Why God’s Own County really is the best of British

WITH their inimitable humour, love of tea and dedication to cricket in any weather, there can be little doubt the Great British spirit is alive and well among the citizens of Yorkshire.

So it is perhaps little surprise that “God’s Own County”, was found to be the most “British” region in the UK.

A study of the DNA of people living in Yorkshire has revealed the country to have the highest percentage of Anglo-Saxon ancestry at 41.17 per cent, compared with a national average of just 36.94 per cent.

London, unsurprisingly, showed the most ethnically diverse DNA backgrounds, while the East Midlands, once part of the Danelaw, proved to have the most Scandinavian ancestry.

The study, by Ancestry DNA, looked into 500 years of the UK’s ethnic makeup. It used data from members of the public who had signed up to test their own DNA, submitting saliva samples, which were then tested to make a projection as to where their ancestors came from. Compiling the statistics anonymously, the website assessed members by region.

The average resident across the country as a whole, it found, is 36.94 per cent “British” – Anglo-Saxon ancestry for the purposes of the study – 21.59 per cent Irish, or Celtic, and 19.91 per cent Western European – meaning they could trace their ancestry from regions in France and Germany. Scandinavian heritage amounts to 9.2 per cent in the average Briton, with 3.05 per cent of ancestry traced to the Iberian Peninsula and 1.98 per cent to Italy and Greece.

Residents of England had far higher levels of Scandinavian and Western European ancestry than their Welsh, Scottish and Irish counterparts, while Scots had the highest amount of Finn- ish and north-west Russian DNA at 1.31 per cent.

Welsh people were found to have the highest proportion of ancestry from the Iberian Peninsula, at 3 per cent.

England was found to have a lower proportion of people with Irish ancestry, at 20 per cent, than those living in Scotland and Wales.

Brad Argent from Ancestry DNA said: “At a time when the concept of British identity is at the forefront of many peo- ple’s minds, it’s interesting to see that when it comes to our ancestry, we’re not as British or Irish as we may think.

“The UK has been a cultural and ethnic melting pot for not just generations, but centuries, and our DNA data provide a fascinating glimpse into our ancestors, including hints of immigration and emigration.

“While it’s fascinating looking at this data on a national scale, the fun really starts when you test your own DNA.”