Avon Cycleway
| Avon | |
|---|---|
 Avon shown within England |
|
| Area | |
| • 1974 | 332,596 acres (1,345.97 km2) |
| • 1994 | 134,268 hectares (1,342.68 km2) |
| Population | |
| • 1973 | 914,180 |
| • 1981 | 900,416 |
| • 1991 | 903,870 |
| History | |
| • Origin | Bristol travel-to-work area |
| • Created | 1974 |
| • Abolished | 1996 |
| • Succeeded by |
Bristol South Gloucestershire North Somerset Bath and North East Somerset |
| Status | Non-metropolitan county |
| ONS code | 08 |
| Government | Avon County Council |
| • HQ | Bristol |
|
Coat of arms of Avon County Council |
|
| Subdivisions | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan districts |
| • Units | |
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|
Avon (/ˈeɪvən/) was, from 1974 to 1996, a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England. 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.
In 1996, the county was abolished and the area split between four new unitary authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, 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.
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.
The appointment of a 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. The commission's timidity was attacked by the Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, who accused them of using the "crude method of the Procrustean bed". The newspaper went on to attack Charles Ritchie, the President of the Local Government Board, and the Conservative government:
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