Where have all the counties gone, especially Berkshire?

[David H]

I noticed on recent maps the county of Berkshire has been replaced by local counties (as well as many old style county boroughs elsewhere like before the 60s have returned). Has Berkshire now gone, and if so where do the residents now tell people where they live?

[bednobs]

eh? I live in berkshire, i can assure you it's still here

[THEMOTLEY1]

I grew up in Wantage, I think I was in my teens when they 'moved it' into Oxfordshire, as far as the locals were concerned at the time they would have to divert the Thames before that was acceptable.

[Nibble]

Last time I travelled on the M4, the Royal County of Berkshire is still very much alive, kicking & gridlocked every day of the week, as well as the rest of the counties, however, there are large "unitary authorities", ie large towns within the old counties.

[bednobs]

there is no "berkshire county council" if that's what you mean

[Twenty20]

No, it doesn't exist actually. It's probably divided up between Reading and West Berkshire. Same as there's no Middlesex anymore.

http://en.wikipedia.o...t_of_English_counties

[878787]

How can you have a "West Berkshire" without East Berkshire to counterbalance it?

[bednobs]

it's even more confusing - "west berkshire" doesn't refer to the whole of the west of the county of berkshire - it refers to the authority area that is covered by west berkshire council (newbury/hungerford/theale areas)

[wiltsman]

I find it all confusing, the changes that old counties have been going through. The next county west of Berkshire, or should that be West Berkshire, Wiltshire has undergone a similar change.

It has been divided into two, comprising the unitary authority of Swindon, being the top right hand chunk of the former county and the remaining area being the unitary authority of Wiltshire. If that makes sense!

[bednobs]

it's west of west berkshire wiltsman!

[wiltsman]

Sorry bednobs, that's what I thought I said!

[David H]

Sorry you've been disappointed Nibble, but we've been keeping Middlesex alive here since 1965 and until recently it was still on our letters. But the Post Office recently abolished postal counties altogether and that means there's probably now no more place to mention 'Berkshire' except in the remaining west bit, which I hadn't spotted among all the crowds of different areas all squashed in. It's funny that when they cut them all to ribbons they also reinstated Rutland and Peterborough, maybe it went to sealed bids.

[craft1948]

I still say I live in Yorkshire, not bloody North Yorkshire.

[starone]

878787 - don't know the answer to this, but I live in North Somerset and there isn't any South Somerset, just Somerset and North Somerset. Strange.

[starone]

I used to live in Bristol and it is "The City and County of Bristol" given by royal charter, but some places still insist on Avon, although that was abolished ages ago. It's all change.

[bednobs]

i am having a crisis now lol. I woke up yesterday in berkshire - where am i now?? if you live in a county that doesn't exist, do you exist?

[nannybooby]

We ive in West Berkshire is still here.(very near Wantage and Wiltshire Border)

[atalanta]

I think there is some mix-up here between geography and administration.
Not the same things

[DaisyNonna]

How much does all this unnecessary renaming cost? Changing addresses, changing maps, road signs, not to mention personal annoyance to people who were quite happy to be somewhere before the unconsulted changes. Whose stupid ideas are they anyway?

[David H]

On my travels about half the borders have the county sign, and at least those aren't going anywhere in a hurry. Some will have had to be moved in 1975 when the borders were shifted, while after the latest shuffle they were decimated. But this time round most were within existing 1975 borders being hacked to pieces, so the outer borders have mostly remained while any old Rutland signs will now be genuine again. Bristol was a very rare example of a county borough surviving to 1965, and is now reinstated, although postally it was Gloucestershire, Avon and Gloucestershire again when Avon was thankfully dumped along with the equally pointless Cleveland and Humberside. I am wondering though what function an old county is now if it's barely existing, as of course everyone in what was Yorkshire still lives in Yorkshire, ditto for Berkshire, but when would you ever get the chance to use them now postal counties have been abolished so that also finally did for Middlesex after its last official usage after it was all wiped out otherwise.

[bushbaby_de]

Geographically there is still a Berkshire. In terms of local government administration, this is covered by Reading Borough, Wokingham District, West Berkshire, Bracknell Forest and Windsor & Maidenhead (don't think I've missed any). The county still exists, just the county council doesn't.