Midlands
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:''This article is mainly about the English Midlands. For other uses, see [[Midlands (disambiguation)]].''
'''Midlands''' can refer to the central region of any territory or nation. In [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], the term seems to be reserved for the "middle" in the vertical (North–South) direction—but countries oriented more E–W might use "Mid" with a horizontal meaning (i.e. between East and West).
==UK and Ireland==
In the UK, [[Scotland]] and England both have areas distinct enough to warrant the use of a capital M (i.e. ''The Midlands'' as a name, not just a description).
In recent times, in Scotland, the terms "Midlands" or "Scottish Midlands" have fallen out of fashion somewhat and the term "[[Central Belt]]" is more commonly applied.
As used in England, if a country is not specified then "Midlands" usually refers to the English Midlands.
[[Wales]] has "[[Mid Wales]]" (not "The Welsh Midlands").
The Republic of Ireland has its own "[[Irish midlands|Midlands]]". Referred to from the point of view of the UK, the term would usually be expanded to "The Irish Midlands".
==English Midlands==
'''The Midlands''' is an area of England which broadly corresponds to the early-mediaeval [[Mercia|Kingdom of Mercia]]. The area lies between [[Southern England]], [[Northern England]], [[East Anglia]] and Wales, and its largest city is [[Birmingham]].
The name does not correspond to any current administrative area, and there is therefore no strict definition. However, it is generally considered to include the [[county|counties]] of [[Derbyshire]], [[Gloucestershire]], [[Herefordshire]], [[Leicestershire]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[Northamptonshire]], [[Nottinghamshire]], [[Oxfordshire]], [[Rutland]], [[Shropshire]], [[Staffordshire]], [[Warwickshire]], the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]] and [[Worcestershire]]. The 2001 census included [[Norfolk]], [[Suffolk]] and [[Cambridgeshire]] in the Midlands, though East Anglia (the collective name for these counties) is not usually considered part of the Midlands.
[[Image:EnglandGovernmentMidlands.png|thumb|200px|The two Government Office Regions of West and East Midlands.]]
The greater part of the Midlands is covered by two administrative [[regions of England]], [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]] and [[East Midlands]]. However, even taken together, these regions do not fully cover the traditional Midlands, because:
*Part of Northern [[Lincolnshire]] is now in the [[Yorkshire and the Humber]] region;
*[[Peterborough]] (a unitary authority) is now included with [[Cambridgeshire]] in the [[East of England]] region;
*[[Gloucestershire]] is now in the [[South West England|South West]] region;
*[[Oxfordshire]] is now in the [[South East England|South East]] region;
*[[Bedfordshire]] is now in the [[East of England]] region.
(cf. The [[1911 Encyclopædia Britannica]], which describes Gloucestershire as "west midland", [[Bedfordshire]] as "south midland", and [[Huntingdonshire]] as "east midland" counties respectively.)
The "midland" status of [[Cheshire]] is often debated. South Cheshire has strong links with North Staffordshire (definitely in the Midlands), and North Cheshire with Merseyside and Manchester (both definitely in Northern England). In official eyes, the northward pull prevailed (perhaps because the county town, Chester, is so far north) and Cheshire is now part of the [[North West England|North West]] region.
The largest Midlands [[conurbation]], which includes the cities of [[Birmingham]] and [[Wolverhampton]], is approximately covered by a [[metropolitan county]] (which also includes the city of [[Coventry]]), also called the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]]. Thus, there are two West Midlands, a Region and a (smaller) County.
Parts of the East Midlands are also densely populated, particularly the triangle formed by the cities of [[Leicester]], [[Nottingham]] and [[Derby]], which also includes sizeable towns such as [[Loughborough]] and the [[Long Eaton]]–[[Beeston, Nottinghamshire|Beeston]]–[[Stapleford, Nottinghamshire|Stapleford]] subconurbation.
The [[South Midlands]] is an area identified by the government for regional development purposes, consisting of [[Northamptonshire]] and [[Bedfordshire]] with northern [[Buckinghamshire]] (what is now the Milton Keynes unitary authority). Bedfordshire and particularly Buckinghamshire are not usually considered part of the Midlands and are in the administrative regions of the [[East of England]] and the [[South East England|South East]] respectively, a further illustration of the fluidity of the perceived boundaries of the Midlands. [[Banbury]] in north Oxfordshire is often considered as the southern extremity of the English Midlands as it is relatively industrialised and many locals harbour an accent which is discernibly non-Southern. The town also has strong links with the Birmingham–Coventry industrial zone to the north.
==Notable cities and towns==
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* [[Alcester]], [[Alfreton]], [[Ashbourne, Derbyshire|Ashbourne]], [[Ashby de la Zouch]], [[Atherstone]]
* [[Bedworth]], [[Birmingham]], [[Boston, England|Boston]], [[Bridgnorth]], [[Burton upon Trent]], [[Buxton]]
* [[Cannock]], [[Chesterfield]], [[Coalville]], [[Corby]], [[Coventry]]
* [[Derby]], [[Droitwich]], [[Dudley]]
* [[Gainsborough, England|Gainsborough]], [[Grantham]], [[Great Malvern]]
* [[Halesowen]], [[Hereford]], [[Hinckley]]
* [[Kenilworth]], [[Kettering]], [[Kidderminster]]
* [[Leamington Spa]], [[Leek, Staffordshire|Leek]], [[Leicester]], [[Lichfield]], [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], [[Loughborough]], [[Lutterworth]]
* [[Mansfield]], [[Market Harborough]], [[Matlock, Derbyshire|Matlock]]
* [[Newark-on-Trent]], [[Newcastle-under-Lyme]], [[Northampton]], [[Nottingham]], [[Nuneaton]]
* [[Oldbury]], [[Oswestry]]
* [[Redditch]], [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]], [[Rugeley]], [[Rushden]]
* [[Shrewsbury]], [[Skegness]], [[Solihull]], [[Stafford]], [[Stamford]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Stone, Staffordshire|Stone]], [[Stourbridge]], [[Stratford-on-Avon]], [[Sutton Coldfield]]
* [[Tamworth]], [[Telford]], [[Towcester]]
* [[Uttoxeter]]
* [[Walsall]], [[Warwick]], [[Wednesbury]], [[Wellingborough]], [[West Bromwich]], [[Whitchurch, Shropshire|Whitchurch]], [[Wigston]], [[Wolverhampton]], [[Worcester, England|Worcester]]
==External links==
*[http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/lgfs14/xlsfiles_maps/annexa/mapa1b.jpg Official map of the Midlands, ODPM]
*[http://www.midlandsdiscovery.co.uk Tourism info for the midlands]
[[Category:Regions of England]]
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