# Think of a British city that isn't London **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 11, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298 "2015-10-11T16:46:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/101 "2015-10-13T23:13:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, West Brom counts as part of Birmingham to me. I mean, technically it’s the West Midlands but it’s all Brum really. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/102 "2015-10-13T23:24:45Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Both cities have produced a lot of popular musical acts. Birmingham was home to Black Sabbath, the Moody Blues, ELO/the Move, Judas Priest… > > Manchester gave us the Hollies, Oasis, Davy Jones, Herman’s Hermits, Simply Red, Freddie and the Dreamers… Sure. I’ve learned of that after the fact, but when I moved there in college, I had no idea. And my peers seemed equally clueless. For whatever reason, Manchester was better known–perhaps for the “Madchester” scene, but more likely for the popularity of Oasis at the time. These days, I think the popularity of Manchester United aids to the name recognition. I would guess that if you ask an American to name a UK soccer team, if they even know of one, it’d be Man U. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/103 "2015-10-16T14:55:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Sure. I’ve learned of that after the fact, but when I moved there in college, I had no idea. And my peers seemed equally clueless. For whatever reason, Manchester was better known–perhaps for the “Madchester” scene, but more likely for the popularity of Oasis at the time. These days, I think the popularity of Manchester United aids to the name recognition. I would guess that if you ask an American to name a UK soccer team, if they even know of one, it’d be Man U. Good point. These questions about the first thing that comes to mind are interesting from a psychological perspective as they tend to identify what is most salient or relevant to a person as opposed to the extent of their knowledge. Many Americans (including myself) can name ten British cities, but we have to dredge our brains to do so. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/104 "2015-10-16T23:32:01Z")
Durham. Where my grandfather was born and grew up. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/105 "2015-10-17T12:22:25Z")
Fareham because I just dropped off a prescription for my glasses there this morning, and Eastleigh, because I have to go there (or to Portsmouth or Romsey or Basingstoke) for further adminstrative bollix on my citizenship application. I’m in Winchester several times a week. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/106 "2015-10-17T13:27:54Z")
My thought upon seeing the title and before opening the thread was Manchester, followed almost immediately by Liverpool. ---
**Author:** ![northporlarbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/107 "2015-10-17T14:57:46Z")
I actually know more British cities than I thought. Other than Oxford & Manchester, Newcastle (that’s a city, right?). ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/108 "2015-10-17T20:03:12Z")
Birmingham. I live near Birmingham, Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/109 "2015-10-19T06:33:09Z")
Nottingham, because of Periodic Videos. ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/110 "2015-10-19T09:07:35Z")
Truro, just because it’s Cornwall’s only city and had a famous steam locomotive named after it. I don’t have any particular connection with Cornwall but I’ve been there numerous times over the years - though never in fact to Truro itself. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/111 "2015-10-20T00:48:05Z")
York Inverness, because the Loch Ness Monster, heh. Hogsmeade (just kidding) (The others I keep thinking of are all counties) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/112 "2015-10-20T02:45:01Z")
Scunthorpe ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/113 "2015-10-20T05:16:53Z")
Greenwich ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/114 "2015-10-20T05:18:07Z")
Talkie, or Torkie, or Toukie, I could never fully understand it. Its wherever “Faulty Towers” was located. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/115 "2015-10-20T06:04:06Z")
Torquay ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/116 "2015-10-20T07:27:46Z")
And, again, Torquay is not a city, just a very respectable sized town. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/117 "2015-10-20T15:04:42Z")
I thought first of Birmingham. No clue why, it’s the first name that popped in my mind. I now just read that it’s the second largest British city, but I didn’t know that. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/118 "2015-10-20T15:16:47Z")
Not mentioned so far in this thread is a seaport at the southern end of England, it is also my last name. I have been able to trace my ancestry back to that area and have a trail that goes back as far as the late 1200’s. I have visited 2 towns in the US with the same name and visited a town in New Zealand with the same name too. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/119 "2015-10-20T15:18:08Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Greenwich Greenwich is a borough of London. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298/120 "2015-10-20T15:38:49Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Not mentioned so far in this thread is a seaport at the southern end of England, it is also my last name. I have been able to trace my ancestry back to that area and have a trail that goes back as far as the late 1200’s. I have visited 2 towns in the US with the same name and visited a town in New Zealand with the same name too. Dover? 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-of-a-british-city-that-isnt-london/734298.md?page=7)