William Marshall, who began his journalistic career at the Courier in 1974 and still writes an award-winning weekly column, will explore aspects of the county's identity in a three-year research project.

He will examine how it was constructed, the origins of Yorkshire/Lancashire rivalry, the adoption of the white rose and many traditional phrases.

The project – its full title is The Invention of Yorkshireness: Yorkshire cultural identities c. 1850-1914 – will be funded by a postgraduate award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

William is one of just 500 candidates in the country to receive the maintenance grant.

The amount awarded will not be confirmed until later in the year.

Mr Marshall said: "It's interesting to discover the ways in which Yorkshire people have come to define themselves."

He added that often the stereotype of Yorkshire folk as selfish, stubborn and hard-faced is, surprisingly, relished by them.

He added: "The late 19th century was a period of great cultural centralisation, due to the arrival of the railways, national newspapers and so forth, so in one sense the nation's culture was increasingly London-dominated.

"However, at the same time there were opposing forces of regional identities which were being constructed and reinforced and I want to find out how that process happened in Yorkshire." Mr Marshall, originally from Southowram, will use a range of materials in his research, from newspapers and publications to regional novels and picture postcards.

He began his career at the Courier as a trainee reporter in 1974, holding a number of posts including sub-editor, features editor and leader writer until 2003.

Every Tuesday he has a weekly column, for which he won Columnist of the Year at the Yorkshire Press Awards in 2006.

After completing a history degree at the University of Huddersfield in 2006 and a masters in historical research at the University of Sheffield, Mr Marshall is now a full-time researcher.

He is also a member of early music group The York Waits.

He said: "The award is great news for me.

"But I think it is also recognition for the University of Huddersfield and its history department, where there is an increasing amount of research taking place."