What are the names of the UK home counties? Would bedfordshire be one?

Answer 1

English Counties:

Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cornwall
Cumberland
Derbyshire
Devonshire
Dorset
Durham
Essex
Gloucestershire
Greater London
Hampshire
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Huntingdonshire
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Rutland
Shropshire
Somerset
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Sussex
Warwickshire
Westmorland
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
Yorkshire

Answer 2

The phrase "Home Counties" is used to designate the group of English counties which border or surround London. The term originated with the "Home Circuit" of the itinerant Assize Court. This was the circuit of the counties closest to London, or Westminster, where the court had its more or less permanent seat. With time the expression has lost its legal connotation, and now refers primarily to the counties in their capacity as the London Commuter Belt or the London Metropolitan Area i.e. where people can work in London without living in the city and travel 'Home' each evening. The Home Counties are sometimes also called London and the South-East.

Scope
If the definition is taken as those which border London, the scope has changed over time. In 1888, with the laying down of London's formal borders and the creation of the County of London, these prescriptively became that of Kent, Surrey, Middlesex and Essex with sections of what had been Kent, Surrey and Middlesex used to make up the new county.

In 1965, when London's borders expanded further into parts of those counties and Hertfordshire to become Greater London, the list grew to include Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. At this stage, the remainder of Middlesex became absorbed into London with small sections ceded to Surrey and Hertfordshire. A minor boundary change in 1995 brought about by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey (County Boundaries) Order 1994 gave Berkshire a border with Greater London.

In common usage, the phrase 'Home Counties' is not necessarily applied with such geographical precision, and any county in the surrounding area, within a given distance, may be considered one of the Home Counties. However, being part of the Midlands, West Country or South West England would be mutually exclusive to being one of the Home Counties, and presents a definite barrier to its scope.

Answer 3

Firstly important to note the term "Home Counties" has no strict geographical or politcal definition, so by its nature it is slightly wooly.

However, commonly speaking, no, Bedfordshire would not fall under the Home Counties since it is not in close proximity to Greater London.

Bedfordshire would come closest to falling under the "Midlands".

Home Counties tends to apply to Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, Essex, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and possibly East/West Sussex and Berkshire.

However, as pointed out, there is no right or wrong answer on it, it is a matter of perception.

Answer 4

Bedfordshire would be a home county. So would Surrey, Sussex, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent.

Answer 5

Hi >
Your previous answerers are about right.
I am in Bedfordshire, which is not considered a "Home County", as it is not attached to London.
However, I am a mere one mile from Hertfordshire, which is considered a "Home County"
So therefore is Essex, Kent, Buckinghamshire, and others.
"Hello, this is the BBC World Service."
I think that the definition of the Home Counties is, well, of little value in the scheme of things.
Just my thoughts.
Bob

Answer 6

The home counties are the ones around London as far as I know.

Answer 7

Bedfordshire isn't one.

I live there and it is the size of a football pitch.

Middlesex, Sussex?? Wessex etc I think are the area you should be looking.

Answer 8

yes Bedfordshire is one i Live there!

Answer 9

essex, berkshire, london, kent, and anywhere arond london.... wessex is an old name from dorset, hampshire and sussex. winchester was the cap.

Answer 10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_counties