Editing Bath, Somerset (section)

===Historical development===
Bath had long been an [[ancient borough]], having that status since 878 when it became a royal borough ([[Burghal Hidage|burh]]) of [[Alfred the Great]], and was reformed into a [[municipal borough]] in 1835. It has formed part of the [[Historic counties of England|county]] of Somerset since 878, when ceded to [[Wessex]], having previously been in [[Mercia]] (the River Avon had acted as the border between the two kingdoms since 628).<ref>[http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/saxon-bath Mayor of Bath] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101202023/http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/saxon-bath |date=1 November 2015 }} Saxon Bath</ref> However, Bath was made a [[county borough]] in 1889, independent of the newly created [[Administrative counties of England|administrative county]] and [[Somerset County Council]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Keane |first=Patrick |title=An English County and Education: Somerset, 1889–1902 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=88 |issue=347 |pages=286–311 |doi=10.1093/ehr/LXXXVIII.CCCXLVII.286 |year=1973 }}</ref> Bath became part of [[Avon (county)|Avon]] when the [[non-metropolitan county]] was created in 1974, resulting in its abolition as a county borough, and instead became a non-metropolitan district with [[borough status]].

With the abolition of Avon in 1996, the non-metropolitan district and borough were abolished too, and Bath has since been part of the [[unitary authority]] district of [[Bath and North East Somerset]] (B&NES).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/493/contents/made |title=The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995 |access-date=3 May 2015 |work=HMSO |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113203448/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/493/contents/made |archive-date=13 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The unitary district included also the [[Wansdyke (district)|Wansdyke]] district and therefore includes a wider area than the city (the 'North East Somerset' element) including [[Keynsham]] which is home to many of the council's offices, though the council meets at the [[Guildhall, Bath|Guildhall]] in Bath.

Bath was returned to the [[ceremonial county]] of Somerset in 1996, though as B&NES is a unitary authority, it is not part of the area covered by Somerset County Council.