Hereford and Worcester

Hereford and Worcester ( /ˈhɛrəfərd ən ˈwʊstər/) was an English county created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 from the area of the former administrative county of Herefordshire, most of Worcestershire (except Halesowen and Stourbridge, which became part of the West Midlands) and the county borough of Worcester. It aroused much opposition in the Herefordshire portion, which regarded it as not so much of a merger as a takeover by the Worcestershire side.

It bordered Shropshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south, and Gwent and Powys in Wales to the west. It was abolished in 1998 and reverted, with some trading of territory, to the two separate historic counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.