88-594: Sometimes included: The home counties are the counties of England that surround London . The counties are not precisely defined but Berkshire , Buckinghamshire , Hertfordshire , Essex , Kent and Surrey are usually included in definitions as, except Berkshire, they all border London. Other counties slightly further from London – such as Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire , Hampshire , Oxfordshire , East Sussex and West Sussex – are not always regarded as home counties, although on occasion may be thought of as such due to their proximity to London and their connection to
176-504: A goat (Geraldine) and a cockerel ( Lenin ). They generate their own electricity with methane from animal waste, and attempt to make their own clothes. They sell or barter surplus crops for essentials they cannot make themselves. They cut their monetary requirements to the minimum, with varying success. Their actions horrify their kindly but conventional neighbours, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. Margo and Jerry were intended to be minor characters, but their relationship with one another and
264-460: A county council which also performs the functions of a district, or a district council which also performs the functions of a county. The effect is the same, with only marginal differences in terminology; district councils are elected by wards, county councils by electoral divisions . The local government counties are listed below, with the numbers corresponding to the adjoining map. There have been no county councils since 1986; these are governed by
352-509: A county in terms of local government legislation, Greater London is deemed to comprise two counties for the purposes of lieutenancy: the City of London (covering the 'square mile' at the centre of the conurbation) and a Greater London lieutenancy county covering the rest of the area, being the 32 London boroughs. The Council of the Isles of Scilly was formed in 1890 as a sui generis district council. It
440-649: A couple of reactionary stereotypes, confirming the myth that everyone in Britain is a lovable middle-class eccentric. And I hate them!" Giles Coren and Sue Perkins worked together on a four-episode series Giles and Sue Live the Good Life , broadcast to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the original series. In the series, they recreated an attempt by two city-dwellers to adjust to country life, in ways such as raising their own barnyard animals, creating their own Christmas decorations and knitting their own clothing. In late 2020,
528-614: A heart of gold. She involves herself with organisations such as the Pony Club and the Music Society, always wishing to play the lead role, although frequently the Goods' activities frustrate her attempts to impress her social circle. Margo is occasionally made aware of her faults by others, including her husband, and is not too proud to apologise. Andrew, "Andy" or "Sir", is managing director of JJM. He feigns ignorance of Tom's existence ("Mr Ummm of
616-638: A live audience. The opening theme was composed by Burt Rhodes (1923–2003). On his 40th birthday, Tom Good is no longer able to take his job seriously and gives up work as a draughtsman for a company that makes plastic toys for breakfast cereal packets. With their house in The Avenue, Surbiton , paid for, he and his wife Barbara adopt a sustainable , simple and nearly self-sufficient lifestyle while staying in their house. They turn their front and back gardens into allotments , growing soft fruit and vegetables. They introduce chickens, pigs ( Pinky and Perky ),
704-449: A mockup of the Goods' kitchen. The Good Life features in an episode of The Young Ones titled " Sick " where Vyvyan (played by Adrian Edmondson ) rips apart the title page after the first ten seconds of the opening credits of this show while criticising it, saying, "It's so bloody nice! Felicity 'Treacle' Kendal and Richard 'Sugar-Flavoured Snot' Briers! What do they do now?! Chocolate bloody Button ads, that's what! They're nothing but
792-466: A podcast celebrating sitcoms of the 1970s – The Sitcom Archive Deep Dive Overdrive — was launched. The weekly show examines and celebrates every episode ever made of The Good Life made throughout its first series. Some have connected the increasing popularity of hobby farms to the success of TV shows like The Good Life . The complete series of The Good Life was made available in the US ( Region 1 ) under
880-467: A sheriff or lieutenant; the same person was usually appointed to be lieutenant of both Cumberland and Westmorland until 1876, whilst Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire shared a sheriff until 1965. The counties' role as constituencies effectively ceased following the Reform Act 1832 and the associated Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 . Most counties were divided into smaller constituencies, with
968-439: A union centred on a nearby town, whether or not that town was in the same county. The unions were administered by elected boards of guardians , and formed the basis for the registration districts created in 1837. Each union as a whole was assigned to a registration county , which therefore differed in places from the legal counties. The registration counties were used for census reporting from 1851 to 1911. The unions also formed
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#17328378098961056-579: Is Felicity Kendal?" Two novelisations of The Good Life were written, both by Esmonde and Larbey. The first, The Good Life , was published in 1976 by Penguin Books , and novelised the first series. The second, More of The Good Life , was published in 1977, also by Penguin, and featured three episodes from series two and four episodes from series three. The series broadcast in Australia on ABC and in Canada on CBC. It
1144-522: Is also wholly outside, and Berkshire almost wholly outside, the route of the M25 motorway , which is often treated as an unofficial perimeter of Greater London , and some definitions mention that those counties are not always included amongst the home counties, or that the term has been extended to include them. The home counties have been characterised as being "inhabited on the whole by 'nice', comfortable, and conformist middle-class people " (1987) exemplified by
1232-499: Is an equally dictatorial acquaintance and a fellow member of the Pony Club. Mr and Mrs Pearson, the Leadbetters' gardener and housekeeper, are mentioned in several episodes. Mr Weaver, the husband of Mrs Weaver, is mentioned but not met in episode 6 of season 2, when Margo speaks of Mr and Mrs Weaver. The Good Life aired for four series and two specials from 4 April 1975 to 10 June 1978. The final one-off episode, "When I'm Sixty-Five",
1320-427: Is his idea, but Barbara, after expressing concerns, supports him. Tom is determined to succeed at self-sufficiency, and is mostly cheerful about his new lifestyle. Despite being an eternal optimist most of the time, Tom can also be obstinate and pigheaded, often to Barbara's detriment or irritation. On the few occasions that he is pessimistic, Barbara becomes the optimist. Barbara is a normal, middle-class housewife when
1408-446: Is not seen again. In series 4 it is revealed she has moved away, leaving the house empty, but with a half-full tank of heating oil in the garden. The Goods telephone her and she agrees to them taking the oil, but they discover the leaking tank has destroyed their garden. Several characters are mentioned but unseen. Margo is at odds with Miss Dolly Mountshaft, dictatorial leading light of the Music Society. The overweight Mrs Dooms-Paterson
1496-684: Is tried to its limits. Peter Bowles was originally cast to play Jerry but was unavailable. (He later starred opposite Penelope Keith in To the Manor Born .) Hannah Gordon was considered for the role of Barbara but was ruled out, having recently played a similar role in the BBC sitcom My Wife Next Door . Esmonde and Larbey chose Felicity Kendal and Penelope Keith after seeing them on stage together in The Norman Conquests . Outdoor filming took place in
1584-541: The Local Government Act 1972 which reorganised local government from 1 April 1974 into a two-tier structure of counties and districts across the whole of England apart from the Isles of Scilly and Greater London (which retained its two-tier structure of the Greater London Council and London boroughs which had been introduced in 1965). The administrative counties and county boroughs were all abolished, and
1672-574: The Metropolitan Board of Works since 1856, which covered the City of London and parts of Middlesex , Surrey and Kent . In those counties where the quarter sessions had been held separately for different parts of the county, separate county councils were created for each part. The area controlled by a county council was termed an administrative county . The 1888 Act also adjusted the county boundaries for all other purposes, including judicial functions, sheriffs and lieutenants, to match groups of
1760-538: The counties palatine , the right to appoint sheriffs rested elsewhere; for example with the Bishop of Durham for County Durham , and with the Earl of Chester for Cheshire . A county's magistrates sat four times a year as the quarter sessions . For more serious cases judges visited each county twice a year for the assizes . In some larger counties the practice arose of holding the quarter sessions separately for subdivisions of
1848-565: The midlife crisis of Tom Good, a 40-year-old plastics designer, it relates the joys and setbacks he and his wife Barbara experience when they attempt to escape a modern " rat race " lifestyle by "becoming totally self-sufficient " in their suburban house in Surbiton . In 2004, it came 9th in Britain's Best Sitcom . The lead roles are taken by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal . John Esmonde and Bob Larbey wrote The Good Life for Richard Briers ,
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#17328378098961936-525: The "maps of the home counties". In reviewing S. P. B. Mais 's The Home Counties (Batsford The Face of Britain series, 1942), Norah Richardson noted that "the home counties" was a term in constant use but hard to define, but that Mais's definition of "the five counties around London County – Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent and Surrey" could not be improved upon. The term is sometimes understood to mean those counties which, on their borders closest to London, have been partly subsumed into London. Indeed,
2024-445: The 48 ceremonial counties used for the purposes of lieutenancy ; the 84 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties for local government ; and the 39 historic counties which were used for administration until 1974 . The historic counties of England were mostly formed as shires or divisions of the earlier kingdoms , which gradually united by the 10th century to become England. The counties were initially used primarily for
2112-449: The BBC invited Queen Elizabeth to attend a recording of a television programme for the first time to mark her Silver Jubilee and to this end, the royal household was asked to confirm her favourite entertainment show. Reputedly, this was The Good Life , but this was problematic as the series had ended before it was possible to facilitate the Queen's attendance. Thus a 'Christmas Special' episode
2200-494: The Fourth Floor"), but once Tom leaves, Andy becomes desperate to bring him back. His wife, Felicity, is more relaxed. She is one of the few characters to support the Goods and finds their attempt at self-sufficiency exciting. She says, "I wanted to do something exciting when I was young, and then I met Andrew and that was the end of that." They have one son, unseen, called Martin. Andrew calls Tom and Barbara "Tim and Fatima", but in
2288-412: The Goods became an essential element of the series. Under the influence of the Goods' homemade wine, called " peapod burgundy " (the strength of which becomes a running joke), their intermingled attractions to one another become apparent. Tom's career has been as a draughtsman, a job he thoroughly dislikes. He feels his life is meaningless, nothing more than work and consumption. Becoming self-sufficient
2376-440: The Isles of Scilly. There are six metropolitan counties and 78 non-metropolitan counties. Of the non-metropolitan counties, 21 are governed in a two-tier arrangement with an upper-tier county council and a number of lower-tier district councils , 56 are governed by a unitary authority performing both county and district functions, and one ( Berkshire ) is governed by six unitary authorities whilst remaining legally one county. For
2464-696: The London regional economy. The origin of the term "home counties" is uncertain. Marcus Crouch , writing in 1975, thought that it derived from the Home Counties Circuit of courts that had surrounded London since at least the 18th century. Looking further back, he suggested that it included the counties in which, since the Tudor period , it has been possible for civil servants and politicians to have their country homes and still be able to travel into London without excessive delay when they were needed. The earliest use of
2552-743: The Manor Born , which began in September 1979. Eddington joined Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister and its sequel Yes Prime Minister . Kendal, who had become something of a sex symbol, went on to join Elspet Gray in Solo and Jane Asher in The Mistress . Briers later starred alongside Penelope Wilton and Peter Egan in the popular sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles again written by Larbey & Esmonde, and notable for Briers' character being
2640-787: The adjoining new town . Four of the non-metropolitan counties established in 1974 were given names that had not previously been used for counties: Avon , Cleveland , Cumbria , and Humberside . Another was a merger of two former counties and combined both their names: Hereford and Worcester . The pre-1974 counties of Cumberland, Rutland, Westmorland, and Huntingdon and Peterborough were considered too small to function efficiently as separate counties, and did not have their names taken forward by new counties. Cumberland and Westmorland were both incorporated into Cumbria (alongside parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire). Huntingdon and Peterborough became lower-tier districts within Cambridgeshire, and Rutland
2728-448: The administration of justice, overseen by a sheriff . They subsequently gained other roles, notably serving as constituencies and as areas for organising the militia , which was the responsibility of the lord-lieutenant . The county magistrates also gradually took on some administrative functions. Elected county councils were created in 1889, taking over the administrative functions of the magistrates. The functions and territories of
Home counties - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-445: The administrative counties and county boroughs. As such, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and Sussex retained a single sheriff and lieutenant each, despite being split between multiple administrative counties. Yorkshire kept a single sheriff, whilst each of its ridings retained a separate lieutenant and formed their own administrative counties. In 1890 the Isle of Wight
2904-407: The administrative functions of the quarter sessions. Some towns and cities were considered large enough to run their own county-level services and so were made county boroughs , independent from the new county councils. Urban sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries were placed entirely in one county. A new County of London was created covering the area which had been administered by
2992-597: The basis for the sanitary districts created in 1872, which took on various local government functions. The county of Westmorland was formed in 1227. From then until 1889 there were generally agreed to be 39 counties in England, although there were some liberties such as the Liberty of Ripon which were independent from their host counties for judicial purposes. The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 formally absorbed Wales into
3080-414: The boundaries between Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire were adjusted to transfer 26 parishes between the three counties, largely to eliminate the remaining exclaves not addressed in 1844. The functions of county councils gradually grew. Notable expansions in their responsibilities included taking over education from the abolished school boards in 1902, and taking over the assistance of
3168-627: The boundaries were. Boundaries were recorded by the Ordnance Survey gradually in a process which started in 1841 and was not fully completed until 1888. Many counties had detached exclaves , away from the main body of the county. Most exclaves were eliminated by boundary adjustments under the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 . The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 created poor law unions , which were defined as groups of parishes and frequently crossed county boundaries. Parishes were typically assigned to
3256-409: The character it has taken for Tom to leave the system. He is henpecked at home but has the strength to make his case. Margo cannot understand her neighbours' lifestyle, but their friendship is important to her. As a child, she was bullied at school for having no sense of humour. A social climber, staunchly Conservative and unafraid to challenge anyone who gets on her nerves, Margo nevertheless reveals
3344-427: The counties as had been adjusted for all other purposes. This lasted until the constituencies were next reviewed in 1918 , when they were realigned to nest within the newer versions of the counties. The 1888 Act used the term 'entire county' to refer to the wider version of the county, including any associated county boroughs or parts which had been made administrative counties. The informal term 'geographical county'
3432-520: The counties have evolved since then, with significant amendments on several occasions, notably in 1889, 1965 and 1974. Following the 1974 reforms, England (outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly ) had a two-tier structure of upper-tier county councils and lower-tier district councils, with each county being designated as either a metropolitan county or a non-metropolitan county . From 1995 onwards numerous unitary authorities have been established in
3520-541: The county of Surrey which has been described as possessing quintessential home counties characteristics of "a comfortable plasticised commuterland with respectable villas and neatly mown lawns interspersed with patches of mild scenery". In fiction, the character of Margot Leadbetter in the BBC sitcom The Good Life , set in Surbiton , formerly in Surrey, has been described by The Spectator as "a Home Counties Conservative to her fingertips". Marcus Crouch , however, has made
3608-547: The county, including the Ridings of Yorkshire , the Parts of Lincolnshire and the Eastern and Western divisions of Sussex . The quarter sessions were also gradually given various civil functions, such as providing asylums, maintaining main roads and bridges, and the regulation of alehouses. When parliaments began to be called from the 13th century onwards, the counties formed part of
Home counties - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-424: The episode "Anniversary" admits he has always known their names and pretends to forget – "an old executive ploy to put people at a disadvantage." Andrew appears alone after series 1 with one more reference to Felicity by Jerry and Margo in the episode "Mutiny". Mrs Weaver buys the house next door to Tom and Barbara in series 2, much to the relief of Margo, who approves of Mrs Weaver's conservative values as opposed to
3784-507: The existing counties and districts and having most local government functions exercised by all-purpose unitary authorities. Following the change in government at the 1970 general election , the incoming Conservative administration of Edward Heath abandoned the Redcliffe-Maud proposals, having campaigned against them as part of their election manifesto. Instead, the Heath government produced
3872-704: The former county of Middlesex has been almost wholly within London since 1965 as have parts of Kent, Hertfordshire and Surrey, although the county continues to exist as a cultural and historic entity. The third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (2010) defines the term as "the English counties surrounding London, into which London has extended. They comprise chiefly Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertfordshire." Parts of all of those historic counties are, since 1965, officially within London, although no part of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or Sussex is. The county of Sussex
3960-411: The functions of the abolished councils, with some functions (such as emergency services, civil defence and public transport) being delivered through joint committees. Further reform in the 1990s allowed the creation of non-metropolitan counties containing a single district, where one council performed both county and district functions. These became informally known as unitary authorities . The first
4048-619: The group of constituencies within each county being termed the 'parliamentary county'. County boundaries were sometimes adjusted, for example by some of the Inclosure Acts of the 18th and 19th centuries. County and other boundaries were not centrally recorded with any accuracy before the 19th century, but were instead known by local knowledge and custom. When the Ordnance Survey started producing large scale maps, they had to undertake extensive research with locals to establish where exactly
4136-889: The kingdom of England and completed its division into 13 counties on the English model. Contemporary lists after that sometimes included Monmouthshire as a 40th English county, on account of its assizes being included in the Oxford circuit rather than one of the Welsh circuits . The 39 historic counties were: By the late 19th century, there was increasing pressure to reform the structure of English counties; borough councils and boards of guardians were elected, but there were no elections for county-level authorities. Some urban areas had also grown across county boundaries, creating problems in how they were administered. The Local Government Act 1888 sought to address these issues. It established elected county councils, which came into being in 1889 and took over
4224-521: The loss of judicial functions in 1972, the counties' roles were the administrative functions of local government, plus the limited ceremonial roles of the sheriffs and lieutenants. As part of the reforms under the Local Government Act 1972 the post of sheriff was renamed ' high sheriff ', and both they and the lieutenants were appointed to the new counties created in 1974. Whilst the administrative counties and county boroughs were abolished in 1974,
4312-470: The lower tier of district councils was reorganised. The Heath government also reformed the judicial functions which had been organised by geographical counties; the Courts Act 1971 abolished the quarter sessions and assizes with effect from 1972. The sheriffs and lieutenants continued to exist, but both roles had lost powers to become largely ceremonial by the time of the 1970s reforms. As such, following
4400-440: The metropolitan borough councils with some joint committees. Most now form part or all of a combined authority . Upper-tier county council and multiple lower-tier district councils: County council serving as unitary authority: District council serving as unitary authority: No county council but multiple districts serving as unitary authorities: Greater London and the Isles of Scilly do not form part of any county for
4488-421: The names of historic counties and were defined by reference to the administrative and geographical counties which preceded them, retaining the same or similar boundaries where practicable. Whilst the Heath government had rejected the more radical Radcliffe-Maud proposals, they did still make adjustments to boundaries where they concluded they were necessary to better align with functional economic areas. For example,
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#17328378098964576-480: The non-metropolitan counties, usually by creating a non-metropolitan county containing a single district and having one council perform both county and district functions. Since 1996 there have been two legal definitions of county: the counties as defined in local government legislation, and the counties for the purposes of lieutenancy (the latter being informally known as ceremonial counties). The local government counties today cover England except for Greater London and
4664-642: The non-metropolitan counties. Since the most recent changes in 2023, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly has been divided into 84 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties for local government purposes. The 48 ceremonial counties used for the purposes of lieutenancy have been unchanged since 1998. Since the latest changes in 2023 there have been 84 counties for local government purposes, which are categorised as metropolitan or non-metropolitan counties. The non-metropolitan counties may governed by one or two tiers of councils. Those which are governed by one tier (unitary authorities) may either be governed by
4752-471: The north-western part of Berkshire was transferred to Oxfordshire on account of being separated from the rest of Berkshire by the Berkshire Downs hills and having better connections to the city of Oxford than to Berkshire's largest town and administrative centre of Reading . Similarly, Gatwick Airport was transferred from Surrey to West Sussex so that it could be in the same county as Crawley ,
4840-480: The northern Greater London suburb of Northwood , although the series was set in Surbiton , south-western Greater London. The producers searched extensively for a suitable pair of houses, eventually chancing on Kewferry Road, Northwood. The grounds of the Goods' house were returned to their original state after the filming of each series' inserts, and all livestock removed at the end of each day's filming. Interior scenes were filmed at BBC Television Centre in front of
4928-455: The only cast member who was well known before the series was broadcast. Larbey and Esmonde were inspired by Larbey's 40th birthday, which seemed to them a milestone in most people's lives. Their story has the Goods' decision to pursue self-sufficiency conflicting sharply with the habits of the Leadbetters, who live next door. The conflict between the neighbours, balanced with an increasingly close friendship, creates comic tension as that friendship
5016-429: The perception that South East England, the official region of England in which most of the home counties are located, was universally wealthy as inaccurate and noted that 500,000 people in the region lived in areas that were within the 20% most deprived areas in the country with deprivation concentrated in coastal areas such as Margate (Kent) and Hastings (East Sussex). Significant areas of deprivation were also found in
5104-563: The point that the home counties have been more affected by migration from within and without the United Kingdom than any other region of the country, making them the most cosmopolitan region of England and meaning that there is no typical home counties inhabitant. One result of this diversity, he argues, is that local loyalties are shallower in the home counties than in, for instance, Yorkshire or parts of Scotland where there has been less population mobility. Marcus Crouch has identified one of
5192-561: The polar opposite of Tom Good. In 1992, Kendal and Eddington reunited in the Channel Four adaptation of Mary Wesley 's The Camomile Lawn . In 2003, the BBC broadcast the mockumentary Life Beyond the Box: Margo Leadbetter , describing Margo's life since the series had finished, although the original actors appear only in archive footage. In 2007, Briers and Kendal were reunited on ITV1 series That's What I Call Television in
5280-482: The poor from the abolished boards of guardians in 1930. A Local Government Boundary Commission was set up in 1945 which reviewed the structure of local government and recommended a significant overhaul, including extensive changes to counties and county boroughs. The commission was wound up in 1949 when the government decided not to pursue these proposals. A Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London
5368-425: The pre-1974 powers in such cases. Whilst these unitary authorities are legally all non-metropolitan counties, they are rarely referred to as counties other than in the context of local government law. The pre-1974 counties of Rutland, Herefordshire and Worcestershire also regained their independence. Rutland was made a unitary authority in 1997, and in 1998 Herefordshire was made a unitary authority and Worcestershire
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#17328378098965456-450: The principal characteristics of the home counties as being a shared chalk geology that is broadly mirrored north and south of the Thames . The home counties are some of the wealthiest in Britain with the towns of Virginia Water , Esher and Weybridge , all in Surrey, ranked in one 2019 survey as having some of the highest average house prices in the country. However, a 2011 report described
5544-427: The purposes of lieutenancy England (including Greater London and the Isles of Scilly) is divided into 48 counties, which are defined as groups of one or more local government counties. Counties are also frequently used for non-administrative purposes, including culture, tourism and sport, with many organisations, clubs and leagues being organised on a county basis. For the purpose of sorting and delivering mail, England
5632-668: The purposes of local government legislation. Greater London was created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 as a sui generis administrative area, with the Greater London Council functioning as an upper-tier authority. It consists of the City of London plus 32 London boroughs . It was left unaltered by the 1972 Act. The Greater London Council was abolished along with the metropolitan county councils in 1986. Since 2000, Greater London has had an elected Assembly and Mayor responsible for strategic local government. Whilst not
5720-521: The same day as Tom. (Jerry and Tom knew each other for at least two years before they went to work for JJM.) By his own account, Jerry has risen to senior management through cunning and self-promotion rather than talent – he tells Tom directly that he has only 10% of Tom's talent. As the series progresses, he moves within striking distance of the managing director's job. Jerry is convinced that the Goods' go-it-alone attempt will fail and on several occasions pleads with Tom to come back. But he grows to appreciate
5808-402: The series begins. While she sometimes wilts under Tom's determined and dominant nature, her sharp tongue puts her on an equal footing. She is the heart of the enterprise, while Tom's engineering brain designs and builds what they need. She occasionally misses the luxuries but her own determination to succeed, with Tom's single-minded persuasion, keeps her going. Jerry works for JJM, having joined
5896-484: The sheriff. Some larger towns and cities were made self-governing counties corporate , starting with London in c. 1132 , with the right to hold their own courts and appoint their own sheriffs. The counties corporate continued to be deemed part of the wider county for the purposes of lieutenancy, with the exception of London which had its own lieutenants. The Ridings of Yorkshire had their own lieutenants from 1660 onwards. Sometimes smaller counties shared either
5984-568: The success of The Good Life , the four cast members were given their own "vehicles" commissioned by the then Head of Comedy and producer of The Good Life , John Howard Davies . Immediately after the series ended, Larbey & Esmonde created a new show for Richard Briers, co-starring Michael Gambon. The Other One was a seven-part sitcom that aired on BBC1 in the autumn of 1977, running concurrently with The Good Life Christmas Special – Silly, but it's fun . A second series of 6 episodes aired in early 1979. Keith starred alongside Peter Bowles in To
6072-464: The system for electing members of parliament . Certain towns and cities were parliamentary boroughs sending their own representatives, and the remainder of each county served as a county constituency , with the MPs for such constituencies being known as knights of the shire . From Tudor times onwards a lord-lieutenant was appointed to oversee the militia, taking some of the functions previously held by
6160-876: The term cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1695. Charles Davenant , in An Essay upon Ways and Means of Supplying the War , wrote, "The Eleven Home Counties, which are thought in Land Taxes to pay more than their proportion, viz. Surry [ sic ] with Southwark , Hertfordshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire , Kent , Essex , Norfolk , and Suffolk , Berks , Bucks , and Oxfordshire ." Later definitions have tended to be more narrow and Bacon's Large Scale Atlas of London and Suburbs (revised edition c. 1912) includes Berkshire, Buckingham, Essex, Hertford, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey in
6248-652: The title Good Neighbors . Series 1–3 were released as a box set in 2005; Series 4 was released in 2006 and includes the Royal Command Performance. The first UK ( Region 2 ) DVD release omits two episodes (the first episode from series 1 and one from series 3). All four complete series were rereleased in their entirety on 29 March, 24 May, 19 July and 20 September 2010; the complete boxset has also been rereleased. All four series have been released in their entirety in Australia ( Region 4 ), albeit in NTSC format rather than
6336-443: The two students boarding with the Goods who had initially threatened to purchase the house. Initially, the Goods and Mrs Weaver have an embarrassing introduction to each other, but when Mrs Weaver is impressed by the pottery skills of Tom, they become friendly. Mrs Weaver's enthusiasm for Tom's pottery encourages him to take up making ceramics, but he baulks at the idea of doing it professionally. Mrs Weaver continues to be mentioned, but
6424-527: The urban areas of south Hampshire and Slough . Multiple definitions of the term have been used in legislation and by official bodies. In the twentieth century, for instance, as follows: (the table includes all the areas mentioned above): Counties of England The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England . Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England:
6512-415: The wider geographical or historic counties were not explicitly abolished by the 1972 Act, albeit they were left with no administrative or ceremonial functions. Following the 1974 reforms there were 45 counties, six of which were classed as metropolitan counties, covering the larger urban areas: The other 39 counties were classed as non-metropolitan counties: Most of the non-metropolitan counties retained
6600-408: Was a Royal Command Performance in front of Queen Elizabeth II , Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and senior BBC management. The cast and crew were presented to the Queen and Prince Philip after the recording. The episode was originally broadcast in a 45-minute slot with footage either side of the 30-minute episode showing the royal party entering and exiting. The Command Performance came about after
6688-678: Was also seen in South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries as well as Belgium and the Netherlands. In the United States The Good Life was retitled Good Neighbors to avoid confusion with a short-lived American sitcom of the same name, and was shown by most PBS stations across the country starting in the early 1980s. By the late 1980s, it was rarely seen but returned to PBS stations after CBS/Fox Video released selected episodes on VHS in 1998. After
6776-625: Was also used on Ordnance Survey maps to distinguish the wider version of the county from the administrative counties. There were various adjustments to county boundaries after 1889. There were numerous changes following the Local Government Act 1894 , which converted rural sanitary districts into rural districts and established parish councils , but said that districts and parishes were no longer allowed to straddle county boundaries. The number of county boroughs gradually increased, and boundaries were occasionally adjusted to accommodate urban areas which were developing across county boundaries. In 1931
6864-403: Was commissioned, but it proved impossible for the Queen's schedule to accommodate the recording and a further subsequent episode was commissioned, although this was not recorded until 1978, after the jubilee year. Despite being informed that The Good Life was the Queen's favourite, when Felicity Kendal's son presented her with a bouquet upon her arrival at Television Centre , the Queen asked "who
6952-533: Was deemed to be two lieutenancy counties (the City of London and the rest of Greater London) under the Administration of Justice Act 1964 . The Good Life (1975 TV series) The Good Life (known as Good Neighbors in the United States) is a British sitcom, produced by BBC television. It ran from 4 April 1975 to 10 June 1978 on BBC 1 and was written by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde . Opening with
7040-407: Was divided into postal counties until 1996; they were then abandoned by Royal Mail in favour of postcodes . Most of the historic English counties were established between the 7th and 11th centuries. Counties were initially used for the administration of justice and organisation of the militia, all overseen by a sheriff. The sheriff was usually appointed by the monarch but in some cases, known as
7128-534: Was established in 1957 and a Local Government Commission for England in 1958 to recommend new local government structures. The major outcomes of the work of the commissions came in 1965. The County of London was abolished and was replaced by the Greater London administrative area, which also included most of the remaining part of Middlesex (which was abolished as an administrative county) and areas formerly part of Surrey, Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire. Huntingdonshire
7216-475: Was given the "powers, duties and liabilities" of a county council in 1930. Some functions, such as health and economic development, are shared with Cornwall Council . For lieutenancy purposes the islands form part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall. From 1974 to 1996 the local government counties were also used for the purposes of lieutenancy, with the exceptions that the Isles of Scilly were deemed part of Cornwall for lieutenancy purposes, and Greater London
7304-664: Was legally a new non-metropolitan county and a district covering the same area, with the district council also performing county functions. Rather than appoint lieutenants and high sheriffs for these new counties created in 1996, it was decided to resurrect the pre-1974 practice of defining counties for the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty separately from the local government counties. Several other unitary authorities were created between 1996 and 1998. Many of these were districts based on larger towns and cities, including several places that had been county boroughs prior to 1974. Being made unitary authorities therefore effectively restored
7392-445: Was made a district of Leicestershire. The metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 after just 12 years in operation. The Greater London Council was abolished at the same time. The metropolitan counties and Greater London continued to legally exist as geographic areas and retained their high sheriffs and lieutenants despite the loss of their upper-tier councils. The lower-tier metropolitan boroughs and London boroughs took on
7480-402: Was made an administrative county whilst remaining part of Hampshire for other purposes. Constituencies were not changed by the 1888 Act and so the parliamentary counties continued to be defined as they had been when the constituencies were last reviewed in 1885 , by reference to the counties as they had then existed. This led to a mismatch in some areas between the parliamentary counties and
7568-534: Was merged with the Soke of Peterborough to form Huntingdon and Peterborough , and the original administrative county of Cambridgeshire was merged with the Isle of Ely to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely . A Royal Commission on Local Government in England was set up in 1966 and produced the Redcliffe-Maud Report in 1969, which recommended the complete redrawing of local government areas in England, replacing
7656-422: Was re-established as a two-tier county. Berkshire County Council was abolished in 1998 and the county's six districts became unitary authorities, but unusually the non-metropolitan county of Berkshire was not abolished. The six Berkshire unitary authorities are the only ones not to also be non-metropolitan counties. Further reforms in 2009 and between 2019 and 2023 saw more unitary authorities created within
7744-470: Was the Isle of Wight, where the two districts were abolished and the county council took over their functions in 1995. In 1996, Avon, Cleveland and Humberside were abolished after just 22 years in existence. None of those three had attracted much public loyalty, and there had been campaigns to abolish them, especially in the case of Humberside. Those three counties were split into unitary authorities, each of which
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