Avon

Nostalgia

Avon

Not the enjoyably snarky character from the sticky back plastic BBC TV science-fiction series (remember that one?), or the make-up company, but the county. It is no longer with us.

Avon was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England that existed between 1974 and 1996.

The county was named after the River Avon, which flows through the area. It was formed from the county boroughs of Bristol and Bath, together with parts of the administrative counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset.

The new county was always unpopular with those in the south of the district, who resented leaving Somerset and being lumped in with the city of Bristol.

In 1996, the county was abolished.

The Avon name lives on in the names of many local organisations such as the Avon and Somerset Police, and the Avon Wildlife Trust. By the way, Avon is a Celtic word for "river", so the River Avon is actually called "river river".

Further reading

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