The East of England is one of the nine official
regions of England
The regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England, established in 1994. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within government. While they n ...
. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
,
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
and
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
.
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
has the highest population in the region.
The population of the East of England region in 2018 was 6.24 million.
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...
,
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
,
Basildon,
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...
,
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north ...
,
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
,
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
,
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
,
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...
and
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
are the region's most populous settlements. The southern part of the region lies in the
London commuter belt.
Geography
The East of England region has the lowest elevation range in the UK. Twenty percent of the region is below mean sea level, most of this in North Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and on the Essex Coast. Most of the remaining area is of low elevation, with extensive glacial deposits.
The Fens
The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...
, a large area of reclaimed marshland, are mostly in North Cambridgeshire. 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
Ivinghoe Hills is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ivinghoe in Buckinghamshire, and part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is listed in '' A Nature Conservation Review''. The Ridgeway long-distance footpath ends and ...
.
Communities known as
New Towns
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
, responses to urban congestion and World War II destruction, appeared in
Basildon and
Harlow
Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the uppe ...
(Essex), as well as in
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Steven ...
and
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a new ...
(Hertfordshire), in the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1960s, the
Roskill Commission
The Roskill Commission (formally the Commission on the Third London Airport) was a UK Government Commission charged with looking into finding a site for a new airport for London. Chaired by High Court judge Eustace Roskill, it sat from 1968 to ...
considered Cublington in Buckinghamshire,
Thurleigh in Bedfordshire,
Nuthampstead
Nuthampstead is a small village and civil parish in North East Hertfordshire located a few miles south of the town of Royston. In the 2001 census the parish had 139 residents, increasing to 142 at the 2011 Census.
Nuthampstead was historically ...
in Hertfordshire and
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.
Historical use
The East of England succeeded the
standard statistical region East Anglia (which excluded
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
and
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
, then in the
South East). The East of England
civil defence region was identical to today's region.
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.
Climate
East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the United Kingdom, with average rainfall ranging from . The area receives such low rainfall amounts because
low pressure systems and
weather fronts from the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
lose a lot of moisture over land (and therefore are usually much weaker) by the time they reach Eastern England.
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
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. 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
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
) but chill if coming from further east than Spain.
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.
Summer (June – mid-September) is usually warm. Continental air from mainland Europe or the
Azores High
The Azores High also known as North Atlantic (Subtropical) High/Anticyclone or the Bermuda-Azores High, is a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure typically found south of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, at the H ...
usually leads to at least a few weeks of hot, balmy weather with prolonged warm to hot temperatures. The number of summer storms from the Atlantic, such as the remnants of a
tropical storm
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
, usually coincides with the location of the
jet stream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east) ...
. The East tends to receive much less rain than the other regions.
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.
Demographics
Population
Ethnicity
Politics
Elections
In the 2015 general election there was an overall swing of 0.25% from the Conservatives to Labour and the Liberal Democrats lost 16% of its vote. All of Hertfordshire and Suffolk is now Conservative. The region's electorate voted 49% Conservative, 22% Labour, 16% UKIP, 8% Liberal Democrat and 4% Green. Like other regions, the division of seats favours the dominant party in the region and the Conservatives had 52, Labour 4 (
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Luton South
Luton South is a constituency in Bedfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Rachel Hopkins, a member of the Labour Party.
History
This seat was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Lut ...
,
Luton North and
Norwich South), UKIP 1 (
Clacton) and 1 Liberal Democrat (
North Norfolk
North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149.
History
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was ...
).
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.
Local government
The official
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
consists of the following subdivisions:
Eurostat NUTS
In the
Eurostat
Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide stati ...
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 200 ...
(NUTS), the East of England was a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKH", which was subdivided as follows:
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
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three ...
came from Huntingdon.
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.
Stansted Airport was
RAF Stansted Mountfitchet, home to the
344th Bombardment Group. The
de Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...
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
RAF Tempsford is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Sandy, Bedfordshire, England and south of St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England.
As part of the Royal Air Force Special Duty Service, the airfield was perhaps the most ...
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.
Cold War
The
81st Tactical Fighter Wing
The 81st Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. The 81st Training Wing has the Air Force's largest Technical Training Group and trains more than 40,000 students annually. ...
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
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, Germany.
At
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station and military airbase near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia.
It is home to No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (138 EAW) and, as such, is one of the RAF's "Main Operating Ba ...
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
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
.
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.
Healthcare
NHS East of England
NHS East of England was a strategic health authority of the National Health Service in England. It operated in the East of England region, which is coterminous with the local government office region
The regions, formerly known as the gov ...
, which was the
strategic health authority
Strategic health authorities (SHA) were part of the structure of the National Health Service in England between 2002 and 2013. Each SHA was responsible for managing performance, enacting directives and implementing health policy as required by the ...
for the area until the abolition of these areas in 2013, is on Capital Park, next to
Fulbourn
Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with evidence of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was probably established under its current name by 1200. The waterfowl-frequented stream after which it was named lies i ...
Tesco,
Fulbourn Hospital
Fulbourn Hospital is a mental health facility located between the Cambridgeshire village of Fulbourn and the Cambridge city boundary at Cherry Hinton, about south-east of the city centre. It is managed by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS ...
, and the
Cambridge-Ipswich railway, on the eastern edge of Cambridge. The
East of England Ambulance Service is on Cambourne Business Park on
Cambourne, of the
A428 (the former
A45) west of Cambridge. The
East Anglian Air Ambulance operates from
Cambridge Airport and
Norwich Airport;
Essex Air Ambulance
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.
The ch ...
operates from
Boreham
Boreham is a village and civil parish, in Essex, England. The parish is in the City of Chelmsford and Chelmsford Parliament constituency. The village is approximately northeast from the county town of Chelmsford.
History
Boreham is listed ...
.
Economy
The former electricity company for the area,
Eastern Electricity, has the area's distribution now looked after by
UK Power Networks at Fore Hamlet in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
. UK Power Networks also looks after London and most of the South-East.
Business Link in the East of England is next door to the headquarters of
T-Mobile UK
T-Mobile UK was a mobile network operator in the UK. First launched as Mercury One2One (stylised one2one) on 7 January 1993, the network was originally operated by Mercury Communications. one2one was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 1999, who ...
in Hatfield, at the roundabout of the A1057 and the A1001 on the Bishops Square Business Park. The region's
Manufacturing Advisory Service
The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is a former government agency in England and Scotland.
History
It was founded by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, which became BERR in 2007) in April 2002. It was split into regions and was ...
is at
Melbourn
Melbourn () is a large, clustered village in the far south-west of Cambridgeshire, England. Its traditional high street is bypassed by the A10, intersecting the settlement's other main axis exactly northwest of the traditional focal point of R ...
in Cambridgeshire, off the
A10 and north of
Royston.
UK Trade & Investment for the region is in
Histon with its international trade team based next to
Magdalene College.
Hertfordshire
The Greater
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
area is home to
British Waterways,
Vinci (which bought
Taylor Woodrow in 2008), the UK of the international firm
Total Oil, retailers
TK Maxx
TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, ...
,
Bathstore,
Majestic Wine
Majestic Wine is Great Britain’s largest specialist retailer of wine. The company employs over 1,400 staff nationwide, and operates more than 200 stores in the United Kingdom. The business is headquartered in Watford and has a distribution cen ...
,
Mothercare,
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation ( doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costc ...
and
Smiths Detection,
Iveco
IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger ...
,
BrightHouse (at
Abbots Langley
Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and w ...
),
Leavesden Film Studios
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in South East England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film an ...
,
Sanyo,
Europcar,
Olympus
Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to:
Mountains
In antiquity
Greece
* Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology
* Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Le ...
,
Kenwood and
Beko electronic goods manufacturers,
Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It ...
pub chains, the European HQ of the
Hilton hotel group and
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
Waters; in
Garston is the UK headquarters of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, on the
A412
The A412 is a road in England between Slough and Watford. It was the main artery for this corridor and used to continue to St Albans prior to the construction of the M25. It provides interchange to the A4 in Slough, the A40/ M40 at the D ...
and the
Building Research Establishment
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is a centre of building science in the United Kingdom, owned by charitable organisation the BRE Trust. It is a former UK government national laboratory that was privatised in 1997. BRE provides researc ...
.
Comet Group and
Camelot Group (owners of the
National Lottery), on the
A4145, are in
Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and th ...
.
Ferrero (maker of
Nutella and
Kinder Chocolate) is in
Croxley Green.
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
and
Skanska
Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...
(construction) are in
Maple Cross.
Bedfordshire
Moto Hospitality has its headquarters at
Toddington in Bedfordshire (at the
Toddington services
Toddington Services is a motorway service station on the M1 motorway between junctions 11A and 12, just north of Luton and Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It takes its name from the nearby village of Toddington. It is owned by Moto Hospitali ...
).
Luton is home to
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate air ...
,(based at
the airport
"The Airport" is the 52nd episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld''. It is the 12th episode of the fourth season and aired on November 25, 1992. This episode centers on Jerry and Elaine's differing experiences in first class and coach on the same airli ...
),
Hain Celestial Group (which makes
Linda McCartney Foods
Linda McCartney Foods is a British food brand specializing in vegetarian and vegan food. Available in the UK, as well as Norway, Ireland, Austria, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, the range includes chilled and frozen meat analogues in ...
and is based on the B579 in
Biscot),
Eurolines (UK office),
Thomson Holidays
Thomson Travel Group plc was a business formed by the Thomson Corporation of Canada, when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1998. It was acquired by Preussag AG, an industrial and transport conglomerate, in 2000. The group contin ...
(based at
Wigmore on the eastern edge of the town) and
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ou ...
(at Griffin House, the Vauxhall head office). At the 85-acre
Capability Green off the
A1081 and junction 10a of the M1, is the
Stonegate Pub Company (owner of
Scream Pubs
Scream (formerly known as It's A Scream) was a student-oriented pub chain in the United Kingdom owned by the Stonegate Pub Company. The chain began in October 1995.
History
The pub chain was set up by brewers Bass, who called it, It's a Scre ...
,
Yates's
Yates is a British pub chain. It was founded as Yates's Wine Lodge in Oldham, Lancashire by Peter and Simon Yates in 1884.
History
Yates is Britain's oldest pub chain. Its motto was ''moderation is true temperance''. The founders, brothe ...
,
Slug and Lettuce
Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington in ...
and
Hogshead
A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commodity). More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily applied to alco ...
),
InBev UK (which bought most of Whitbread's beer brands), Chargemaster (
electric vehicle network under the POLAR brand),
AstraZeneca's UK Marketing Company division and
Alexon Group
Alexon Group plc was an clothing retailer, based in Luton, England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol AXN). It was an constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index The FTSE Fledgling Index comprises companies listed on the ma ...
(ladies clothing).
Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
produced its last
Vauxhall Vectra in March 2002 at the plant near the A6/A505 roundabout, and now makes vans (
Vivaro
Vivaro ( fur, Vivâr) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northeast of Pordenone.
Vivaro borders the following municipalities: ...
/
Renault Trafic
The Renault Trafic (pronounced as "traffic") is a light commercial van produced by the French automaker Renault since 1980. It is also marketed as the Fiat Talento, the Nissan NV300, the Nissan Primastar, the Mitsubishi Express and, until the ...
) at the former
Bedford Vehicles plant, based in the north of the town at the
GM Manufacturing Luton
IBC Vehicles Limited is an English automotive manufacturing company based in Luton, Bedfordshire and since 2021 a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational corporation Stellantis. Its principal operation is an assembly plant located in Luto ...
plant.
East Anglia
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
RAC,
Archant (publishing),
Virgin Money
Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South A ...
and
Aviva
Aviva plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It has about 18 million customers across its core markets of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. In the United Kingdom, Aviva is the largest general ...
(formerly
Norwich Union) in Norwich. In Carrow, to the east of the city,
Colman's makes a wide range of mustards, and
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name, and several other brands.
Hist ...
makes
Robinsons squash, which was owned by Colman's until 1995. Across the
River Yare
The River Yare is a river in the English county of Norfolk. In its lower reaches it is one of the principal navigable waterways of The Broads and connects with the rest of the network.
The river rises south of Dereham to the west to the v ...
near the A47/
A146 junction in
Trowse with Newton is
May Gurney, the construction company.
Bernard Matthews Farms
Bernard Matthews Holdings Ltd., trading as Bernard Matthews Foods Ltd, is a British farming and food products business with its headquarters in Great Witchingham, Norfolk, England, which specialises in turkey products.
Founded by Bernard M ...
has a large turkey farm on the former
RAF Attlebridge
Royal Air Force Attlebridge or more simply RAF Attlebridge is a former Royal Air Force station located near Attlebridge and northwest of Norwich, Norfolk, England.
History
Attlebridge airfield had runways of 1,220, 1,120 and 1,080 yards len ...
in
Weston Longville.
Campbell Soup was made in
Kings Lynn
King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, nor ...
until 2008, and on the Hardwick Industrial Estate at the A47/
A149 junction is
PinguinLutosa the UK, which packs
frozen vegetables
Frozen vegetables are vegetables that have had their temperature reduced and maintained to below their freezing point for the purpose of storage and transportation (often for far longer than their natural shelf life would permit) until they are re ...
, and
Caithness Crystal.
Foster Refrigerator
Foster may refer to:
People
* Foster (surname)
* Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor
* Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player
* Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player
* John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), America ...
is the UK's leading manufacturer of commercial refrigerators and
blast chillers, owned by
Illinois Tool Works, based on the industrial estate; with
Multitone Electronics
Multitone Electronics plc is a British company, founded in 1931. Initially a manufacturer of hearing aids, before becoming a pioneer in the development of pagers (bleepers). Multitone now makes wireless voice and messaging systems.
Multitone Ele ...
, which has a manufacturing plant there, and which invented the
pager in 1956, for
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...
; and
Snap-on Diagnostics makes
diagnostic tools for garages. Linda McCartney sausages are made by Hain Celestial Frozen Foods at
Fakenham, where
Kinnerton Confectionery Kinnerton may refer to:
* Higher Kinnerton, Flintshire, Wales
*Lower Kinnerton
Lower Kinnerton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dodleston, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial count ...
produces around 6000 tonnes of chocolate each year, which is mostly private label (supermarket) products. British Sugar's
Wissington is the world's largest
sugar beet
A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet ('' Beta vulgaris''). Together ...
factory in
Methwold
Methwold ("Middle forest") is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, on the edge of the Norfolk Fens and Breckland.
With an area of it is the second largest parish in Norfolk. It had a population of 1,476 in 591 household ...
, on the B1160 near the
River Wissey
The River Wissey is a river in Norfolk, eastern England. It rises near Bradenham, and flows for nearly to join the River Great Ouse at Fordham. The lower are navigable. The upper reaches are notable for a number of buildings of historic inte ...
.
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics.
Lotus was previously involved in Formula One ...
and
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Mor ...
are on the eastern edge of the former
RAF Hethel, east of
Wymondham (A11) at
Hethel (
Bracon Ash
Bracon Ash is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England.
History
Bracon Ash's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and refers to a place with abundant bracken and ash.
In the Domesday Book, Bracon Ash is recorded as ...
).
Jeyes Group Jeyes may refer to:
People
* James Jeyes (1890–?), English footballer
*John Jeyes (1817–1892), English chemist
Other uses
*Jeyes Fluid
Jeyes Fluid is a brand of disinfectant fluid for external use only. It is predominantly used for rem ...
makes household chemicals in
Thetford, off the
A134;
Multiyork
Multiyork was a privately owned British furniture retailer based in Thetford, Norfolk. The company employed nearly 550 people in its 50 stores across the United Kingdom and its factory and head office in Thetford, where it was a major business. ...
makes furniture and
Baxter Healthcare
Baxter International Inc. is an American multinational healthcare company with headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois.
The company primarily focuses on products to treat kidney disease, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. The compan ...
has a manufacturing plant in the south of the town.
Aunt Bessie
Aunt Bessie's Limited (until 2008 known as Tryton Foods Ltd) is a UK producer of frozen food products under the brand name Aunt Bessie's. The company produces frozen Yorkshire puddings, potato products, meal accompaniments, ready meals, vegetab ...
vegetable products (roast potatoes) are made by
Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the co ...
at
Westwick, in a factory built by
Ross Group
The Ross Group was a British food company founded in Grimsby, England in 1920.
The Ross brand remains prominent in the retail frozen fish market. David Ross, the co-founder and significant shareholder in mobile telephone retailer The Carphon ...
.
Around Cambridge on numerous
science park
A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
s, are high technology (electronics and biochemistry) companies, such as
ARM Holdings
Arm is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England.
Its primary business is in the design of ARM processors (CPUs). It also designs other chips, provides software development tools under the DS-5, RealView ...
on
Peterhouse Technology Park
Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...
in the south-east of the town,
Adder Technology (
KVM switch
A KVM switch (with KVM being an abbreviation for "keyboard, video, and mouse") is a hardware device that allows a user to control multiple computers from one or more sets of keyboards, video monitors, and mice.
Name
Switches to connect m ...
es) at
Bar Hill
Bar Hill is a purpose-built village with a population of 4,000 about 4 miles (7 km) northwest of Cambridge, England on the A14 road, just east of the Prime Meridian.
History
Prior to the building of the Bar Hill settlement the area was ...
at the
A14/B1050 junction north of the town,
Monsanto,
Play.com on the Cambridge Business Centre. The
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus has the
European Bioinformatics Institute
The European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is an Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) which, as part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) family, focuses on research and services in bioinformatics. It is located on the Wel ...
at
Hinxton east of Duxford near the M11 spur for the A11. These form the so-called
Silicon Fen.
Marshall Aerospace is at
Cambridge Airport on the
A1303 in the east of the town, towards
Teversham. South of the airport,
Carl Zeiss NTS makes
scanning electron microscopes in Cherry Hinton.
Syngenta
Syngenta AG is a provider of agricultural science and technology, in particular seeds and pesticides with its management headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It is owned by ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
Syngenta was found ...
is to the east of Cambridge, on Capital Park at
Fulbourn
Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with evidence of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was probably established under its current name by 1200. The waterfowl-frequented stream after which it was named lies i ...
.
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.
Universities
The most famous university in the region is the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. The university has been officially rated as the best in the world in 2010. 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
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and
Anglia Ruskin University. It is also the home of the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
's East of England branch. Norwich also hosts two universities: the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
and
Norwich University of the Arts. There are also other towns and cities in the region which have universities including Bedford and Luton (
University of Bedfordshire), Colchester (
University of Essex) and Hatfield (
University of Hertfordshire). Other higher education centres in the region include
University Centre Peterborough
University Centre Peterborough is a small higher education institution with campuses in Peterborough and Stamford, Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. It is formally part of the Inspire Education Group. Degrees at the Peterborough Campus are acc ...
,
University of Suffolk and
Writtle College.
.
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
, mottoeng = After clouds light
, established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name)
, type = Public research uni ...
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.
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.
* 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
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
of
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
.
East of England's top representatives in the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
today are
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...
,
Norwich City,
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
and
Luton Town, who have competed in the top flight at various points. Alongside teams
Peterborough United, and
Cambridge United.
Literature
Children's author
Dodie Smith lived near to the town of Sudbury in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
, 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.
Media
Television
Much of the region receives the
BBC East and
ITV Anglia
ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...
television services, both based in Norwich (the BBC moving from All Saints' Green to
The Forum in 2003, and Anglia remaining at its original base, Angia House.) These services broadcast from the
Sandy Heath
Sandy Heath transmitting station is a television broadcast station located between Sandy, Bedfordshire and Potton near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1965, originally broadcasting Anglia Television on V ...
.
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sudbury Reef, Queensland
Canada
* Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes)
** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...
and
Tacolneston transmitter groups. Some areas in close proximity to London, including south Essex, may receive their service from
BBC London and
ITV London
ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ''ITV Broadcasting Limited'' for two broadcast franchises of ITV, Carlton Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends) in the London ITV region. Its terrestrial digital signal is ...
; in addition, the
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a new ...
relay transmitter is a relay of the London services from
Crystal Palace, bringing London television into parts of Hertfordshire. 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
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the Cambridge Business Park on Cowley Road in Cambridge.
According to ...
, whilst both versions of the ITV Anglia output have broadcast from Anglia House in Norwich since the split service was introduced in 1990.
Radio
*
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations.
History
The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
services in the region include stations for
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...
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.
See also
*
East of England (European Parliament constituency)
East of England was a constituency of the European Parliament that was coterminous with the East of England region. It returned 7 MEPs using the D'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, until the UK exit from the European Union ...
*
East of England Regional Strategy Board
*
East of England Development Agency
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) was a non-departmental public body and the regional development agency for the East of England region of England.
It came into operation on 1 April 1999 and assumed the regional powers of English Par ...
*
Regions of England
The regions, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England, established in 1994. Between 1994 and 2011, nine regions had officially devolved functions within government. While they n ...
*
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
Lists
*
List of future transport developments in the East of England
A list of proposed, planned and under construction transport developments in the East of England region in a sortable table. Following the 2010 general election the new government's Comprehensive Spending Review, many unstarted projects have bee ...
*
List of schools in the East of England
The schools in England are organised into local education authorities. There are 150 local education authorities in England organised into nine larger regions. According to the Schools Census there were 3,408 maintained government secondary scho ...
References
External links
Official visitor website for the East of England
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Of England
Regions of England
Southern England
NUTS 1 statistical regions of England
NUTS 1 statistical regions of the European Union