Midlands

The Midlands forms the central portion of England, bordered by Northern England to its north, Southern England to its south, Wales to its west, and the North Sea to its east. This area includes the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, and Worcestershire. For statistical purposes, it splits into two regions: the East Midlands and West Midlands, which together had a population of 10.9 million at the 2021 census and cover 28,622 square kilometres (11,051 square miles). Note that the northern part of Lincolnshire falls under the Yorkshire and the Humber region, not the Midlands.

The region roughly matches the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia. It gained significance during the 18th and 19th centuries’ Industrial Revolution, which gave one part the name Black Country. Culturally, the Midlands is distinct, blending elements from both Northern and Southern England within the North-South divide. Its largest city, Birmingham, ranks as the second-largest in the United Kingdom. Other cities include Coventry, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, and Worcester.

There is no single agreed definition for the Midlands. If defined by the East and West Midlands statistical regions, it includes Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, most of Lincolnshire (excluding North and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the West Midlands metropolitan boroughs. Other definitions stretch the area: the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica listed Gloucestershire as “West Midland,” Bedfordshire as “South Midland,” and Huntingdonshire as “East Midland.” Cheshire is sometimes included, while areas historically part of southern Mercia—like Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridgeshire—are often called “Central England,” a term used interchangeably with “the Midlands.” Two informal regions, the South Midlands and North Midlands, exist but are not official NUTS statistical regions. The South Midlands covers southern parts of the East Midlands and northern parts of Southern England; the North Midlands includes northern parts of both the West and East Midlands, plus some southern parts of Northern England, such as Sheffield.

Because it sits between Northern and Southern England, the Midlands draws cultural elements from both sides. The Watford Gap in Northamptonshire is often seen as the dividing line between north and south, with most Midlands residents living north of it. Some suggest this in-between status gives the region an “image problem” and a weak identity. Different areas have their own character, supported by local history and industrial heritage groups. Nottingham played a notable role in the English Civil War, reflected in place names like Parliament Terrace, Parliament Street, and Standard Hill. Derbyshire’s Amber Valley and Erewash combine attractive countryside with industrial heritage, featuring historic canals and mining sites. Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge were key to the Industrial Revolution, notably with Abraham Darby’s first production of coke in 1709, which led to widespread iron use. The Black Country—broadly Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, and Walsall—also contributed significantly to the Industrial Revolution. Josiah Wedgwood advanced fine ceramics in the Potteries area around Stoke-on-Trent in the 1750s. Charles Darwin, author of *On the Origin of Species*, was Wedgwood’s grandson and was born in Shrewsbury. Parts of Warwickshire and Leicestershire are sometimes called the Heart of England, especially in tourist literature, as the geographic centre of England is generally thought to lie within that arc.

Several prominent literary figures come from the Midlands and wrote about it. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, and some of his plays, like *As You Like It*, are set in the region. George Eliot, from Nuneaton, set her novel *Middlemarch* in a fictional Midlands town. Arnold Bennett grew up in Hanley in the Potteries and set his *Clayhanger Family* trilogy there. D.H. Lawrence, born in Nottingham, set many of his novels—especially the semi-autobiographical *Sons and Lovers*—in an industrial Midlands landscape.

A saltire, or diagonal cross, may have been used as a symbol of Mercia as early as the reign of Offa. By the 13th century, it became the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia, described as a gold saltire on a blue field. This saltire serves as both a flag and a coat of arms. As a flag, it flies from Tamworth Castle, the ancient seat of the Mercian kings. It also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth, the “ancient capital of Mercia.” In 2009, the flag flew outside Birmingham Council House while the Staffordshire Hoard was displayed there before moving to the British Museum in London.