Editing Avon (county)

{{Short description|Former non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in England}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox historic subdivision
| Name                   = Avon
| HQ                     = [[Bristol]]
| Government             = [[Avon County Council]]
| Status                 = [[Shire county|Non-metropolitan county]]
| Start                  = 1974
| End                    = 1996
| Arms                   = [[File:Arms of Avon County Council.svg|150px]]<br />''Coat of arms of Avon County Council''
| Origin                 = [[Greater Bristol|Bristol travel-to-work area]]
| Replace                = [[City of Bristol|Bristol]]<br />[[South Gloucestershire]]<br />[[North Somerset]]<br />[[Bath and North East Somerset]]
| Map                    = [[File:Avon UK locator map 1974.svg|250px]]<br />''Avon shown within England''
| PopulationFirst        = 914,180<ref>Registrar General's annual estimated figure mid-1973</ref>
| PopulationFirstYear    = 1973
| PopulationSecond       = 900,416
| PopulationSecondYear   = 1981
| PopulationLast         = 903,870
| PopulationLastYear     = 1991
| AreaFirst              = {{convert|332596|acre|km2}}<ref name=guide>{{cite book
    |title=Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System
    |year=1974
    |publisher=[[HMSO]]
    |location=London
    |isbn=0-11-750847-0
    |page=28
    }}</ref>
| AreaFirstYear          = 1974
| AreaLast               = {{convert|134268|ha|km2}}<ref name=whit>{{cite book
    |title=Whitaker's Concise Almanack 1995
    |year=1994
    |publisher=J Whitaker and Sons
    |location=London
    |isbn=0-85021-247-2
    |page=549
    }}</ref>
| AreaLastYear           = 1994
| Divisions              = [[Non-metropolitan district]]s
| DivisionsMap           = [[File:Avon numbered districts 1974.svg|200px]]
| DivisionsNames         = {{ordered list
    |[[Northavon]]
    |[[City of Bristol|Bristol]]
    |[[Kingswood (borough)|Kingswood]]
    |[[Woodspring]]
    |[[Wansdyke (district)|Wansdyke]]
    |[[City of Bath|Bath]]
    }}
| Code                   = 08
| CodeName               = [[ONS coding system|ONS code]]
| common_name            = 
}}

'''Avon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|v|ən}} {{respell|AY|vən}}) was a [[Shire county|non-metropolitan]] and [[ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] in the [[west of England]] that existed between 1974 and 1996. The county was named after the [[River Avon (Bristol)|River Avon]], which flows through the area. It was formed from the [[county boroughs]] of [[County Borough of Bristol|Bristol]] and [[County Borough of Bath|Bath]], together with parts of the [[Administrative counties of England|administrative counties]] of [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Somerset]].

In 1996, the county was abolished and the area split between four new [[unitary authorities]]: [[Bath and North East Somerset]], [[City of Bristol|Bristol]], [[North Somerset]] and [[South Gloucestershire]]. The Avon name is still used for some purposes. The area had a population of approximately 1.08 million people in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.westofengland.org/media/80749/autumn%202010.pdf |title=Intelligence West: West of England Key Statistics, Autumn 2010 |access-date=12 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718084200/http://www.westofengland.org/media/80749/autumn%202010.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== 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.

== Creation ==
The county came into formal existence on 1 April 1974 when the [[Local Government Act 1972]] came into effect. The new county consisted of the areas of:

* The [[county borough]]s of [[County Borough of Bristol|Bristol]] and [[County Borough of Bath|Bath]],
* Part of the [[administrative counties of England|Administrative County]] of Gloucestershire:
** [[Kingswood, South Gloucestershire|Kingswood]] Urban District, [[Mangotsfield]] Urban District
** Warmley Rural District, most of Sodbury Rural District and most of [[Thornbury Rural District]]
* Part of the Administrative County of Somerset:
** Municipal Borough of [[Weston-super-Mare]]
** [[Clevedon]] Urban District, [[Keynsham]] Urban District, [[Norton-Radstock]] Urban District, [[Portishead, Somerset|Portishead]] Urban District,
** [[Bathavon Rural District]], [[Long Ashton Rural District]], part of [[Axbridge Rural District]] and part of [[Clutton Rural District]].

The county was divided into six districts:
*Bristol and Bath had identical boundaries to the former county boroughs.
*In the north, two districts were created:
**the urban districts of Kingswood and Mangotsfield, and the rural district of Warmley formed a single [[Kingswood (borough)|District of Kingswood]],
**the rest of the areas transferred from Gloucestershire (the rural districts of mostly Sodbury and mostly Thornbury) became the District of [[Northavon]].
*In the south, there were two districts:
**on the coast: [[North Somerset|Woodspring]] (merger of the municipal borough of Weston-super-Mare, the urban districts of Clevedon and Portishead, and the rural districts of Long Ashton and part of Axbridge),
**and in the interior: [[Wansdyke (district)|Wansdyke]] (merger of the urban districts of Keynsham and Norton-Radstock, and the rural districts of Bathavon and part of Clutton).

To the north the county bordered [[Gloucestershire]], to the east [[Wiltshire]] and to the south [[Somerset]]. In the west it had a coast on the [[Severn Estuary]] and [[Bristol Channel]].

The area of Avon was 520&nbsp;square&nbsp;miles (1,347&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) and its population in 1991 was 919,800. Cities and towns in Avon included (in approximate order of population) Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, [[Yate]], Clevedon, Portishead, [[Midsomer Norton]] & [[Radstock]], [[Bradley Stoke]], [[Nailsea]], [[Yatton]], [[Keynsham]], [[Kingswood, South Gloucestershire|Kingswood]], [[Thornbury, South Gloucestershire|Thornbury]], [[Filton]] and [[Patchway]].

The [[Armorial of county councils of England|coat of arms]] created for the county featured six blue and white waves representing the river Avon and parts of the coats of arms of the incorporated areas. The shield featured a dragon from the arms of Somerset divided into gold and red by a chevron from the arms of Gloucestershire.

The crest combined the unicorn of Bristol with the sword of [[Paul the Apostle|St. Paul]] (one of the patron saints of [[Bath Abbey]]) and the crown of [[Edgar, King of England|King Edgar]], who was crowned King of England by [[Dunstan|St. Dunstan]] in Bath Abbey.

The sea-stags were created for Avon to represent the historic importance of the Avon ports and the [[Kingswood, South Gloucestershire#Royal Forest|Royal Forest]] which covered a large part of the County. As a [[heraldic badge]], a sea-stag continued to be used by some organisations in the geographical area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIVIC HERALDRY OF ENGLAND AND WALES-OBSOLETE COUNTIES |url=http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/avon_74to96.html |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=www.civicheraldry.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-14 |title=Our History - Girl Guiding Bristol & South Gloucestershire |url=https://www.girlguidingbsg.org.uk/our-history/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Demise ==
[[Image:Greater bristol with everything.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the former Avon area, now sometimes called [[Greater Bristol]]]]
Avon was one of the counties in the "first tranche" of reviews conducted by the [[1990s UK local government reform|Banham Commission]] in the 1990s. The Commission recommended that it and its districts be abolished and replaced with four [[unitary authorities]]. The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995 was debated in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] on 22 February 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1995-02-22/Debate-14.html |title=House of Commons Hansard Debates for 22 Feb 1995 |access-date=2010-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604194829/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/1995-02-22/Debate-14.html |archive-date=4 June 2011 }}</ref> The Order came into effect on 1 April 1996. The four authorities that replaced Avon are:

# The City and County of [[Bristol]]
# [[South Gloucestershire]] – formed from the [[Kingswood, South Gloucestershire|Kingswood]] and [[Northavon]] districts.
# [[North Somerset]] – formed from the [[Woodspring]] district.
# [[Bath and North East Somerset]] – formed from the [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Wansdyke (district)|Wansdyke]] districts.

For ceremonial purposes, the post of [[Lord Lieutenant of Avon]] was abolished and Bristol regained its own Lord Lieutenant and [[High Sheriff]], while the other authorities were returned to their traditional counties. Suggestions to alter Bristol's boundaries (either by drawing new boundaries or by merely incorporating the mostly urbanised borough of Kingswood into it) were rejected.

== Legacy ==

The demise of the County of Avon was the focus of a [[BBC]] documentary called ''The End of Avon'', produced by Linda Orr and [[Michael Lund]] and broadcast in 1996. In 2006, the [[BBC Somerset]] presenter Adam Thomas, in a [[BBC One]] regional programme ''Inside Out West'', investigated why Avon refuses to die.  Systems inertia means that the county continues to be included in the databases of large corporations as part of addresses in the area.  Some private organisations such as the [[Avon Wildlife Trust]] choose to retain their name.  The [[Royal Mail]] indicated that it is not necessary to include Avon (or any other postal county) as part of any address as it had abandoned their use in 1996.
[[File:AvonParliamentaryConstituencies2007.svg|thumb|For the purposes of parliamentary constituency boundaries, Avon is still used]]
Some public bodies still cover the area of the former county of Avon: for example, [[Avon Fire and Rescue Service]], the Avon Coroner's District, [[Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust]], the West of England Strategic Partnership, Intelligence West, and until 2006 the Avon Ambulance Service, when it merged with the [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Wiltshire]] ambulance services to form the [[Great Western Ambulance Service]], which subsequently merged with [[South Western Ambulance Service]]. The former county and its southern neighbour form the area covered by [[Avon and Somerset Constabulary]] (governed by the [[Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner]]). Though there is no longer a single council, the four unitary authorities still co-operate on many aspects of policy, such as the Joint [[Local Transport Plan]].<ref>B&NES, Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire Councils, 2005. [http://www.greaterbristoltransportplan.org Greater Bristol Joint Local Transport Plan 2006–2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615142059/http://www.greaterbristoltransportplan.org/ |date=15 June 2006 }}</ref> Currently, the term "[[West of England]]" is used by some organisations to refer to the former Avon area, such as the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.<ref>[http://www.westofenglandlep.co.uk/ West of England Local Enterprise Partnership homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115203651/http://www.westofenglandlep.co.uk/ |date=15 January 2011 }}. Retrieved 7 July 2013</ref> Avon continued to be used unofficially in [[Boundary Commission for England|boundary reviews]] for [[United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|parliamentary constituencies]].{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The term ''CUBA'', the "County (or Councils) that Used to Be Avon", was coined to refer to the Avon area after abolition of the county. The term [[Severnside]] is sometimes used as a substitute for "Avon",<ref>See for example the renaming of the Avon Valuations Tribunal to Severnside, in 1996 [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19960043_en_4.htm SI 1996/43] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605142243/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19960043_en_4.htm |date=5 June 2008 }}</ref> although the term can also be used to refer to the stretch of shoreline from [[Avonmouth]] north to [[Aust]], or from [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] to [[Chepstow]]. "[[Greater Bristol]]" is also used.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbsts.com/study_area.html |title=Study Area|publisher=Greater Bristol Strategic Transport Study|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040619215315/http://www.gbsts.com/study_area.html|archive-date=19 June 2004}}</ref>

The [[Forest of Avon Trust|Forest of Avon]] is a [[community forest]] covering part of the area of the four local authorities. Other relics of Avon's existence include the Avon Cycleway (first designed and promoted by [[Sustrans#History|Cyclebag]]), an 85-mile (137&nbsp;km) circular route on quiet roads and cycle paths, which was a precursor of the [[National Cycle Network]]. Also, Avon County Council helped fund [[Sustrans]]' first cycleway, the [[Bristol and Bath Railway Path]]. The [[Avon Green Belt]] has continued in place as a jointly agreed policy in the [[development plan]]s of the successor local authorities.
[[File:West of England Combined Authority map (within South West England).svg|thumb|The [[West of England Combined Authority]] (1–3), alongside North Somerset (4), covers the same area as the defunct county of Avon]]
In 2016 the government proposed that the four local authorities that replaced Avon come together in a [[West of England Combined Authority]] with a "[[Directly elected mayors in England and Wales|metro mayor]]" who would oversee a new combined authority, to create a "Western Powerhouse" analogous to the government's [[Northern Powerhouse]] concept.<ref name="bbc-20160316">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35823771 |title=West of England £1bn devolution deal announced in Budget |work=BBC News |date=16 March 2016 |access-date=17 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612044809/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35823771 |archive-date=12 June 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bp-20160316">{{cite news |url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Metro-mayor-1-billion-investment-Greater-Bristol/story-28934187-detail/story.html |title=Metro mayor and £1 billion investment for Greater Bristol announced in Budget 2016 |author=Gavin Thompson |newspaper=Bristol Post |date=16 March 2016 |access-date=17 March 2016}}</ref> North Somerset council rejected the proposal but the other three authorities accepted the deal; the combined authority was subsequently established in 2017, with the inaugural [[2017 West of England mayoral election|mayoral election]] taking place in the May of that year.

As of 2024, a multi-operator unlimited travel daily or weekly bus ticket called AvonRider covering the former county area was still available, supported by local councils.<ref name=travelwest-20180215>{{cite web |url=https://travelwest.info/bus/fares/rider-ticket-information/avonrider |title=AvonRider |publisher=travelwest |access-date=30 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902152057/https://travelwest.info/bus/fares/rider-ticket-information/avonrider |archive-date=2 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Lord Lieutenant of Avon|List of Lord Lieutenants of Avon]]
* [[High Sheriff of Avon|List of High Sheriffs of Avon]]
* [[List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon]]
*[[List of places in Avon]]
*[[Cleveland (county)]]
*[[Humberside]]

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/somerset/content/articles/2006/01/06/adam_thomas_inside_out_feature.shtml Avon: the name that refuses to die]
* [http://www.westofenglandlep.co.uk/about-us/economic-intelligence West of England LEP: Economic Intelligence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320102457/http://www.westofenglandlep.co.uk/about-us/economic-intelligence |date=20 March 2019 }}
* [http://www.avonscouts.org.uk Avon Scouts]
* [http://www.e-architect.co.uk/england/avon-buildings Avon architecture] Avon architecture, information on key buildings.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120907195225/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0 Images of Avon] at the [[English Heritage Archive]]

{{England counties/1974}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avon (County)}}
[[Category:Avon (county)| ]]
[[Category:History of Bristol]]
[[Category:History of Gloucestershire]]
[[Category:History of Somerset]]
[[Category:Counties of England established in 1974]]
[[Category:Counties of England disestablished in 1996]]