Dutch community in the United Kingdom

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Dutch Britons
Nederlandse Britten


caption =
Notable Britons with Dutch connections:
Denise Van Outen, George Vancouver, Jane Seymour
flagicon|Netherlands flagicon|UK
poptime = 40,438 Dutch Born (2001) [ [http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls Place of birth data collated by OECD based on 2001 UK Census] ]
Ancestral Numbers Unknown
(Over 0.07% of British population)
popplace = London, The South East and Scotland
langs = English, Dutch
rels = Dutch Lutheran Church

The Dutch-British population is one of the smaller European ethnic groups living in the United Kingdom.

History

Settlement to England, from the Low Lands has existed since medieval times due to strong trade connections. In the early 14th century, a large number of Frisians and Hollanders moved to Norfolk,Lincolnshire and Suffolk, due to overcrowding in the Netherlands. It is said that as many as 1 in 4 people from Norfolk has Dutch heritage, and many traditional Norfolkian words come from Dutch, due to their arrival in Britain. Later on, large numbers of Dutch immigrants arrived in London during the early modern era due to the wars and religious conflicts of the time but especially because of the commercial development of London. Their presence resulted in hostility from the native English. A Dutch Church survives in London to this day.

Although numbers of Dutch in the UK has always been small compared to other Dutch groups abroad (like the US) there has been regular, if small immigration to Britain since the Second World War, when many Dutch fled the Netherlands due to the German invasion. In recent years, a number of Afrikaners from South Africa who trace their roots back to the Dutch have settled in parts of the UK, especially London.

Population and distribution

Recent UK census, showed the Dutch population numbering approximately 40,000 people, actually making them one of the medium sized Dutch communities in Europe. Like most other minority groups in the UK, they are predominantly clustered in London and the South East, which are home to four out of every 10 Dutch-born people in Britain.

Relatively affluent Surrey on London's commuter belt is home to a number of Dutch clusters, particularly Woking, which saw the greatest single increase between 1991 and 2001.

There is also a sizeable expat population in Scotland, in particular, Banchory near Aberdeen - the home of Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell.

Notable Britons with Dutch connections

* Denise Van Outen, actress
* George Vancouver, Explorer
* Dirk Bogarde, legendary actor
* Carol Vorderman, TV presenter
* Nick Clegg, politician
* Dr Charlotte Uhlenbroek, Zoologist and BBC television presenter.
* Jane Seymour, Actress
* Nicholas de Jongh, Theatre Critic for the Evening Standard
* Niels De Vos, Chief Executive of UK Athletics
* Michael Van Straten, Celebrity Osteopath
* Rebecca Loos, TV personality

ee also

* Dutch diaspora
* South African British

References

External links

* [http://www.anglo-netherlands.org/ Anglo-Netherlands Society]
* [http://www.holland.com/uk/framelocation.html?page=http://www.holland.com/uk/whats/hollandhouse/ Queen's day celebrations, Holland House]
* [http://www.dutchchurch.org.uk/ Dutch Church, London]
* [http://ucl.ac.uk/dutch/intro.html UCL Department of Dutch]
* [http://www.london-drinking.com/135.htm De Hems - the largest Dutch venue in London]
* [http://www.dutch.org.uk/ Dutch.org.uk - a listing of Dutch Societies, Clubs, Associations and Schools in the United Kingdom]