Ledshire
Encyclopedia
Ledshire was a fictional county
in the north of England
in two novels by Susan Pleydell
, Summer Term (1959) and A Young Man's Fancy (1962). It was also the name of a county in the Miss Silver
novels (1928-61) of Patricia Wentworth
.
. A major landmark was Leyburn Castle, seat of the Earls of Leyburn, which served as a sort of "county headquarters", containing, among other things, a library, art gallery and museum.
The industrial town of Snaydon, just outside the county, some 15 miles from Ledenham, via the village of Thaxley, maintained "steady growth" and caused Ledshire to maintain "a particularly nervous eye". The spearhead of Snaydon's advance was Sir Arthur Hinton-Brigg, chairman of Hinton-Brigg Ltd, who, just after the Second World War, had married into a Ledshire landowning family and bought Thaxley Manor, his wife's childhood home. (The Grampians are close by and Snaydon is described as being "over the border". It is therefore a reasonable conclusion that Ledshire abuts the Scottish borders
and that Snaydon is just inside Scotland
.)
A small county like Ledshire would probably have been affected significantly by the reorganisation of local government in the 1970s. Under the new arrangements some counties, notably Rutland
, disappeared, while others, such as Hereford and Worcester
, were merged.
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
in the north of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in two novels by Susan Pleydell
Susan Pleydell
Susan Pleydell was the nom de plume of the Scottish-born novelist Susan Senior, née Susan Syme . She was a schoolmistress by profession and published a number of novels between 1959 and 1977.-Background:...
, Summer Term (1959) and A Young Man's Fancy (1962). It was also the name of a county in the Miss Silver
Miss Silver
Miss Silver is a fictional detective featured in 32 novels by British novelist Patricia Wentworth.-Character:Miss Maud Silver is a retired governess-turned-private detective. Like Miss Marple, Miss Silver's age and demeanor make her appear harmless. Some admire the character, believing that "while...
novels (1928-61) of Patricia Wentworth
Patricia Wentworth
Patricia Wentworth was a British crime fiction writer.She was born in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India . She was educated privately and at Blackheath High School in London. After the death of her first husband, George F. Dillon, in 1906, she settled in Camberley, Surrey...
.
The county in the Pleydell novels
The Ledshire of Susan Pleydell was a small, almost entirely agricultural county. Its main (presumably, county) town, on the River Ledd, was Ledenham, the location of a 400-year old boys' public school that was the focus of the novels. Ledenham contained "two or three unexpectedly good hotels and shops", as well as a Regal cinemaRegal Cinemas
Regal Cinemas is a UK-based cinema chain since the early days of the cinema. In 1928, Regal Cinemas became part of Associated British Cinemas but has retained the name 'Regal Cinemas'....
. A major landmark was Leyburn Castle, seat of the Earls of Leyburn, which served as a sort of "county headquarters", containing, among other things, a library, art gallery and museum.
The industrial town of Snaydon, just outside the county, some 15 miles from Ledenham, via the village of Thaxley, maintained "steady growth" and caused Ledshire to maintain "a particularly nervous eye". The spearhead of Snaydon's advance was Sir Arthur Hinton-Brigg, chairman of Hinton-Brigg Ltd, who, just after the Second World War, had married into a Ledshire landowning family and bought Thaxley Manor, his wife's childhood home. (The Grampians are close by and Snaydon is described as being "over the border". It is therefore a reasonable conclusion that Ledshire abuts the Scottish borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
and that Snaydon is just inside Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.)
A small county like Ledshire would probably have been affected significantly by the reorganisation of local government in the 1970s. Under the new arrangements some counties, notably Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, disappeared, while others, such as Hereford and Worcester
Hereford and Worcester
Hereford and Worcester was an English county created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 from the area of the former administrative county of Herefordshire, most of Worcestershire and the county borough of Worcester.It bordered Shropshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands to the...
, were merged.