West Country
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south-western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. The West Country encompasses the counties of Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, while the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are usually included, and definitions sometimes include even wider areas. The area is mostly rural, with a few notable cities, such as Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth. Tourism and agriculture, especially dairy farming, play a significant role in the economy. The landscape is principally granite moorland in the west, chalk and limestone downland and clay vales in the east. Historically, tin mining and the fishery were sources of income and employment, but not so much today, although the latter still contributes to the economy. The region is most famous for its produce of cider, clotted cream and pasties.
As with any informal area, its boundaries are difficult to define. For example, the further West, the more the region becomes culturally distinct from neighbouring South East England. It is often difficult to define a county as being "West Country" when it is a popular destination for commuters, but it is important to look at the lifestyle, accents and dialects of the true residents before making an informed decision.
Cornwall especially has a distinct view on the exclusivity of what defines a West Country county; it was never truly conquered by Wessex. In 722 the Cornish joined forces with their friends and allies, the Vikings; together the Cornish and Vikings destroyed an Anglo-Saxon army at "Hehil"; somewhere around modern day Padstow. To this day, some natives of Cornwall do not consider themselves English (see Constitutional status of Cornwall, Cornish self-government movement, and Cornish people).
The West Country is sometimes associated with the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and Wessex Regionalists seek to promote this as an alternative to the South-West region. Wessex includes the adjacent counties in central southern England; Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight. These movements, as they do not include Cornwall, are generally supported by Cornish nationalists. The Welsh traditional county of Monmouthshire is also considered part of the region by some people.
The West Country Clothing District was an area that made woollen cloth, but only part of the region described above. It covered east Somerset and parts of the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and at some periods extended into Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The clothing district around Tiverton and Exeter in Devonshire and west Somerset tended to make different kinds of cloth and is best regarded as distinct.
Contents |
[edit] Counties (and unitary authorities)
[edit] Notable towns and cities
(See county pages for more.)
[edit] Places of interest
- Avebury
- Bodmin Moor
- Dartmoor
- Exmoor
- Glastonbury Tor
- Jurassic Coast
- Mendip Hills
- South West Coast
- Stonehenge
- West Country Carnival circuit
- Cherhill White Horse
(See county pages for more.)
[edit] See also
- South West England
- Wessex
- West of England
- United Kingdom
- Scrumpy and Western music
- Thomas Hardy (West Country novelist)
- West Country dialects
- Constitutional status of Cornwall
- Britain
- England
- Southern England
- UK topics
