Top 5 Most Celtic Places in England

sparkey

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3/4 Colonial American, 1/8 Cornish, 1/8 Welsh
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Much can be made about the impact of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England, and how they transformed the culture, language, and genetics of England. According to the People of the British Isles project, the majority of the English are genetically closely clustered, owing in no small part to their shared Anglo-Saxon ancestry. But where in modern England did the Anglo-Saxons not penetrate as much, and some recognizably Celtic remnants exist today? Let's explore. Debate is welcome. Here's my list:

5. Cumbria
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The northwesternmost county of England, Cumbria was once a part of the Celtic kingdom of Rheged. Although absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, it saw relatively little settlement by Angles. Its people continued to speak their own Brythonic language, Cumbric, until about the 12th century. It hosts many Celtic placenames, and its own name is derived from the same root as the Welsh word "Cymru." Modern Cumbrians recognize this heritage, as seen by the naming of the Rheged Centre near Penrith. Cumbria's Y-DNA distribution is in the 60-75% Italo-Celtic range per Maciamo, which is high for England, and its people are autosomally distinguishable from all other English save their closest neighbors in Northumberland and, to a lesser degree, Durham, per the People of the British Isles.

4. Archenfield
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A region of southwestern Herefordshire next to Wales, within the historic Welsh Marches, Archenfield takes its name from the ancient Welsh kingdom of Ergyng. Although administratively taken over by the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia early on, the Mercians granted the locals semi-autonomy, and the cultural effect led to Archenfield being Welsh-speaking as late as the 19th century, despite being packaged into Herefordshire and thus officially becoming part of England in the 16th century. Many place names in Archenfield hint at this Welsh heritage. Genetically, the people of Archenfield are indistinguishable from the South East Welsh, but are distinguishable from the people in the neighboring English county of Worcestershire.

3. Forest of Dean
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Located in western Gloucestershire bordering Wales, the Forest of Dean was once probably once part of the ancient Welsh kingdom of Gwent. Or perhaps not: records in general of the Forest of Dean are scarce throughout the Medieval period, as it was used for many years for little other than hunting and mining, hosting rural communities with ties to Wales but having little population influx. When the Industrial Revolution began, it did receive many migrants into its growing mining towns, but most came from South East Wales. It has never lost its character as an English/Welsh hybrid area, and today hosts a high percentage of people who identify as Welsh. In fact, whether any particular individual identifies as English or Welsh, genetic studies have shown all of the native people of the Forest of Dean to be genetically indistinguishable from the South East Welsh, while at the same time being distinguishable from the people of eastern Gloucestershire.


2. Oswestry Uplands
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Another location along the Welsh Marches, the Oswestry Uplands are located in western Shropshire along the border with Wales. Once an important part of the Welsh kingdom of Powys, it was conquered by Mercia, only to later be taken back into Wales by Madog ap Maredudd, and then later back to England. Its status as a crossroads between Wales and England has left it with dual identies. Today, it hosts the Shropshire libraries' Welsh Collection, as well as the only English football team in the Welsh Premier League. Some still speak Welsh there today. Although undersampled in autosomal studies, its high Italo-Celtic Y-DNA percentages are consistent with the rest of the Welsh Marches.

1. Cornwall
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The southwesternmost peninsula of Great Britain, Cornwall was once its own Celtic kingdom, and was one of the last places now in England to be absorbed. It had its own Celtic language, Cornish, which was continuously spoken until the 18th century, and which has been revived. It is covered with Celtic place names, and its native residents largely identify as Celtic. It is included as one of the six "Celtic nations" according to the Celtic League. Genetically, the Cornish form their own clearly Celtic cluster, except for some closer to the Tamar, who cluster with Devonians (but still not with the rest of the English). They also boast the highest Italo-Celtic Y-DNA percentage in England at >75% per Maciamo.


Honorable mentions
  • Devon and West Somerset: Once a part of the Brythonic kingdom of Dumnonia alongside the Cornish, the modern people form a genetic cluster that is halfway between the typical English cluster and the western Cornish.
  • Chester: Another place along the border with Wales, the people of Chester cluster autosomally with the folks farther down the Welsh Marches.
  • Northumberland: Having strong historical ties to Cumbria, the people of Northumberland cannot be entirely distinguished from the Cumbrians.
 
Cornish are a Briton ethnic group just like Welsh, right? There are ways to distinguish between German ancestry and Insular Celtic ancestry with Autosomal DNA. Welsh and Irish are as identical as two differnt ethnic groups can get. R1b-L21 was the Insular Celt's main paternal lineage, and aren't I2a1b1-L161.1 and I2a1c-L147.2 pre-Anglo Saxon. Also, there are problems including all P312 could have come with Gauls, Germans, Iberians, Romans, etc.

There should be an academic paper on Celtic vs German vs whatever else ancestry in the British isles. With all the historical and genetic knowledge needed they could find alot. I doubt there is enough data from every little dot in the British isles to get a detailed picture as of now.
 

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