Home Counties

"Home Counties" is a phrase used to designate the group of counties that border or surround London, England. The term originated with the "Home Circuit" of the itinerant Assize Court. This was the circuit of the counties closest to London, or Westminster, where the court had its more or less permanent seat. With time the expression has lost its legal connotation, and now refers primarily to the counties in their capacity as the London commuter belt or the London Metropolitan Area i.e. where people can work in London without living in the city and travel home each evening. The Home Counties are sometimes also called London and the South-East.