East of England

Coordinates: 52°14′N 0°25′E / 52.24°N 0.41°E / 52.24; 0.41
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

East of England
East of England region shown within England
East of England region shown within England
Coordinates: 52°14′N 0°25′E / 52.24°N 0.41°E / 52.24; 0.41
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
GO established1994
RDA established1998
GO abolished2011
RDA abolished31 March 2012
Largest cityPeterborough
Subdivisions
1
combined authorities
Government
 • TypeLocal authority leaders' board
 • BodyEast of England Local Government Association
 • MPs58 MPs (of 650)
Area
 • Total
7,563 sq mi (19,587 km2)
 • Land7,381 sq mi (19,116 km2)
 • Rank2nd
Population
 (2022)[3]
 • Total
6,398,497
 • Rank4th
 • Density870/sq mi (335/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
 • Religion
List
UTC+1 (BST)
ITL codeTLH
GSS codeE12000006

The East of England is one of nine official

ITL for statistical purposes.[a] It consists of the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.[5] The northern part of the region, consisting of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, is known as East Anglia.[6] Unlike many other regions of England, it is considered an informal region so is often considered either part of either the Southern England or Midlands
grouping or a separate area of land in its own right, equivalent to the latter.

The population of the East of England in 2022 was 6,398,497.[3] Bedford, Luton, Basildon, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford and Cambridge are the most populous settlements.[7] Peterborough is the largest city in the East of England at 215,000. The southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt.

Geography

England population density and low elevation coastal zones. East of England is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise.

The East of England has the lowest elevation range in the UK. Twenty per cent of the region is below mean sea level, most of this in North Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and on the Essex Coast.[8][9] Most of the remaining area is of low elevation, with extensive glacial deposits.[10] The Fens, a large area of reclaimed marshland, are mostly in North Cambridgeshire.[11] The Fens include the lowest point in the country in the village of Holme: 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) below mean sea level. This area formerly included the body of open water known as Whittlesey Mere. The highest point in the region is at Clipper Down at 817 ft (249 m) above mean sea level, in the far southwestern corner of the region in the Ivinghoe Hills.[12][13][14]

Communities known as

Foulness in Essex as locations for a possible third airport for London. A new airport was not built, but a former Royal Air Force base at Stansted, which had previously been converted to civilian use redeveloped and expanded in the following decades.[16]

Historical use

The East of England succeeded the

standard statistical region East Anglia (which excluded Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, then in the South East). The East of England civil defence region was identical to today's region.[17]

East Anglia with Home Counties

Essex, despite meaning East-Saxons, previously formed part of South East England, along with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, a mixture of definite and debatable Home counties. The earliest use of the term is from 1695. Charles Davenant, in An essay upon ways and means of supplying the war, wrote, "The Eleven Home Counties, which are thought in Land Taxes to pay more than their proportion..." then cited a list including these four. The term does not appear to have been used in taxation since the 18th century.[18]

Despite The East Of England being an informal region, there are many theories of what grouping it falls into, with the most popular theories being that it falls into either the Southern England or Midlands grouping, with many parts of The East Of England falling into other definitions.[19] Furthermore, due to The East Of England serving as the area of land between The Midlands and Southern England, there are many theories that several areas in The East Of England correspond to different groupings, the most popular belief being that there is an official divide between the northern side, East Anglia, and the southern side. This means the northern side, East Anglia, is considered the area of land within The East Of England that corresponds with The Midlands and the southern side is considered the area of land that corresponds with Southern England, backed by the idea that Hertfordshire and Essex are considered Home Counties.[18] The latter counties can also be considered part of South East England for that reason.

Some native Eastern English citizens believe The East Of England should be its own independent state.[20] This also came into play during the Brexit debacle where many citizens wanted Eastern England to leave The United Kingdom and become a separate state respectively to avoid the European Union split. [citation needed] However, these plans never came into fruition.

Climate

East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the United Kingdom, with average rainfall ranging from 450 to 750 mm (18 to 30 in).[21] The area receives such low rainfall amounts because low pressure systems and weather fronts from the Atlantic lose a lot of moisture over land (and therefore are usually much weaker) by the time they reach Eastern England.[22]

Winter (mid-November – mid-March) is mostly cool, but non-prevailing cold easterly winds can affect the area from the continent. These can bring heavy snowfall if the winds interact with a low-pressure system over the Atlantic or France.[22] Northerly winds also can be cold but are not usually as cold as easterly winds. Westerly winds bring milder and, typically, wetter weather. Southerly winds usually bring mild air (if from the Atlantic or North Africa) but chill if coming from further east than Spain.[23]

Spring (mid-March – May) is a transitional season that initially can be chilly but is usually warm by late-April/May. The weather at this time is often changeable (within each day) and occasionally showery.[24]

Summer (June – mid-September) is usually warm. Continental air from mainland Europe or the

tropical storm, usually coincides with the location of the jet stream. The East tends to receive much less rain than the other regions.[24]

Autumn (mid-September – mid-November) is usually mild with some days being very unsettled and rainy and others warm. At least part of September and early October in the East have warm and settled weather, but only in rare years is there an Indian summer where fine weather marks the entire traditional harvest season.[24]

Dust devils were reported in Essex and Cambridgeshire on 17 August 2024, causing minor injuries and some disruption. These small whirlwinds, which form from the ground up, are less powerful than tornadoes. In Essex, they caused tents and gazebos to be lifted during a local event, resulting in minor injuries. Witnesses described the event as unexpected, noting that such phenomena are rare in the area.[25]

Demographics

East of England population pyramid in 2020

Ethnicity

Ethnic group Year
1991[26] 2001[27] 2011[28] 2021[29]
Number % Number % Number % Number %
White: Total 4,891,675 96.8% 5,125,003 95.11% 5,310,194 90.81% 5,478,364 86.5%
White: British 4,927,343 91.44% 4,986,170 85.27% 4,972,149 78.5%
White:
Irish
61,208 55,573 57,964 0.9%
White:
Irish Traveller/Gypsy
- - 8,165 8,977 0.1%
White: Roma 9,675 0.2%
White:
Other
136,452 260,286 429,599 6.8%
Asian or Asian British
: Total
99,720 2% 142,137 2.63% 278,372 4.76% 405,869 6.5%
Asian or Asian British:
Indian
39,292 51,035 86,736 136,974 2.2%
Asian or Asian British:
Pakistani
24,713 38,790 66,270 99,452 1.6%
Asian or Asian British:
Bangladeshi
10,934 18,503 32,992 50,685 0.8%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 12,494 20,385 33,503 38,444 0.6%
Asian or Asian British:
Asian Other
12,287 13,424 58,871 80,314 1.3%
Black or Black British: Total 42,310 0.8% 48,464 0.89% 117,442 2% 184,949 3%
Black or Black British:
African
6,373 16,968 69,925 118,731 1.9%
Black or Black British:
Caribbean
21,892 26,199 33,614 41,884 0.7%
Black or Black British:
Other
14,045 5,297 13,903 24,334 0.4%
Mixed: Total 57,984 1.07% 112,116 1.91% 179,654 2.8%
Mixed:
Caribbean
19,882 37,222 51,950 0.8%
Mixed:
African
6,109 15,388 27,376 0.4%
Mixed:
Asian
17,385 32,226 51,448 0.8%
Mixed:
Other Mixed
14,608 27,280 48,880 0.8%
Other: Total 21,810 0.4% 14,552 0.27% 28,841 0.49% 86,232 1.3%
Other:
Arab
- - 10,367 15,639 0.2%
Other: Any other ethnic group 21,810 0.4% 14,552 18,474 70,593 1.1%
Total 5,055,515 100% 5,388,140 100% 5,846,965 100% 6,335,068 100%

Religion

Religion in the East of England
Religion 2021[30] 2011[31] 2001[32]
Number % Number % Number %
Christianity 2,955,071 46.6% 3,488,063 59.7% 3,886,778 72.1%
Islam 234,744 3.7% 148,341 2.5% 78,931 1.5%
Hinduism 86,631 1.4% 54,010 0.9% 31,386 0.6%
Judaism 42,012 0.7% 34,830 0.6% 30,367 0.6%
Buddhism 26,814 0.4% 22,273 0.4% 12,065 0.2%
Sikhism 24,284 0.4% 18,213 0.3% 13,365 0.2%
Other religion 36,380 0.6% 24,981 0.4% 15,471 0.3%
No religion 2,544,509 40.2% 1,631,572 27.9% 902,145 16.7%
Religion not stated 384,627 6.1% 424,682 7.3% 417,632 7.8%
Total population 6,335,072 100% 5,846,965 100% 5,388,140 100%

Politics

Elections

General Election results in 2017

In the

Luton South, Luton North and Norwich South), UKIP 1 (Clacton) and 1 Liberal Democrat (North Norfolk).[33]

In the 2019 United Kingdom general election, the Conservatives gained Peterborough and Ipswich from Labour. They also gained North Norfolk from the Liberal Democrats but lost St Albans to Daisy Cooper.[34]

Number of MPs returned per party, total 59
(situation at end of parliament in brackets)
Affiliation 2010–15 2015–17 2017–19 2019–24 2024–present
Labour Party 2 4 7 (5) 5 (7) 27
Conservative Party 52 52 50 (46) 52 (51) 23
Liberal Democrats 4 1 1 (2) 1 7
Reform UK 0 3
Green 0 0 0 0 1
The Independents 0 0 0 (1) 0 0
Independent 0 1 0 (4) 0 0

Governance and regions

East of England Plan

The East of England Plan, a revision of the

Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England, was published on 12 May 2008. It was revoked on 3 January 2013.[35]

Local government

The official region consists of the following subdivisions:

Map Ceremonial county Shire county / unitary Districts
Essex 1. Thurrock U.A.
2. 
Southend-on-Sea
U.A.
3. Essex a
Colchester, lTendring
4. Hertfordshire a
St Albans, jDacorum
Bedfordshire 5. 
Luton
U.A.
6. Bedford U.A.
7. Central Bedfordshire U.A.
Cambridgeshire 8. Cambridgeshire aCambridge, bSouth Cambridgeshire, cHuntingdonshire, dFenland, eEast Cambridgeshire
9. Peterborough U.A.
10. Norfolk a
11. Suffolk a
West Suffolk

Eurostat NUTS

In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), the East of England was a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKH", which was subdivided as follows:

NUTS 1 Code NUTS 2 Code NUTS 3 Code
East of England UKH East Anglia UKH1 Peterborough UKH11
Cambridgeshire CC UKH12
Norfolk UKH13
Suffolk UKH14
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire UKH2
Luton
UKH21
Hertfordshire CC UKH23
Bedford UKH24
Central Bedfordshire UKH25
Essex UKH3
Southend-on-Sea
UKH31
Thurrock UKH32
Essex CC UKH33

After the UK's departure from the EU, the UK NUTS regions were renamed as International Territorial Level regions in 2021.

History

Civil War and the Protectorate

The East of England was a major force and resource for Parliament and, in particular, in the form of the Eastern Association. Oliver Cromwell came from Huntingdon.[36]

Second World War

Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex played host to the American VIII Bomber Command and Ninth Air Force. The Imperial War Museum at Duxford has an exhibition, commemorating their participation and sacrifice, near to the M11 south of Cambridge.[36]

Stansted Airport was RAF Stansted Mountfitchet, home to the 344th Bombardment Group. The de Havilland Mosquito was mainly assembled at Hatfield and Leavesden, although much of the innovative wooden structure originated outside the region from the furniture industry of High Wycombe; the Mosquito entered service in 1942 with 105 Sqn at RAF Horsham St Faith. RAF Tempsford in Bedford is the airfield from where SOE secret agents for Europe took off, with 138 Sqn which parachuted agents and equipment and 161 Sqn which landed and retrieved agents. 19 Sqn at Duxford was the first to be equipped with the Spitfire on 4 August 1938.[36]

Cold War

The 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was at RAF Bentwaters from January 1952 and also at RAF Woodbridge; in the late 1980s some of the aircraft went to RAF Alconbury. Alconbury closed in 1992 and Bentwaters closed in 1993, with the American air forces being in the area for 42 years; the USAF aircraft subsequently moved to Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[37]

At RAF Marham in west Norfolk, 214 Sqn with the Vickers Valiant developed the RAF's refuelling system; later the squadron would be equipped with the Handley Page Victor. Work on refuelling had also taken place at RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset.[37]

From the 1950s, RAF Wyton was an important reconnaissance base for the RAF, mainly 543 Sqn. The base is now home of the Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre, previously known as JARIC, or the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre from 1956.[37]

Official region

The East of England region was officially created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999.

Healthcare

Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport; Essex Air Ambulance operates from Boreham.[38]

Economy

A profile of the economy of East of England in 2012

The former electricity company for the area,

Histon[42] with its international trade team based next to Magdalene College
.

Hertfordshire

Wetherspoons is based in Watford near Watford Junction railway station

The Greater

Ferrero (maker of Nutella and Kinder Chocolate) is in Croxley Green. Renault and Skanska (construction) are in Maple Cross.[43]

Bedfordshire

Samuel Whitbread began his brewery in Bedfordshire in 1742

Moto Hospitality has its headquarters at Toddington in Bedfordshire (at the Toddington services).

Luton is home to

Vivaro/Renault Trafic) at the former Bedford Vehicles plant, based in the north of the town at the GM Manufacturing Luton plant.[44]

East Anglia

Flag of East Anglia
Bernard Matthews Farms, north-west of Norwich at Great Witchingham on the A1067

The economy in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk is traditionally mostly agricultural. Norfolk is the UK's biggest producer of potatoes. Nationally known companies include the

Kings Lynn until 2008, and on the Hardwick Industrial Estate at the A47/A149 junction is PinguinLutosa the UK, which packs frozen vegetables, and Caithness Crystal.[45]

Aunt Bessie vegetable products (roast potatoes) are made by Heinz at Westwick, in a factory built by Ross Group.[46]

ARM CPU
designed in Cambridge

Around Cambridge on numerous

A1303 in the east of the town, towards Teversham. South of the airport, Carl Zeiss NTS makes scanning electron microscopes in Cherry Hinton. Syngenta is to the east of Cambridge, on Capital Park at Fulbourn. Premier Foods has a large plant in Histon making Robertson's and Hartley's jam, Gale's honey, Smash instant potato, and Rose's marmalade. Addenbrooke's Hospital is a pioneering hospital in the UK, based at Cambridge Biomedical Campus.[47]

Universities

The most famous university in the region is the University of Cambridge.[48] The university has been officially rated as the best in the world in 2010.[49] It has the second-best medicine course in the world, and in 2010 became the only university outside of the US to raise over £1 billion in charitable donations.

There are eight universities in the region. Cambridge hosts two universities: the

Writtle College.[50]

.

University of Essex near Colchester

The University of Cambridge receives almost three times as much funding as any other university in the region, due to its huge research grant—the largest in England (and the UK). The next largest, by funding, is UEA in Norwich. The University of Essex and Cranfield University also have moderately large research grants, but no other universities in the region do. The largest university by student numbers is ARU, and the next biggest is Cambridge. The smallest is Essex.[50]

For total income to universities, Cambridge receives around £1 billion—around six times larger than any other university in the region. The University of Bedfordshire receives the least income. Cambridge has the lowest drop-out (discontinuation) rate in the region. Once graduated, over 50% of students stay in the region, with 25% going to London and 10% going to the South East. Very few go elsewhere—especially the North of England.[50]

  • University of Cambridge
  • University of East Anglia
  • University of Essex
  • University of Hertfordshire
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • University of Bedfordshire

Sport

Football

During the nineteenth century, several formulations of the laws of football, known as the Cambridge rules, were created by students at the University. One of these codes, dating from 1863, had a significant influence on the creation of the original laws of The Football Association.[51]

East of England's top representatives in the English football league system today are Ipswich Town, Norwich City, Watford and Luton Town, who have competed in the top flight at various points. Alongside teams Peterborough United, and Cambridge United.[52]

Literature

Children's author Dodie Smith lived near the town of Sudbury in Suffolk, and part of her famous novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians which inspired the Disney animated film of the same name takes place in the town at St Peter's Church.[53]

Media

Television

Much of the region receives the

ITV Calendar. Some editions of Look East and ITV News Anglia broadcast split news programming for the West (Home Counties) and East (East Anglia/Essex) of the region, with the West subregions broadcasting from Sandy Heath; the BBC's Western opt-outs are broadcast from studios in Cambridge, also the base of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, whilst both versions of the ITV Anglia output have broadcast from Anglia House in Norwich since the split service was introduced in 1990.[54]

Radio

  • BBC Local Radio services in the region include stations for Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Three Counties Radio, which serves Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Radio Cambridgeshire previously broadcast some split programming specific to the Peterborough area - at one point broadcasting this under the BBC Radio Peterborough name - but this opt-out was withdrawn in 2012 as a cost-cutting measure.[55]

See also

Lists

Notes

  1. ^ ITL replaced NUTS and followed the same definitions of its predecessor until 2023

References

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  2. ^ "Standard Area Measurements (Latest) for Administrative Areas in the United Kingdom". Open Geography Portal. Office for National Statistics. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  4. ^
    Office for National Statistics
    . Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  5. ^ "UK: county population". Statista. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Eurostat". circabc.europa.eu. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  7. ^ "East of England (United Kingdom): Counties and Unitary Districts & Settlements - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  8. ^ "A Summary of Climate Change To coincide with the publication of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) 2012 Risks for the East of England" (PDF). Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Norfolk topographic map, elevation, relief". topographic-map.com. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  10. ^ "East Anglia | region, England, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Fens | marshland, England, United Kingdom". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Holme Fen | The Great Fen". www.greatfen.org.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Whittlesey Mere | The Great Fen". www.greatfen.org.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  14. ^ Ltd, Copyright The mountain Guide-A.-Connect. "Clipper Down | England". UK mountain Guide. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Celebrating 70 Years of the New Towns Act". Town and Country Planning Association. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
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  20. ^ "We, the proud people of East Anglia, declare our statehood". East Anglian Daily Times. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  21. ^ "UK climate - Weather and climate - GCSE Geography Revision". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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  31. ^ "KS209EW (Religion) - Nomis - 2011". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  32. ^ "KS007 - Religion - Nomis - 2001". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  33. , retrieved 23 March 2022
  34. ^ Davies, Joe (13 December 2019). "The Lib Dems have gained a key Hertfordshire seat in the general election". Herts Live. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  35. ^ "The East of England Plan, the Revision to the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England, has been published today (12 May 2008)". Go East. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
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  39. ^ "Business Link". Archived from the original on 3 April 2011.
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  42. ^ "UK Trade & Investment – GOV.UK". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
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  49. ^ Jeevan Vasagar (8 September 2010). "The world's top 100 universities, 2010". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
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