Thanks so much Jerry
"In lowland England though we seem to just speed up hornpipes or polkas when we need fast tunes"
That's exactly what prompted me to post this thread: I wanted to be sure I wasn't missed something, as that's exactly the impression I'd got!

"Somebody out there must have done a thesis on this surely?"
Well, never underestimate how little information/discussion/analysis is out there regarding English tunes! I find it a constant source of bewilderment, and quite frustrating!

Regarding Northumberland... I play quite a few tunes I've picked up from the Great Northern Tunebook (Vickers' manuscript) and also from recordings of Cut & Dry Band, Ned Pearson and Adam Gray. But even with Northumbrian tunes, I'm never sure whether the 4/4 tune I'm playing is in fact a reel or not...

...Take a tune like 'Holmes Fancy'. There's lots of tunes with a similar rhythm to that, I love playing it, but I've no idea what type of tune it is. Is that a reel? Or what? It certainly is nothing like the Irish reel. Same goes for tunes like 'Jack O Lattin' or 'Lucy's Delight', a very distinctive family of tunes with a definite rhythm in common: but are those reels?