The Republic of Heaven

On the back of the map of Oxford there is a map of Oxfordshire. It shows present-day Oxfordshire, i.e. it includes the Vale of the White Horse, which until 1974, when the county boundaries were changed, was in Berkshire. The old boundary was the Thames, so everything below the squiggly line on the map used to be in Berkshire.

Now I would have expected Lyra's world to have the old Oxfordshire; or possibly a slightly different one.

Maybe not a significant point, but one that will probably have passed most readers by, unless they live in these parts.

Lyra's Oxfordshire is modern-day Oxfordshire remember. It's just a different modern day. Do you know why the county borders were changed?

Yet more proof that Lyra's world is not Victorian or something. It's basically just a modern place where development has been stifled because of a totalitarian power AKA the Church.

Think Poland.

I don't know why it was done, but there was a major re-organisation of counties which was pretty unpopular on the whole. (It included the abolition of Rutland , which has since been restored .) People didn't much care for being forced to live in a different county without moving! The old counties had existed in their previous form since the Middle Ages. It was generally regarded as a case of fixing something that wasn't broke.

It's the kind of thing I would have thought might have varied in Lyra's world, just as the names of some of the colleges differ.

I personally think it's interesting, seeing as I feel the way politics appears to work in Lyra's world is far more old fashioned, in a way that would suggest they might not have got round to the idea of changing boundaries all the time just for the sake of it. Maybe things are the way they are in Lyra's Oxfordshire, with or without a reason?

Ian wrote:I personally think it's interesting, seeing as I feel the way politics appears to work in Lyra's world is far more old fashioned, in a way that would suggest they might not have got round to the idea of changing boundaries all the time just for the sake of it.

Well, that's pretty much my impression, too, Ian. Don't know why, though ...
Perhaps it's something that PP might have changed if he'd thought about it (assuming he didn't, that is).

It's those little differences between the worlds that I find intriguing.

Mod edit: fixed your quote tags

The post '74 Oxfordshire map was something I noticed and remember thinking Lyra's Oxford would've been in the 'proper Oxfordshire' as i call it. I take on board the comments above, however.

74 was a very black year - 1000 years of english (yeah, ok then and Scots and welsh) history gone with the stroke of a Whitehall mandarin's pen without so much as a by-your-leave.

For those that are interested this site explains further:


http://www.abcounties.co.uk

Signed
Townie
Adj. Gen
North Berks Liberation Army

Townie wrote:Townie
Adj. Gen
North Berks Liberation Army

Can I join, sir?

*Sneers*

You can't just join willy-nilly. We want to see your level of commitment to the struggle. Six months of comprehensive correspondence courses. Two three hour exams. A gruelling lecture programme. Then if you have impressed the Inner Council sufficiently you will have to prove your worth by writing rude words on the outside of the Vale of White Horse District Council offices and putting a 'You are now entering Free Berskshire' sign on the lampost by Seacourt Stream.

We are not looking for misfits or time wasters!

In all seriousness there was something like a 'Back to Berkshire' campaign set up by a bloke called Tony Mockler of Abingdon in the 80s, long since defunct, I think.

Townie wrote: writing rude words on the outside of the Vale of White Horse District Council offices

Too busy writing them on West Berks Council offices, mate. We take all our rubbish to VWH, though. Would that count?

Reassuring to hear you thought the same re Lyra's world, anyway. There is so much there that is different that I can't see them tinkering about with traditional counties in exactly the same way.