Pudding batters opposition to become top Yorkshire icon

It came out top in a vote of more than 11,000 people to mark the 75th anniversary of Dalesman magazine.

York Minster came in second, with the Yorkshire Dales third.

The highest placed humans were the Bronte sisters in the fourth place with playwright Alan Bennett the highest placed living person in 7th position.

Dalesman editor Adrian Braddy said: “The top 75 Greatest Yorkshire Icons demonstrates the diversity of this amazing county and its people who have so many reasons to be proud.

“From stunning architecture to beautiful landscapes and from sporting prowess to pioneering inventions, Yorkshire has it all.”

A number of famous people - from Yorkshire and beyond - ventured their nominations.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “There are many fantastic icons of Yorkshire, from Geoffrey Boycott and Jessica Ennis-Hill, to the Dales themselves and even Yorkshire Tea whose headquarters I was lucky enough to visit a few years ago.”

Sir Patrick Stewart said, “Nowhere is more iconic for me than the Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales National Park; Ingleborough, Whernside and Penyghent. I knew this landscape as a child when at weekends I would cycle there from my home in the industrial West Riding.”

Alan Titchmarsh said: “For me it has to be Alan Bennett, a man of great insight, great warmth and enormous generosity of spirit.”

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, chose York Minster, saying: “It is a magnificent building which brings joy to so many people, worshippers, visitors and York residents alike.”

Geoffrey Boycott, voted in at number 19 in the list, opted for the club that made him famous, saying: “Yorkshire is famous for many things, but wherever you travel in the world, if you mention Yorkshire, people will ask about cricket. So for me the greatest Yorkshire icon is Yorkshire County Cricket Club and its home ground, Headingley.”

Fellow cricketing legend Dickie Bird opted for William Wilberforce. He said. “He did a tremendous amount of campaigning and thanks to his efforts, brought an end to slavery, bringing freedom to millions. A true Yorkshireman.”

Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary Sir Bernard Ingham made a rather more unusual choice - the “Yorkshire gene”.

He said: “Of course, the gene is being weakened by the diaspora of families and inter-marriage with lesser mortals. But in its pure form it is to be found in the wonderful stubborn awkwardness of the true Yorkshireman.”

Other icons to make the list include stainless steel, David Hockney, the flat cap, Richard III, the Arctic Monkeys, Brian Blessed, Dracula, Heartbeat, Dame Judi Dench, Rugby League, and rhubarb.

Dalesman magazine was first published in April 1939 from the front room of founding editor Harry Scott’s home in the Yorkshire Dales. It grew to become the best-selling regional magazine in Britain.

According to the magazine, the earliest recorded recipe for Yorkshire pudding dates from 1737 when the batter-based dish was cooked beneath a shoulder of mutton to catch the dripping.