List of city nicknames in the United Kingdom

This partial list of city nicknames in the United Kingdom compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities in the United Kingdom are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to locals, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.[1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"[2] are also believed to have economic value.[1] Their economic value is difficult to measure,[1] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[2]

Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

Contents :

A

Granite is one of the principal materials used in the architecture of Aberdeen, to the extent that it has become known as "The Granite City"

B

Architecturally unredeemed shops in Basingstoke town-centre circa 2009
The Wool Exchange, Bradford, reflecting the importance of the wool trade to the city.

C

Two of the three spires of Coventry: Holy Trinity Church to the left, and the remains of the 14th Century St. Michael's Cathedral to the right.

D

Part of the never breached Walls of Derry, giving rise to the name "Maiden City"

E

The National Gallery of Scotland, an 1859 neo-classical construction

G

H

I

K

L

The construction of inner-city motorways in Leeds such as the Inner Ring Road (pictured) and the M621 in the 1970s led to its nickname motorway city of the 1970s
London's smogs inspired its nickname "The Smoke", as well as this work by Claude Monet.

M

Manchester earned the nickname "Cottonopolis" in the 19th century due to its large number of cotton mills, as shown in this 1857 painting Manchester from Kersal Moor.

N

O

An aerial view of Oxford city centre, showing some of the spires that give the city its nickname.

P

S

Tower blocks in Salford

W

Y

The Berrick Saul building at the University of York

See also

References

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