Ancestry tree rubbish

[youngtug]

Not sure about the Thames being at Shrivenham, wasn't when I grew up.

[coombs]

I think Suffolk once extended as far north east as Cobholm and Southtown (now part of Great Yarmouth), directly opposite North Quay in Gt Yarmouth. The river Yare was the boundary. When i go to Lowestoft to go the to record office, it says "Welcome to Suffolk" after Corton and before Lowestoft with no mention of just administrative. And on the other side of the road parallel to the sign is "Welcome to Norfolk. Nelson's County". I live near Yarmouth and Gorleston.

[pinefamily]

When I mentioned geographical locations, I was more meaning place names. Sorry for the confusion, although the subsequent discussion has been enlightening.
On familysearch, and I'm sure Ancestry is guilty too, some place names are older rather than current ones. If you search for any of the Devon names with Clyst in them, you won't find any; you have to use Clist. Guiting Power in Gloucestershire is Nether Guiting, a name that changed long ago. And I'm sure there are many others.

[Andrew Tarr]

County boundaries had barely changed for centuries until the Local Government Act 1972 which came into effect in 1974. The changes were, in theory, partially designed to reduce administrative costs.

If you can look at a large-scale map of the midlands earlier than WW2 you may be able to find small patches - just one or two parishes in some cases - of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire surrounded by each other, presumably for ancient, almost forgotten reasons.  They must have been a bit of a nuisance ....  I think Dudley was in one patch.

[pinefamily]

There are some parishes that have changed counties. Along the Devon/Dorset border, and along the Gloucestershire/Wiltshire border are two that I am aware of. And wasn't Bournemouth in Hampshire at one point?

[ThrelfallYorky]

Still trying to stop notifications on this thread!

[Edward Scott]

Not sure about the Thames being at Shrivenham, wasn't when I grew up.

I didn't say it was, the comment was "The historical northern boundary for Berkshire had been the River Thames but for the new efficient administrative reasons it changed hands."

I have been trying to find an pre 1970 map that clearly shows country boundaries and so far have failed.

Edwrad

[Andrew Tarr]

I have been trying to find an pre 1970 map that clearly shows country boundaries and so far have failed. 

 
I assume you mean county boundaries, but even if you don't it doesn't matter:  the national library of scotland website offers several outdated OS maps at 1-, 6- and 25-inches to the mile, plus the early Bart's half-inch which shows county boundaries quite clearly as dotted lines (doesn't include Ireland). <https://maps.nls.uk/os/>

[youngtug]

Old; https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/c.php?g=470832&p=3219768

Now; https://www.britishservices.co.uk/berkshire.htm