Association of British Counties

Papers from Valerie Andrews, Secretary to the ABC from 1989 onwards, together with papers of Michael Bradford, Chairman of the ABC until c. 2004

The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a society, formed in 1989, dedicated to promoting awareness of the continuing importance of the 86 historic (or traditional) Counties of Great Britain. ABC believes that the Counties are an important part of the culture, geography and heritage of Great Britain. ABC contends that Britain needs a fixed popular geography, one divorced from the ever changing names and areas of local government but, instead, one rooted in history, public understanding and commonly held notions of cultural identity. ABC, therefore, seeks to fully re-establish the use of the Counties as the standard popular geographical reference frame of Britain and to further encourage their use as a basis for social, sporting and cultural activities.

U DAB/1 ABC Minutes

U DAB/2 Correspondence

U DAB/3 County Files

U DAB/4 Local Government

U DAB/5 ABC Newsletters

Access will be granted to any accredited reader

Papers of the ABC tend to be kept in the homes of the relevant committee members and officers. Some of the papers in this accession were passed on by Valerie Andrews to Michael Bradford, with the intention of the archive of the ABC being deposited at the University.