Monday 16 September 2024

The Home Counties

 

The Home Counties

The home counties are those English counties which border London. They are commonly accepted to be the six counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, and Surrey. Why are Essex, Kent, and Surrey not given the suffix ‘shire’ for they are counties, too?

‘Shire’ refers to an area governed by a local official, known as the ‘shire reeve’ or ‘sheriff.’ Essex, Kent and Surrey were former Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, so were never designated ‘shires.’ 

Sometimes the term ‘home counties’ is broadened to include counties a little further from London, which do not surround the city, like Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, East Sussex and West Sussex. All of these areas are within easy reach of London and can be regarded as commuter accessible. That leads to the further conclusion that the home counties provide many of the workers in London and are therefore associated with business, finance and growth. They are some of the wealthiest regions in Britain.

One theory for the origin of the term ‘Home Counties,’ a term that has been in use since at least the 17th century, suggests that it refers to the Home Counties Circuit of courts surrounding London since the 18th century. That seems a little illogical if the phrase had been used a century before. Another suggestion is that government officials and civil servants could live reasonably close to London, while still retaining homes in the country. Such a practice has been in train since the Tudor period.

A third theory poses the idea that the home counties were the places of disembarkation for military and naval personnel returning from postings abroad.

In general, the home counties are pleasant places to live, usually with access to pretty countryside, or the sea, or, if you’re particularly lucky, both country and seaside, though each of them has their darker spots.

28 comments:

  1. I'm always amazed to hear of people having a city home and a country home, it makes them seem like Royalty or other celebrities who have multiple homes. I knew about the "shire" and the Anglo-Saxon areas, but don't remember where I read it.

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    1. It's quite a thing for many people. I have enough trouble keeping up with one house . . .

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  2. The kingdom information is interesting. As we might say now, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, or X, formerly known as Twitter, what about a push to say Kent, formerly known as The Kingdom of Kent. Bit too wordy, really. I'll go back to mopping my floors.

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  3. Interesting post. The 'home counties' are indeed generally pleasant places, but do feel a tad crowded to those of us living in the north of Scotland!

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    1. Ideally, one would have the wide open spaces of Scotland everywhere, but England is so London-centric.

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  4. When driving back to London usually from the north I am delighted to enter one of the home counties. Then I just have the M25 to negotiate before arriving home.

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    1. Arggh - the M25, to be avoided like the plague whenever possible.

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  5. Interesting. I had often wondered about the origin of the description Home Counties but was too lazy to investigate. Thank you for enlightening me!

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  6. That’s all very interesting. I really enjoy learning about these things. Thank you very much!

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  7. We loved London and would have happily stayed there, but the housing prices were HUGE and the population density was difficult. So we moved to the Home Counties (Herts) and lived a very pleasant life. I knew all the neighbours in St Albans, which probably wouldn't have happened in London.

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    1. You're right, and London is even more congested now, at all hours of the day and night.

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  8. Such an interesting post! I wondered why some had Shire and others don't lol.

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  9. Some of the shires have dropped the 'shire' bit, which is rather a shame, I feel.

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  10. That's interesting and I confirm that when I was in Eastbourne for so many years I had the sea and the beautiful countryside to visit and all these charming little villages where the time stood still !

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    1. The best of all possible worlds . . . 😉

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  11. I've always wondered about the term Home Counties. And I absolutely had no idea that Essex, Kent and Surrey were former Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and were therefore never designated ‘shires.’ As an Anglophile, I love learning about such things, so thank you for post! xxx

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    1. Every country has its quirks and mysteries and it's interesting to find out more about them.

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  12. We don't live in the home counties but we do live in Worcestershire.
    Hubby comes from Essex though.

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  13. An interesting read, thank you.
    I do agree with you that the home counties are usually known for pleasant places to live.

    All the best Jan

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