the local government re-organisation of 1974. Northumbria hasn’t existed as an administrative entity for many centuries but the name is used by many organisations which serve the two counties, for example, the Northumbria Tourist Board and Northumbrian Water.
