The County of Hereford and Worcester was an English administrative county created by the Local Government Act 1972 from the traditional counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
It bordered Shropshire, Staffordshire and West Midlands to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south, and Gwent and Powys in Wales to the west.
Like many administrative counties created in 1974 it was unpopular, especially among people from Herefordshire, who due to the disparity of sizes of the populations (Worcestershire: 550,000 (2001), Herefordshire: 170,000 (2001)), saw it as a takeover rather than a merger.
Under the original proposals it was to be named Malvernshire, after Malvern, a town roughly in the geographical centre.
After a short life of 24 years, it was abolished on April 1, 1998 by The Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 - SI 1996/1867, and split into new counties Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Although the county was abolished, a few remenants of it still survive. For example, there is still a Hereford and Worcester fire service and ambulance service.
Also, the name is still used by some organisations, such as the BBC local radio station BBC Hereford and Worcester. There is also a Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce.
