University Challenge Roads Questions

[jgharston]

There's a set of I thought very easy questions on the 1974 English counties on University Challenge this evening.

I was changing channels just before 9pm this evening to find what was on TV and caught the last few minutes of a report on GBNews. Illustrated with a pre-1974 county map of the UK. Made me wonder if their researchers were particularly thick, or if they were making a point.

[Steven]

There's a set of I thought very easy questions on the 1974 English counties on University Challenge this evening.

I was changing channels just before 9pm this evening to find what was on TV and caught the last few minutes of a report on GBNews. Illustrated with a pre-1974 county map of the UK. Made me wonder if their researchers were particularly thick, or if they were making a point.

Or alternatively, it was actually a map of the historic counties.

There is no such thing as a "pre-1974 county map", as anyone with any knowledge of the geography of Great Britain should know. Either it's a map of the historic counties that continue to exist, or it's a particular snapshot of administrative counties (and their associated county boroughs) from a particular period. A map showing the administrative counties from 1973 looks different to one from 1966, which again looks different to one from 1964 for example.

[jgharston]

Or alternatively, it was actually a map of the historic counties.

There is no such thing as a "pre-1974 county map", as anyone with any knowledge of the geography of Great Britain should know. Either it's a map of the historic counties that continue to exist, or it's a particular snapshot of administrative counties (and their associated county boroughs) from a particular period. A map showing the administrative counties from 1973 looks different to one from 1966, which again looks different to one from 1964 for example.

Well, it did puzzle me, because there was Huntingdonshire (1888-1965), but not East and West Sussex (1888-1974), and no Soke of Peterborough (1888-1965), so I couldn't quite work out, from the 30 seconds or so I saw, exactly what it was mapping. Checking the schedule, it was the last few minutes of "Grooming Gangs: Britain's Shame".

[Ruperts Trooper]

Or alternatively, it was actually a map of the historic counties.

There is no such thing as a "pre-1974 county map", as anyone with any knowledge of the geography of Great Britain should know. Either it's a map of the historic counties that continue to exist, or it's a particular snapshot of administrative counties (and their associated county boroughs) from a particular period. A map showing the administrative counties from 1973 looks different to one from 1966, which again looks different to one from 1964 for example.

Well, it did puzzle me, because there was Huntingdonshire (1888-1965), but not East and West Sussex (1888-1974), and no Soke of Peterborough (1888-1965), so I couldn't quite work out, from the 30 seconds or so I saw, exactly what it was mapping. Checking the schedule, it was the last few minutes of "Grooming Gangs: Britain's Shame".

The Soke of Peterborough was a county borough within Northants historic county until 1965 when it was merged with Huntingdonshire - no different to all the other county boroughs which weren't generally shown separately on county maps.

[wrinkly]

What about the Isle of Ely?

[Ruperts Trooper]

What about the Isle of Ely?

A county borough within Cambridgeshire.

[jgharston]

The Soke of Peterborough was a county borough within Northants historic county until 1965 when it was merged with Huntingdonshire - no different to all the other county boroughs which weren't generally shown separately on county maps.

Wiki says that an amendment to the 1888 Counties Act made it a county of itself, not part of Northants. It was later merged with Huntingdonshire, which it wouldn't have been if it was already part of Northamptonshire.

[Steven]

The Soke of Peterborough was a county borough within Northants historic county until 1965 when it was merged with Huntingdonshire - no different to all the other county boroughs which weren't generally shown separately on county maps.

Wiki says that an amendment to the 1888 Counties Act made it a county of itself, not part of Northants. It was later merged with Huntingdonshire, which it wouldn't have been if it was already part of Northamptonshire.

Unfortunately, there are three errors in this statement.

It is the 1888 Local Government Act, not "Counties Act", an important difference. If anyone takes the time to read said Act, it can be seen that it did not touch the counties in any way, just set up a number of brand new local government units called Administrative Counties (and County Boroughs)- and these Administrative Counties were mostly (but by no means exclusively) based on the historic counties.

Areas did move between associated Adminstrative Counties - for example, Dudley CB was moved from being associated with Worcestershire CC to being associated with Staffordshire CC in 1966, though Dudley itself was (and still is) part of the historic county of Worcestershire.

And finally, "merged with Huntingdonshire" is also incorrect - both Huntingdonshire and Peterborough Councils were abolished, and replaced with a brand new single top-tier authority. This is in exactly the same way as this sort of major change has always been done - for example, in about six weeks' time, Cumbria Council will be abolished completely and replaced with two new authorities, both of which are Administrative Counties in their own right (though with no county councils IIRC).

[the cheesecake man]

Opening question last night:

What shape are all of these: warning signs on British roads BUZZ!...

In the weekly difficulties with UK geography they failed to identify Saltaire as the world heritage site indicated on the map* or to guess which city is on the River Sheaf ^@

* OK that's unfair: the guess was Skipton Castle, they then got New Lanark and Bournville in the bonuses after being told they were all model villages and were almost right with Port Sunshine, so the standard was much higher than normal.
^@ again to be fair the question asked in which city was Mary Queen Of Scots imprisoned for 14 years. Knowing it was here is somewhat obscure so the question then added it was at the confluence of the Rivers Don and Sheaf. The clue's in the name...

[owen b]

In the weekly difficulties with UK geography they failed to identify Saltaire as the world heritage site indicated on the map* or to guess which city is on the River Sheaf ^@

I got it but to be fair to the contestants I think the map was a bit innaccurate. I would have to have a look on iPlayer and freeze frame at the point the map was shown, but the location indicated seemed to be on more or less the same line of latitude as Lancaster and Bridlington, which is actually quite a few miles north of Saltaire.

[B1040]

You beat me to it, Owen.
Good questions, but I felt the maps were dodgy.

I felt that giving Fountains Abbey as the answer to a 19th C monument betrayed a lack of history (or desperation)

[jgharston]

^@ again to be fair the question asked in which city was Mary Queen Of Scots imprisoned for 14 years. Knowing it was here is somewhat obscure so the question then added it was at the confluence of the Rivers Don and Sheaf. The clue's in the name...

Mary Queen of Scots wasn't imprisoned in any city, for 14 years or otherwise. At the time that Mary was imprisoned at Sheffield Manor, Sheffield was a town.

[FleetlinePhil]

In the weekly difficulties with UK geography they failed to identify Saltaire as the world heritage site indicated on the map* or to guess which city is on the River Sheaf ^@

I got it but to be fair to the contestants I think the map was a bit innaccurate. I would have to have a look on iPlayer and freeze frame at the point the map was shown, but the location indicated seemed to be on more or less the same line of latitude as Lancaster and Bridlington, which is actually quite a few miles north of Saltaire.

Yes, I thought it was well north of Saltaire too - my guess was Ribblehead Viaduct!

[traffic-light-man]

Even that’s a cluster of four lights rather than a single light, but it’s read as a single line or blob - not that the proceed left or right signals are even a straight line.

Without wanting to get too off-topic, each aspect is typically made up of 5 lights (as per the regs), and proceed left and right are straight lines just at 45 degree angles. It's permitted to use solid symbols instead of individual 'dots' to make up the aspects, but the only place I've seen take this up is Blackpool Tramways in the area outside of their Starr Gate depot (the red units take the same format, but are non-TSRGD point position indicators - though TSRGD has no option for a point position indicator anyway).

[the cheesecake man]

Mary Queen of Scots wasn't imprisoned in any city, for 14 years or otherwise. At the time that Mary was imprisoned at Sheffield Manor, Sheffield was a town.

True of course, but pedantically calling it a town would probably have confused the contestants. If the question was "In which city is the location where Mary Queen Of Scots was imprisoned..." it would have been accurate. Actually it might have been, I didn't and couldn't quote it verbatim. If we're still unhappy perhaps we should complain to Paxo.

[the cheesecake man]

One from The Wheel

Which of these counties does the M1 NOT pass through?
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Derbyshire
Northamptonshire

[Ruperts Trooper]

One from The Wheel

Which of these counties does the M1 NOT pass through?
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Derbyshire
Northamptonshire

That should be easy for Sabrista but I thought it was a difficult question for "Joe Public".

[IAN]

One from The Wheel

Which of these counties does the M1 NOT pass through?
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Derbyshire
Northamptonshire

That should be easy for Sabrista but I thought it was a difficult question for "Joe Public".

So how did 'Joe Public' do?

[Ruperts Trooper]

One from The Wheel

Which of these counties does the M1 NOT pass through?
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Derbyshire
Northamptonshire

That should be easy for Sabrista but I thought it was a difficult question for "Joe Public".

So how did 'Joe Public' do?

The contestant gave the wrong answer, saying Derbyshire

[Steven]

One from The Wheel

Which of these counties does the M1 NOT pass through?
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Derbyshire
Northamptonshire

That should be easy for Sabrista but I thought it was a difficult question for "Joe Public".

Yes, considering the M1 gets within less than a mile from the wrong answer, it's not an easy one at all.