Editing Avon (county) (section)

== Background ==
The port of Bristol lies close to the mouth of the River Avon which formed the historic boundary between [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Somerset]]. In 1373, a charter constituted the area as the County of the Town of Bristol, although it continued to fall within the jurisdiction of the two counties for some purposes.<ref name=rayfield>{{cite book |last=Rayfield |first=Jack |title=Somerset & Avon |year=1985 |publisher=Cadogan |location=London |isbn=0-947754-09-1 }}</ref>

The appointment of a [[Local Government (Boundaries) Act 1887|boundaries commission]] in 1887 led to a campaign for the creation of a county of [[Greater Bristol]]. The commissioners, while recommending that Bristol should be ''"neither in the county of Gloucester nor of Somerset for any purpose whatsoever"'', did not extend the city's boundaries.<ref>{{cite news |work=Bristol Mercury and Daily Post |page=8 |date=27 March 1888|title=The Boundary Commission|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000035/18880327/028/0008| via = [[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription  }}</ref> The commission's timidity was attacked by the ''Bristol Mercury and Daily Post'', who accused them of using the ''"crude method of the [[Procrustes|Procrustean bed]]"''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greater Bristol |work=Bristol Mercury and Daily Post |date=1 June 1888 }}</ref> The newspaper went on to attack [[Charles Ritchie, 1st Baron Ritchie of Dundee|Charles Ritchie]], the [[President of the Local Government Board]], and the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government:
<blockquote>Everyone who considered the question on its merits was convinced of the justice of the demand for a Greater Bristol, but... the interests of the Tory party were put before every other consideration and we do not think there is any endeavour to conceal the fact.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greater Bristol |work=Bristol Mail and Daily Post |date=17 August 1888 }}</ref></blockquote>

Under the [[Local Government Act 1888]] Bristol was constituted a [[county borough]], exercising the powers of both a county and city council. The city was extended to take in some Gloucestershire suburbs in 1898 and 1904.<ref name=youngs>{{cite book |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. I: Southern England |last=Youngs |first=Frederic A. Jr. |year=1979 |publisher=royal Historical Society |location=London |isbn=0-901050-67-9 }}</ref>

The [[Local Government Boundary Commission (1945–1949)|Local Government Boundary Commission]] appointed in 1945 recommended the creation of a "one-tier county" of Bristol based on the existing county borough, but the report was not acted upon.<ref>Report of the Local Government Boundary Commission for the year 1947</ref>

The next proposals for local government reform in the area were made in 1968, when the [[Redcliffe-Maud Report|Redcliffe-Maud Commission]] made its report. The commission recommended dividing England into unitary areas. One of these was a new Bristol and Bath Area which would have included a wide swathe of countryside surrounding the two cities, extending into [[Wiltshire]] and as far as [[Frome|Frome in Somerset]].<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Review: The Future of Local Government in England: The Redcliffe-Maud Report | date=December 1969 | journal = The Geographical Journal|volume = 135|issue = 4|pages = 583–587|jstor = 1795107|last1 = Wise|first1 = M. J.|doi = 10.2307/1795107}}</ref> Following a change of government at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]], a two-tier system of counties and districts was proposed instead of unitary authorities. In a white paper published in 1971, one of these counties, "Area 26" or "Bristol County", was based on the commission's Bristol and Bath area, but lacked the areas of [[Wiltshire]].<ref>HMSO. ''Local Government in England: Government Proposals for Reorganisation''. Cmnd. 4584</ref> The proposals were opposed by [[Somerset County Council]], and this led to the setting up of a "Save Our Somerset" campaign.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rural dwellers fight urban takeover |work=[[The Times]] |page=5 |date=3 November 1971 }}</ref>

By the time the Local Government Bill was introduced to [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]], the county had been named "Avon".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1971/nov/16/local-government-bill#S5CV0826P0_19711116_HOC_316 |title=Local Government Bill |access-date=18 February 2009 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=16 November 1971 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511175650/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1971/nov/16/local-government-bill#S5CV0826P0_19711116_HOC_316 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The boundaries of the new county were cut back during the passage of Local Government Bill through Parliament.<ref>{{cite news |title=Somerset loses its battle to remain intact |work=[[The Times]] |date=17 October 1972 }}</ref> The [[Local Government Act 1972]] received [[Royal Assent]] on 26 October 1972.