Administrative (pop., 2001: 307,186) and historic county, northeastern England.
It includes several islands, including Lindisfarne (Holy Island), and much of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria . The landscape is varied, with coastal plains in the east, the rugged Cheviot Hills and moors in the west, and industrial areas in the southern River Tyne valley. It was the site of prehistoric settlement before the Roman domination began in AD 122, when Hadrian's Wall was built. It was the scene of border warfare with Scotland until the union of Scotland with England in 1603. Good farmland is limited; industrial complexes produce heavy machinery.