The poshest county in the UK?

[Eyes98]

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.😂

I'm curious as to why you consider Dorset to be posh?

So, once a week we pop to Granny’s & whilst there the kids look through Country Life and yell out the locations of the houses that take their fancy…. Granny & I are relatively on the same page… Surrey, Hampshire, Kent, Essex (was posh till 1970s, not since), Herts or Berks are out. Either Sussex was once naice but now the previous posh are just snobby & the rest noveau. Pockets of real posh found in varying other locations - the further from a large city (but within reach of a decent market town) the better…. To be fair though in a meritocracy it shouldn’t matter, decent & kind behaviour should.

Oops, you're right. I am in Cambridge itself and Newmarket is quite near by car so it sort of feels like it's in the same county, IYSWIM

Cotswolds or Sussex

North Yorkshire.

My Nanna lived in “Croydon in Surrey” many years ago. She never called it just Croydon apparently, it was always “Croydon in Surrey” lol.

The ROYAL County of Berkshire, if you don't mind!

Bath and North East Somerset

? Bath is nowhere near Hampshire!

I live in Sury! Im smart.

😃

I absolutely do NOT believe that Kent is the 5th poshest county in the UK. No freaking way!!!

No it isn’t. What makes you think it is?

I said Bath might have been an exception to the tendency of posher folk to gravitate away from towns and cities in rural settings ( as they have in Hampshire, for eg, where Southampton and Portsmouth are really not the nicer parts to live.) Bath, on the other hand, has in its history been quite a magnet.

Read carefully @Floatlikeafeather2

It’s not my contender for poshest, but I could see where that poster was coming from. It has beautiful natural landscapes (AONB) , spectacular panoramic views, charming historic villages nestled in the countryside, such as Abbotsbury, Sherborne is charming and Sherborne school ( boys and girls) qualifies as posh, Blandford has all the elegance of a very complete example of the quiet elegance of Georgian architecture, beautiful beaches, and if you demand more conspicuous wealth to qualify as posh then Sandbanks might help. But actually for me that’s a bit of a turn off because I’m on team quiet, tasteful wealth as the hallmark of posh!

Cheshire is north not Midlands

I agree. Cheshire is North West.

@Smidge001 , Slough used to be in Buckinghamshire until 1974. It's in Berkshire.

I think the divide on this thread is that one half are calling things posh that the other half are calling expensive.

It’s a clash in terminology.

If op had asked what we all thought was the most conspicuously wealthy county we might all be closer to agreeing.

For some, conspicuous wealth actually “de-qualifies” it as posh. But if the terminology was changed, we probably aren’t all too much apart.

@Calliopespa , read 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.
It implies that you are posting that Bath is in Hampshire.

Apologies in that case: I wasn’t. I’m having trouble reading it that way, but perhaps that because I know what I meant.

For clarity, Bath is not in Hampshire.

Lots of smart people in Dorset, I concur

Ignoring the rather rude tone of your reply, I would point out that the rich and fashionable have always had interest and investment in both town and country. The Austens weren't rich but still did the obligatory "seasons" in fashionable places, including Bath. Cheltenham, Bath, Bristol, London, Harrogate, Bognor Regis, Tunbridge etc were places where the rich went to hang out for various purposes, usually involving finding a husband/wife, but sometimes taking the waters or taking the air, but they did not live there full time. I agree with another of your posts though, stating that people seem to be mistaking wealth for "poshness" on this rather pointless thread.

If my reply was snippy, it was because I felt you had both misread and responded very abruptly to mine.

But as it turns out, we are saying exactly the same thing: towns like Bath have historically been an exception to the rule that “ poshness” tended to eschew cities. Obviously London is a complete exception to this, but spa towns and fashionable towns for the “ seasons” have likewise been. That was why I referenced Bath as an example. . Other than that, however, I do think the preference has been to settle outside and beyond towns or cities, so my point was really that examining the cities in each county isn’t necessary the most accurate barometer of their “poshness.”

I agree with you, it seems, on both points.

@Calliopespa , your response was snippy because you expected other posters to understand what you were thinking, not what you had posted.

You were rude to @Floatlikeafeather2 .

I'm just here for the poster who's obviously been told that "posh" people don't use the word itself, they use the word smart.

And types it in every single post 😅😅😅