Encyclopedia
South West England is one of the
regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, and extends from
Gloucestershire and
Wiltshire to
Cornwall and the
Isles of Scilly. This includes the area often known as the West Country, and much of
Wessex. The size of the region is shown by the fact that the northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall.
Traditionally, the South West of England has been well known for producing
Cheddar cheese, named after
Cheddar in the
Mendip Hills, for
Devon cream teas, and for
Somerset cider. It is now probably equally well known as the home of the
Eden Project,
Aardman Animations, the
Glastonbury festival,
trip hop music, Cornwall's seafood restaurants, and
surfing beaches. Two
National Parks and four World Heritage Sites fall within the region's boundaries.
Geography
Geology & landscape
Most of the South West occupies a
peninsula between the
English Channel and
Bristol Channel. It has the longest coastline of any region of England – over 1,130 kilometres - much of which, such as the
Jurassic coast, is now protected from further substantial development because of its environmental importance, and which contributes to the region’s attractiveness to tourists and residents. More than three million people live within 10 kilometres of the coastline.
Geologically the region is divided into the largely igneous and metamorphic west and sedimentary east, the dividing line slightly to the west of the River Exe. Cornwall and west Devon's landscape is of rocky coastline and high moorland, notably at
Bodmin Moor and
Dartmoor National Park. These are due to the
granite and
slate that underlie the area. The highest point of the region is High Willhays, at 621 metres, on
Dartmoor. In North Devon the slates of the west and limestones of the east meet at
Exmoor National Park. The variety of rocks of similar ages seen here have led to the county's name being lent to that of the
Devonian period.
The east of the region is characterised by wide, flat clay vales and
chalk and
limestone downland. The vales, with good irrigation, are home to the region's dairy agriculture. The
Blackmore Vale was
Thomas Hardy's "Vale of the Little Dairies", another, the
Somerset Levels was created by reclaiming wetlands. The
Southern England Chalk Formation extends into the region, creating a series of high, sparsely populated and archaeologically rich downs, most famously
Salisbury Plain, but also
Cranborne Chase, the
Dorset Downs and the
Purbeck Hills. These downs are the principal area of
arable agriculture in the region. Limestone is also notable in the region, at the
Cotswolds, Quantocks and
Mendip Hills, where they support sheep farming. All of the principal rock types can be seen on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and East Devon, where they document the entire Mesozoic era from west to east.
Settlements
The South West region is largely rural, with many small towns and villages. A higher proportion of people live in such areas than in any other English region. The largest cities and towns are
Bristol,
Plymouth,
Bournemouth and
Poole ,
Swindon,
Gloucester,
Cheltenham,
Torbay,
Exeter,
Bath,
Weston-super-Mare,
Taunton and
Weymouth. The region's total population is about 5 million.
Transport
The region lies on several main line railways. The
Great Western Main Line runs from London to Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth and
Penzance in the far west of Cornwall. The
South Western Main Line runs from London and Southampton to Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth in Dorset. The
West of England Main Line runs from London to Exeter via south Wiltshire, north Dorset and south Somerset. The Wessex Main Line runs from Bristol to
Salisbury and on to Southampton.
Three major roads enter the region from the east. The
M4 motorway from London to South Wales via Bristol is the busiest. The A303 cuts through the centre of the region from
Salisbury to Honiton, where it merges with the A30 to continue past Exeter to the west of Cornwall. The A31, an extension of the
M27, serves Poole and Bournemouth and the Dorset coast. The
M5 runs from the
West Midlands through Gloucestershire, Bristol and Somerset to Exeter. The
A38 serves as a western extension to Plymouth. There are three other motorways in the region, all
in the Bristol area.
History
Pre-Roman
There is some evidence of human occupation of southern England before the last ice age, but largely in the south east. The British mainland was connected to the continent during the ice age and humans may have repeatedly migrated into and out of the region. There is evidence of human habitation at
Cheddar Gorge and Caves 10-11,000 years BCE, during a partial thaw in the ice age. The landscape at this time was
tundra. Britain's oldest complete skeleton, Cheddar Man, lived at Cheddar Gorge around 7150 BCE , shortly after the end of the ice age, however it is unclear whether the region was continually inhabited during the previous 4,000 years, or if humans returned to the gorge after a final cold spell. During this time the tundra gave way to birch forests and grassland and evidence for human settlement appears at
Salisbury Plain and
Hengistbury Head in Dorset.
Economy and industry
The most economically productive areas within the region are Bristol, the M4 corridor, and south east Dorset – that is, the areas with the best links to London. Bristol alone accounts for a quarter of the region's economy, with the surrounding areas of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire accounting for a further quarter. Bristol's economy has historically been built on maritime trade including the import of tobacco . Since the early 20th century, however,
aeronautics have taken over as the bedrock of Bristol's economy, with companies including
Airbus,
Rolls-Royce and
British Aerospace manufacturing in
Filton. More recently defence, telecommunications, information technology and electronics have been important industries in Bristol, Swindon and elsewhere.
The region's Gross Value Added breaks down as 69.9%
service industry, 28.1% production industry and 2.0%
agriculture. This is a slightly higher proportion in production, and lower proportion in services, than the UK average. Agriculture, though in decline, is important in many parts of the region. Dairy farming is especially important in Dorset and Devon, and the region has 1.76 million cattle, second to only one other UK region, and 3,520 square miles of grassland, more than any other region. Only 5.6% of the region's agriculture is
arable. In 2001 the GVA of the hotel industry was £2,200 million, and the region had 13,800 hotels with 250,000 bedspaces. some parts of Cornwall and Devon have among the lowest average incomes in the UK. Cornwall in particular relies on tourism. The county has the lowest GVA per head of any county or unitary authority in the country,, contributes only 6.5% of the region's economy, and receives EU Objective One funding. Around five million people visit the county each year. Cornwall's poor economic performance is partly caused by its remoteness and poor transport links,b divisions
The region covers much of the historical area of Wessex, although omitting Hampshire and Berkshire. In terms of local government, it was divided after 1974 into Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. Avon has since been abolished, and several mainly urban areas have become unitary authorities.
Local government
The official region consists of the following historic counties and local government areas:
| Map | Ceremonial county | Shire county / unitary | Districts |
|---|
| | Somerset | 1. Bath and North East Somerset |
| 2. North Somerset |
| 11. Somerset | South Somerset, Taunton Deane, West Somerset, Sedgemoor, Mendip |
| 3. Bristol |
| Gloucestershire | 4. South Gloucestershire |
| 5. Gloucestershire | Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Cotswold, Stroud, Forest of Dean |
| Wiltshire | 6. Swindon |
| 7. Wiltshire | Salisbury, West Wiltshire, Kennet, North Wiltshire |
| Dorset | 8. Dorset | Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, East Dorset, Christchurch |
| 9. Poole |
| 10. Bournemouth |
| Devon | 12. Devon | Exeter, East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, Torridge, West Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge |
| 13. Torbay |
| 14. Plymouth |
| Cornwall | Isles of Scilly |
| 15. Cornwall | Penwith, Kerrier, Carrick, Restormel, Caradon, North Cornwall |
Regional assembly
Although referendums had been planned on whether elected assemblies should be set up in some of the regions, none was planned in the South West.
There is some controversy over the status of Cornwall. Some consider it to be a nation in its own right. Many others wish to see devolution outside a "Devonwall"/"South West" region. A petition for a Cornish assembly has received over 50,000 signatures. The British Government's position is that Cornwall is a county of England and is far too small to become a region, having around one fifth of the population of the smallest existing English region.
European Parliament constituency
South West England is one of the constituencies used for elections to the European Parliament. From the 2004 election onwards, Gibraltar has been included within the constituency for the purpose of elections to the European parliament only.
References
External links
;Photographs
- Bristol
- Cornwall:
- Devon:
- Dorset:
- Somerset:
