Bath is currently in the county of Bath and North East Somerset. Used to be in Avon. And before that is was in Somerset.
It still is Somerset, I've just realised Bath (and North East Somerset) is a unitary authoirty in Somerset (the ceremonial county). So Somerset is the ceremonial county. So Somerset does have two unis, for the sake of argument.
This really comes down with how strictly we are applying counties. Are we going by tradtional (pre 1974 councils) in which case Tyne and Wear doesn't exist. Northumberland has two unis, County Durham has two.
Isle of Wight used to be part of Hampshire didn't it? So that would be excluded.
So are we going by the county boundaries as they stand today?
I don't think it is part of Hampshire. It's usually Hampshire and Isle of Wight when you see signs on the IoW, but here on mainland it says Hampshire. Portsmouth isn't Hampshire either, I don't think...
If P'mouth counts as Hants, I reckon we have more than other counties (exc. Greater London, obv.)
I don't think it is part of Hampshire. It's usually Hampshire and Isle of Wight when you see signs on the IoW, but here on mainland it says Hampshire. Portsmouth isn't Hampshire either, I don't think...
If P'mouth counts as Hants, I reckon we have more than other counties (exc. Greater London, obv.)
Counties are. The local government act of 1972 (or was it 74) messed around with the counties, breaking up some of the historic counties, creating metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and merging counties into new ones (most of Westmorland and Cumberland into Cumbria)
Places such as Bath and (especially) Middlesbrough are particularly confusing. Bath was Somerset, then until 1996 Avon. Then Bath and NE Somerset became a unitary authority (as has been said). Somerset is still the ceremonial county.
Middlesbrough was in the north riding of Yorshire, then put into Teesside (a county borough), then into Cleveland. Then they abolished Cleveland and made Middlesbrough a unitarty authority. North Riding of Yorkshire is still used for ceremoial purposes (and I think the boundary of North Yorkshire and County Durham has gone back to being around the Tees). But it still is, essentially, a unitary authority.