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Original poster

The poshest county in the UK?

435 replies

Eyes98 · 10/04/2025 22:57

Which one county would you say is the outright poshest in the UK? Let’s not use Greater London here, and I know there will be social diversity in all, but which would you say is the poshest overall?
I’m going with Berkshire, darling.😂

OP posts:
Calliopespa · 11/04/2025 14:01

Calliopespa · 11/04/2025 13:50

I think a lot of people are looking at the towns when in fact posh is generally not town or city based.

To this I would add by way of clarification, no posh person in Oxford would seek to live “ up the Cowley road.” Aberdeen is not the best of Aberdeenshire. Nor would the gentle folk of Hampshire hone in on Southampton. Why, even Jane Austen’s family, living off allowances from a rich relative, had to grit their teeth to move that far down the county. Bath might have been an exception to this at one point.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 11/04/2025 13:58

despairdespair · 10/04/2025 23:19

Kent,we have the best schools,and I live in a bubble where the celebrities live in a road that homes are worth 5-7 million quid. Lovely neighbours,so absolutely not bothered.
They are just people who go to same supermarkets and walk their friendly dogs.

Kent is also home to Thanet and the Isle of Sheppey. Nuff said.

Calliopespa · 11/04/2025 13:55

Secretsquirels · 11/04/2025 07:11

I live in Oxfordshire and there are some very posh bits, people with big country estates, lots of old families and tradition.

22% of children in Oxfordshire live in food poverty so there is also a second, much more challenging side.

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And it’s when you turn your mind to these sorts of food poverty statistics that you realise how irrelevant and pointless considering what’s posh and what’s not even is.

Though still maintain Surrey advocates have the wrong end of the stick 🤣

Calliopespa · 11/04/2025 13:50

I think a lot of people are looking at the towns when in fact posh is generally not town or city based.

Calliopespa · 11/04/2025 13:48

Delphigirl · 11/04/2025 13:25

The only person I know in Ford has a 3000 acre estate and sits in the House of Lords… so I’d say it fits the brief

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Yes has to be approaching posh at the very least. He sounds a strong contender🤣

Mielikki · 11/04/2025 13:45

Wintersgirl · 11/04/2025 09:08

I know I said this thread is pointless but I have to agree about Surrey, there's Haslemere, Cranleigh, Farnham, Godalming which are very upmarket, plus you have Virginia Water and the Wentworth estate which is off the scale......and then the flip side is Aldershot!

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Sorry, but Cranleigh is rough as fuck. It’s ‘posh’ if you think badger baiting, driving stolen quad bikes, and fighting outside pubs is posh.

Sickoffamilydrama · 11/04/2025 13:28

Secretsquirels · 11/04/2025 07:11

I live in Oxfordshire and there are some very posh bits, people with big country estates, lots of old families and tradition.

22% of children in Oxfordshire live in food poverty so there is also a second, much more challenging side.

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Agree with this Oxfordshire has huge disparity not only in the towns but lots of countryside poor.
Whilst still rough I remember the burnt out cars in my boyfriends street, in the mid 90s and you could drive in Barton estate if you weren't "known" without something getting thrown at you.

I worked in a petrol station near Blackbird Leyes as a teen in the 90s which is still notorious (although getting better see the below link) I swear most of their petrol was stolen on that forecourt, this was before the age of decent CCTV.

Oxfordshire used to be known as the joyriding capital of Europe apparently!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbird_Leys

Lilyhatesjaz · 11/04/2025 13:27

In many parts of the UK, you have all these pretty villages with expensive houses and the locals are like the characters in 'this country' I always thought it was actually quite realistic.

Delphigirl · 11/04/2025 13:25

Floatlikeafeather2 · 11/04/2025 12:34

On what planet is Ford posh? Also Marlborough isn't posh just because it's got a public school. In fact, I would also quibble with Castle Combe. Some kids from there went to my secondary school. They were amongst the toughest kids we had - most definitely not posh! I think, looking at people's suggestions on this thread, the definition of poshness must be a very subjective thing.

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The only person I know in Ford has a 3000 acre estate and sits in the House of Lords… so I’d say it fits the brief

FoxedByACat · 11/04/2025 12:50

Shetlands · 11/04/2025 11:51

I think a good indicator would be the number of landed gentry families who attend your annual County Show.

See someone earlier said Lincolnshire was the roughest county but there’s a lot of landed gentry and posh farmers at the Lincolnshire show.

FoxedByACat · 11/04/2025 12:48

MellowPinkDeer · 11/04/2025 07:58

This is impossible to answer as there are horrible parts of every county.

Not in Rutland 😁

Floatlikeafeather2 · 11/04/2025 12:34

moto748e · 11/04/2025 12:16

A few bits are posh. Marlborough, Castle Combe, Ford. But they are the exceptions to the rule!

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On what planet is Ford posh? Also Marlborough isn't posh just because it's got a public school. In fact, I would also quibble with Castle Combe. Some kids from there went to my secondary school. They were amongst the toughest kids we had - most definitely not posh! I think, looking at people's suggestions on this thread, the definition of poshness must be a very subjective thing.

CuddlyDodoToy · 11/04/2025 12:27

moto748e · 11/04/2025 11:26

What's so great about Rutland? What's there, apart from an unremarkable town (Oakham) and a large artificial lake?

Rutland Water is beautiful. The villages around the lake are very attractive and homes are much sought after. The lake is great for people who enjoy water-based hobbies and the quality of life is high.

It has two excellent independent schools and lovely countryside, including numerous nature reserves.

Oakham is an attractive market town, more remarkable than most of its kind.

Being a small county it has very few grotty bits, unlike the majority of other counties named in this thread.

Calliopespa · 11/04/2025 12:26

Floatlikeafeather2 · 11/04/2025 11:57

Suburban is a mindset.

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And a style

LePetitMaman · 11/04/2025 12:24

Shetlands · 11/04/2025 11:51

I think a good indicator would be the number of landed gentry families who attend your annual County Show.

This is where my thinking goes.

So Norfolk. Holt. Brancaster. Sandringham. Anmer Hall. Burnham market. Royal Norfolk show. Golden triangle around Norwich.

IfYouPutASausageInItItsNotAViennetta · 11/04/2025 12:16

Pices · 11/04/2025 10:17

Oxfordshire. It can’t be Bucks. It doesn’t have enough private schools. Lots of people move there for the grammars.

Bucks does have its own private university, though!

moto748e · 11/04/2025 12:16

Floatlikeafeather2 · 11/04/2025 12:01

I was born and brought up in Wiltshire and some of it is excrutiatingly posh.

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A few bits are posh. Marlborough, Castle Combe, Ford. But they are the exceptions to the rule!

thethingsyousee · 11/04/2025 12:11

Money does not equal posh !

user1471516498 · 11/04/2025 12:07

HauntedBungalow · 11/04/2025 11:13

Cleveland : The County That Dissolved Of Shame

The name will always be synonymous with the big scandal in the 1980s.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 11/04/2025 12:01

Firebird83 · 11/04/2025 11:42

I’ve lived in Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon and they’re not particularly posh.

I was born and brought up in Wiltshire and some of it is excrutiatingly posh.

Floatlikeafeather2 · 11/04/2025 11:57

Mielikki · 11/04/2025 07:48

It’s the most wooded county in England. I think people who consider Surrey to just be suburban are only thinking of the bit within the M25 (Epsom, Ewell, Staines etc). Most of Surrey is rural or semi-rural.

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Suburban is a mindset.

Shetlands · 11/04/2025 11:51

I think a good indicator would be the number of landed gentry families who attend your annual County Show.

Gogogo12345 · 11/04/2025 11:48

Springhassprungxx · 11/04/2025 08:59

Agree! I live in north Essex, on the border of Suffolk - a world away from Basildon but as soon as you say Essex....

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friend of my DDs is in finchingfield and still people go on about the Essex girl and towie shite

Firebird83 · 11/04/2025 11:42

I’ve lived in Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon and they’re not particularly posh.

Lilyhatesjaz · 11/04/2025 11:27

I think Dorset. Lots of lovely villages with old expensive houses, Dorchester is still a vibrant independent town, Weymouth is a nice seaside resort and there are lots of wealthy farms.
It even has prince Charle's Poundbury, although that is more weird than posh.