Why we're proud to be Yorkshire folk

It's Yorkshire day today and as our ACS head office calls Bingley, West Yorkshire its home we thought we'd celebrate! Here are 20 reasons why we're Yorkshire and Proud this Yorkshire day:

1. Yorkshire is the birthplace of film

The first ever film footage was made in Leeds by Louis Le Prince (albeit by a French fella) in 1888 of traffic crossing Leeds Bridge. People often make the mistake in thinking that the Lumière brothers were the first people responsible. But it's simply not true- it was filmed in Leeds. Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!

2. We have some brilliant writers

Not only home to the Bronte Sisters, Yorkshire is home to many other brilliant authors and playwrights. Alan Bennett, Kay Mellor, Helen Fielding and Barbara Taylor Bradford all have local roots.

3. We're space pioneers:

Sheffield born Dr. Helen Patricia Sharman is a British chemist who became the first British astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir space station in 1991.

4. We have great musical talent

The famous composer John Barry alongside musicians Mel B, Zayn Malik, Kimberly Walsh, The Beautiful South, Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Human League, and our personal favourites Black Lace all hail from Yorkshire.

5. We make the best brew

Yorkshire tea is in the top ten of the YouGov Brand Index's list of the UK's top brands (Lidl is number one). We knew it tasted better!

6. We helped abolish slavery

William Wilberforce, from Hull, supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

7. We can make you laugh

Julian Barratt, Frankie Howerd, Vic Reeves, Ade Edmondson, Leigh Francis and Ernie Wise all hail from God's own county. Ernie Wise is so revered that he has his own statue in Morley, Leeds.

8. We're the most haunted

It depends on the person whether this is something you're proud of but the most ghost sightings in the UK occur in Yorkshire with 587 reports of paranormal activity.

9. We make great leaders

As well as producing legendary explorer Captain Cook Yorkshire has produced three Prime Ministers; Charles Watson-Wentworth, Harold Wilson and Herbert Henry Asquith.

10. We're a likeable bunch

Maybe it's just the accent but some of our most loved TV personalities call Yorkshire home. Michael Parkinson, Alan Titchmarsh, Richard Whiteley (RIP) and Jeremy Clarkson are/were all Yorkshiremen.

11. Yorkshire is home to the UK's most picturesque street

At the Google Street View Awards in 2010 The Shambles in York won the title of most picturesque street. It's one of our oldest streets, it dates back to the 15th Century and it's not hard to see how it comes top of the list.

12. We create stars

Sean Bean, Judy Dench, Brian Blessed, Ben Kingsley, Patrick Stewart and Dominic West were all Yorkshire residents before fleeing for the bright lights of Hollywood!

13. We've got award winning fish and chips

The Magpie in Whitby has won awards for their English fare. The restaurant was faced with a fire this year and has recently reopened- just the takeaway part mind- so if you're thinking of visiting be prepared to queue!

14. We make heroes

Sporting champions The Brownlee brothers, Jessica Ennis, Nicola Adams, Kevin Keegan and Geoffrey Boycott all honed their skills in the county.

15. We're good with a paintbrush

David Hockney, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth made waves in the art world- with Hockney being a notable pop artist who made more than waves with “a bigger splash in” 1967 (below).

16. We're pretty desirable

One of the most desirable places to live in England in 2017 is in Horsforth, Leeds. It is the 8th most desirable postcode (the Wirral wins) according to the study by the Centre for Economic and Business Research and the Royal Mail.

17. We gave Pudsey Bear his name

It's well publicised (ACS' charity partner) Children in Need's mascot got his name from the West Yorkshire town of Pudsey where the designer who created him, Joanna Ball, grew up. It's also not far from our offices!

18. We invented the Seaside

Scarborough, on the North Yorkshire Coast, is known to be the first seaside resort as visitors in the 1700's flocked to it after Elizabeth Farrow discovered a spring at the base of a cliff on the south beach and decided it had health-giving properties in 1626.

19. We stick with tradition

The world's oldest unbroken daily ceremony is said to take place in Ripon, North Yorkshire at 9pm every night. A ‘walkman' blows a horn in the middle of the Market Square to ‘set the watch'. The tradition dates back nearly 1,100 years.

20. Britain loves our accent

We don't all sound like we keep Kestrels for pets (honest!) but we have been voted as having one of the friendliest accents. Pipped to the post by the Geordies, the Yorkshire accent came 2nd in a poll by Travelodge of accents that the nation loves the most.

Why not give your account manager a call today to say “ey up” and hear the UK's friendliest accent? Happy Yorkshire day folk!