West Country
TheWest Country(Cornish:An Tir West) is a loosely defined area within southwest England,[1]usually taken to include the counties ofCornwall,Devon,Dorset,SomersetandBristol,with some considering it to extend to all or parts ofWiltshire,GloucestershireandHerefordshire.[2]The West Country has a distinctive regional Englishdialect and accent,[3]and is also home to theCornish language.
Extent
[edit]
The West Country is bounded by theEnglish Channelto the south and theAtlantic Ocean,Bristol ChannelandSevern Estuaryto the north. The eastern limit is less clearly defined.[4][5][6][7]
Some definitions match that of the officialSouth West Englandregion. In a 2019YouGovsurvey, 72% of respondents considered Cornwall and Devon to be in the West Country, while 70% included Somerset, 69% included Bristol, and 55% included Dorset. Other counties received less than 50% agreement, with 28% including Wiltshire, 27% including Gloucestershire, 12% including Herefordshire and 9% including Worcestershire, though those last two counties are officially part of theWest Midlandsregion.[2]
Specific uses
[edit]The termWest Country derbyis used to refer to sports matches between such cities as Bristol and Bath[8]or Gloucester and Bath.[9]
West Country Lamb and West Country Beef areEU Protected Geographical Indications(PGI) covering products from animals born and reared in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire or Gloucestershire.[10]"West Country Farmhouse Cheddar" is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) limited tocheddar cheesemade in the traditional way in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset or Somerset.[11][needs update]
ITV West Countryis anITV franchisewhich broadcasts local news, weather and current affairs programmes over two regions; ITV West Country West covering theIsles of Scilly,Cornwall, Devon and parts of Dorset and Somerset with ITV West Country East covering the remainder of Somerset and Dorset together with Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. ITV West Country West was an ITV franchise in its own right (ITV Westcountry) until 2014 when it merged with that ofITV West,formerlyHTV West,having been initially launched asWestcountry Televisionwith its main studios in Plymouth in 1993.[citation needed]
West Country Carnivalsare held in many towns in and around Somerset. Agovernment-supported museum, galleries, and major attractions atlas[12]matched the South West Region, save for Gloucestershire.
A former brewery inCheltenhamtraded as West Country Ales; their ceramic plaques can still be seen built into pub walls around Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales.[13]
See also
[edit]- Dumnonia
- Durotriges
- Scrumpy and Westernmusic
- South West Peninsula
- SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes(West Country–class locomotives)
- Thomas Hardy's Wessex
- Wessex
- West Country derby
- West of England
References
[edit]- ^"the West Country".Dictionary.cambridge.org.Retrieved2 May2017.
- ^ab"Which counties make up the West Country?",YouGov.co.uk,23 October 2019.Retrieved 22 June 2021
- ^"THE DEVON DIALECT CHALLENGE".Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"BBC -" ITV West Country staff to be axed "".BBC News.30 September 2008.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Blue Badge Tourist Guides - The West Country".Blue-badge-guides.Archived fromthe originalon 8 July 2011.Retrieved22 May2010.
- ^"The West Country".Pictures of England. 2 August 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 17 September 2019.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Latest local news from Thisisthewestcountry.co.uk covering Cornwall, Devon and Somerset".Thisisthewestcountry.co.uk.Retrieved8 November2018.
- ^"Derby match excites Hill & Meehan".BBC News. 4 July 2008.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"Gloucester rough and ready for West Country derby".Thetimes.co.uk.10 May 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 17 May 2008.
- ^"West Country meat wins EU protection".BBC News. 8 November 2018.Retrieved8 November2018.
- ^"PDO - our provenance".West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers.Archivedfrom the original on 18 November 2019.Retrieved20 November2019.
- ^"West Country - Icons of England".Icons.org.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 27 August 2010.Retrieved22 May2010.
- ^"West Country Ales Ceramic Plaques".CAMRA Gloucestershire. Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2019.Retrieved20 November2019.
Further reading
[edit]- Jenner, Michael (1996)Traveller's Companion to the West Country.Claremont Books (Godfrey Cave Associates)ISBN1854718266(first published by Michael Joseph, 1990)
- Weir, John (1993)The West Country.(Great Walks.) London: Ward LockISBN0-7063-6943-2
