Home Counties

The phrase Home Counties is a semi-archaic name for the English counties bordering London. These were originally Kent, Surrey, Middlesex and Essex. However, although Middlesex still exists as a postal address, the county itself has long since been absorbed into Greater London, along with parts of the other counties. The list of counties now bordering Greater London also includes Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. However, the phrase "Home Counties" is not usually applied with geographical precision, but simply refers to the south-east of England. In economic terms much of the region can nowadays be considered a very large suburb of London itself.