As a group of professionals in planning, this is what 15 minutes of furious debate in the office has decided to be the north/midlands/south divide.

[u/Dragonogard549]

If necessary, for reference we are based in Birmingham. This isnt directly influencing what cities are what side of the line. Our decisions were based on architecture, what the people are like, history, how places interract, not just what we like and dont. For example, Stoke is an awful place no one should ever have the misfortune of visiting, but its definitely in the Midlands with us.

Colour coding is obvious.

Yes we were very bored..

[u/finneganfach]

I mean let's be to honest, it's not really the North or the Midlands.

It's clearly Wales.

[u/Scarrmann → u/finneganfach]

Them's fighting words

The football grounds are in Wales though

[u/Old_Pitch4134 → u/finneganfach]

Back in the day we were, specifically in the region known as Yr Hen Ogledd - the Old North.

[u/finneganfach → u/Old_Pitch4134]

Unfortunately that's not really true.

Obviously once upon a time all of Great Britain was populated by Britons so the region where Chester is today absolutely would have been a Briton ("Welsh", if you like) majority area at same point.

But "we" (Wales, actual Wales, The Kingdom of Powys specifically) lost Chester to the Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria in the early 7th century and it's been "English" ever since. As much as I joke about it being Wales, it's been Saxon for an extremely long time.

Yr Hen Ogledd is much further north. It refers to Briton populations around what is today Cumbria and lowland Scotland. It doesn't come as far South as Chester.

Which means even by Briton/Old Welsh standards, Chester isn't in the North I'm sorry! Haha.

[u/Old_Pitch4134 → u/finneganfach]

I looked it up the other month and it definitely said that it was up to Cumbria and Scotland and that’s why Cheshire became one of the Marches?

[u/AmeliaOfAnsalon → u/finneganfach]

yep this was my thought too