American Couple Reacts: Map Men! Why British Cities Make No Sense? FIRST TIME REACTION! *NEW*

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Yay a NEW Map Men video! We love watching Map Men & learning new, interesting British stuff! This episode is full of interesting & shocking facts about what REALLY makes a British city a city? Spoiler, it's likely not what you think! Why is Reading, a massive settlement of 170,000 people, NOT a city, while the tiny Welsh village of St David's IS a city? Is it something to do with cathedrals? Or universities? Or is it a surprisingly simple answer which only raises more questions about how city status works in the UK? The United Kingdom certainly has a different approach to making cities than the USA and other countries. Join us for educational fun and shenanigans. We know you'll enjoy this one! Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!

[@thetruthhurts7675]

They are using a technicality here. Bath was declared a city by the first Queen Elizabeth, thus technically it has a Royal Charter. Every city in the UK has either a Cathedral, or a Royal Charter. Yes just building a cathedral doesn't make the place a city. City status can now only be confirmed by the sitting Monarch!!

[@janolaful]

Natasha dud you know dep leopard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a accident.

[@aaronmicalowe]

It used to be that to be a city you had to have a cathedral, but the definition has changed. For example, The City of Elgin, which I grew up in, has a burnt out cathedral that was bombed during WW2. Nothing in the rules said the cathedral had to be complete. Elgin is still called The City of Elgin, and has a population of about 25,000 people, but it lost its city status when the term city got redefined.

[@danielgardecki1046]

10:07 *Bank of Dave* (2023) which starred *Sheffield* band *Def Leppard* was partly filmed in *Bradford* the world's first UNESCO City of Film* and *UK City of Culture,* specifically in the *Council Chambers* (Burnley Town Hall) and *Old Court* (Burnley Magistrates Court) in *Bradford City Hall.*

[@philiprowney]

The shortest answer to what does a city have in England. A. A royal charter. Ely is down the road and more than 10% smaller than my town. NB Ely was one of the most important towns in the area and used for royal excise collection therefore got it's charter quite early. [ c. 10 October 1189 ]

[@SparkAttack86]

To make it even crazier, Colchester was only officially added to the list of cities in 2022, despite having been the first founded city and capital of Britain in AD49. It ceased to be classified as one some time in the Middle Ages. So technically its now Britain's oldest city 😮

[@titanuranus3095]

They should put that on the sign "Englands oldest city, since 2022"

[@SparkAttack86]

@@titanuranus3095 I'd suggest 'Britain's oldest and newest city' that would confuse people. Then again, it won't be the newest for too long. It will, however, still validly claim to be the first ever British city.

[@mlee6050]

​@@SparkAttack86keep losing and gaining status then

[@stevencrouch6036]

I definitely think Reading should use the fact they keep not being made a city in any marketing they have.

[@antonycharnock2993]

Welcome to Reading. Still not a city since 978AD

[@vcrossCelticfc]

To be a city it needs to have a cathedral.

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

@vcross3167 Wrong! Did you watch the video??

[@AgentOccam]

Good call. They could market themselves as *Reading* : "The Biggest Town in the World".

[@AgentOccam]

*Reading* : "A town BIGGER than the City of London." *Reading* :" Lot's of people think we're a city; we're not. We're just awesome." *Reading* : "Making us a city would make us TOO perfect." *Reading* : "A place with more people than the city of St Davids, because people actually want to live here."

[@richardhood8589]

Map Men is one of the most humorous and informative videos on KZbin.

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Totally agree!

[@richarddavy-smith6626]

Greetings from sunny Reading, UK, (yes really). We’re not that bothered about this city thing, we’re a town and proud of it.

[@nickyjones88]

It will always be a city in my heart 😂😢 I'm far more proud we're the only people in the world to call woodlice cheeselogs than becoming a city lol

[@danguest1938]

Couldn't agree more. Apart from the sunny bit. Haven't seen a ray of sun in reading in bloody ages

[@wulfrunian]

I was working in Reading during the time the 2002 round of applications. Before any result had been announced, Reading remove all the traffic signs saying “Town Centre” and replaced them with ones saying “City Centre”. Then a few days later I was driving home when the news on the local radio station said that Reading had been ordered to take down the “City Centre” signs and put the “Town Centre” ones back up.

[@BeckyPoleninja]

Wells Cathedral is mind blowing, and St David's is just beautiful

[@AndrewJLeslie]

The tourism to St David's overwhelms the town. Coaches drop off the emmets at a turning point near the cathedral, drive out of town and come back a couple of hours later. I've not seen so many Japanese tourists except, perhaps, in Windsor.

[@BeckyPoleninja]

@@AndrewJLeslie or at Bicester Village lol

[@patriciarowland2124]

​@@BeckyPoleninja Not forgetting how they go round Bicester Village with their suitcases trundling along & looking for bargains

[@CallumboMagumbo]

I was 100% taught in school that a cathedral is a key component for city status. I've never felt so lied to! XD

[@140cabins]

I was taught that in school too, though as I had learned about it for myself I knew they were lying. Does you no good pointing it out, though. In particular, teachers would always say that St David's was a city because it had a cathedral. At the time, it wasn't. It was made a city after I'd left school. To be honest, it's hard to see why it was made a city except that everybody (wrongly) thought it already was, and it was just easier to make it official.

[@coyotelong4349]

I mean, historically speaking, that’s accurate. So I wouldn’t feel lied to, if I were you It’s just that the criteria subtly evolved overtime from “cathedral seat” to “any settlement the monarch says is a city”

[@forevercomputing]

Pluto is a planet was another lie

[@140cabins]

@@forevercomputing Everybody knows Pluto is a dog.

[@joelt874]

Yep same, British schools didn't even know, they obviously only recently went wild giving everywhere city status so maybe back then there was no reason to question that "fact"

[@wildwine6400]

Cathedral City is a very popular brand of cheese, hence the cheese thing 😅

[@laurencemajor4837]

I'm from the UK and watching this episode have learnt something. Thank you xx

[@nigelbundy4008]

My home town of Guildford now has both Cathedral and a University. It is a rich commuter town for London, was always a market town. Guildford tried in 2000, 2002, and 2022. No luck!

[@shadow-Sun]

You girls must be the most educated Anglophiles in America , always inquisitive always learning and presenting your findings to the world , well done keep up the great work on your channel and come visit us soon ...please love from the UK .

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Thanks so much!! ❤️

[@Alexandros.Mograine]

You two are the greatest people :) I hope you understand that!

[@themusiqfreak]

Apparently the reason Reading isn’t a city dates back to Queen Victoria. She was egged during a parade/tour through the town… this also is apparently why her statue commemorating her visit faces looking away from the town. I can’t remember how I came by that knowledge, so it could just be some local legend learned through family. The Royals probably have a long memory though.

[@WeeGrahamsaccount]

I love watching the Natasha and Debbie show. When I am down you cheer me up. May your channel go from strength to strength. By the way the last night of the proms was on the BBC yesterday and the concert was astounding. Thank you for making the world a better place.

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

Map Men have over 20 videos similar to this one, covering everything from where the North-South divide lies in England, to the totally bizarre border between India and Bangladesh (which truly is strange). Jay Foreman himself has 15 other map-related videos, and several more satirical ones. The two really are among the best as well as both entertaining and informative British KZbinrs today.

[@lucyj8204]

Map Men don't make many videos, but every single one is gold.

[@RedSquirrelsReturn]

That’s really useful thanks I’ll watch them

[@megfreeth4377]

Missed the live strem😢but this was very informative and funny. Thanks❤

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@alisondodd9210]

Brilliant….. entertaining and funny, the list at the end is hilarious.

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

We went back & read all of it! Freaking hilarious 😂

[@jenlaw398]

Can’t wait!. We’ll be there . Love these types of videos. Always informative and entertaining.

[@michaelisles4756]

Wow great video, opened my eyes & blew my socks off 😂😂😂😂😂 more map men plz ❤❤

[@reggiedixon2]

To quote Eddie Izzard speaking to an American audience. "I am from Europe, where history comes from"

[@BadgerOff32]

I could be wrong, but I think what most people think of as London is _technically_ a collection of Boroughs (32 of them, to be precise - thanks Map Men!), whereas the _actual_ 'City of London' is actually just a tiny Borough in and of itself in the heart of London

[@davidwallin7518]

The City of London is about 1 square mile, but it has 25 wards.

[@sandrahughes8645]

I’m learning more about the UK and I live here!!!!! I genuinely thought it was due to having a Cathedral. I never thought more about it beyond that! Love the map men! So informative and funny too. A great way to learn. Thankyou Natasha and Debbie! I’m ebarassed to say I thought I was pretty clued up about the UK. Apparently not so! ( I hang my head in shame! ) I’m definitely going to watch video again, though to see their list .. very funny!!! 👏👏👏👏 x

[@wullaballoo2642]

I think having a cathedral was true for a city in the past, not sure when the rules changed

[@pedanticradiator1491]

@@wullaballoo2642 in the 19th century for England and Wales I think the cathedral rule never truly existed in Scotland and Ireland

[@Heather.C-kiwi-ninja]

That was fun! The list at the end was hilarious. Thanks again for all the hard work you put into making these videos! Sending you some kiwi love ♥

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Thank you Heather!! ❤❤

[@highpath4776]

@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Pangborne and Winnersh are suburbs of Reading

[@GoldenKaos]

St. Davids very much used to be a city as far back as the 12th Century, and was a major pilgrimage desination throughout the Middle Ages. The city then declined when the country turned Protestant and pilgrimage dried up. Its decline meant that when reforms to municipal coroporations were signed into law in 1883, there was no incorporated government in St Davids to appeal for the city to retain city status. When it was reinstated in 1994 along with Armagh in Northern Ireland (also small at 16k inhabitants, but as small) it was in recognition of their “important Christian heritage and status as cities in the last century”. Also, because city status is given to the local authority, the entire surrounding area of St Davids, including rural fields and islands off the coast are considered to be technically within the city.

[@veroniquewolff8963]

Another great and informative video. I also like Debbie's t-shirt, I love Def Leppard.

[@curtmank]

Reading is my home town ☺

[@kjdempsey]

Currently watching this on the toilet at 11pm with really bad diarrhoea, greetings from the Cotswolds

[@antheabrouwer3258]

Oh Natasha and Debbie!! This was awesome. Will totally keep watching all these. Learning all about my birth country!!

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@Isleofskye]

Hi Anthea. When you say "Birth Country" are you,simply,stating a fact or,implying,you no longer live there,please?

[@antheabrouwer3258]

@Isleofskye I was born in England but I live in Australia..

[@Isleofskye]

@@antheabrouwer3258 Thanks very much for our reply , Anthea. I ash,as a Guy who has had 69 wonderful years living in Inner London(29 years) and Outer London for 40 years(since 1983) why good people, like yourself, no doubt choose to leave. Was it a combination of growing tired of England or the lure of Australia and its weather and outdoor life? Mind you, it was 33 Degrees yesterday and we have had our 5 hottest Summers in the last 10 years so the weather is "catching up" lol Admittedly,I am biased as I would not move 5 yards after 69 fablous years here and in a 245 Acre Park,yesterday,that "there was nowhere on earth that I would rather be". Have you been there long and is it what you expected,please?

[@simonc858]

Fabulous video, Map Men are brilliant but more fun watching you two reacting to it, St Davids is a magical place, one of my favourite places on the planet. Well worth a visit if you can fit it in on your tour of the UK, St Davids Cathedral is also magnificent. Thank you for another brilliant Sunday morning video xx

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Glad you enjoyed it!! ❤️

[@Peterraymond67]

Hello Natasha & Debbie. Another great video. I live near Cardiff. The cathedral is in the suburbs called Llandaff. It’s a nice cathedral but not the biggest by any means. During WWII it did not escape the blitz, it was severely damaged when a mine fell and blew it’s roof off. Much further west is the lovely city of St Davids, a beautiful small place with a great cathedral. It could be the only city within a national park, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The parks symbol is a Puffin.

[@mandypotts9090]

So growing up l thought l KNEW a city had a Cathedral, then a good few years ago l discovered that some cities didn’t have cathedrals. Then not that long ago l recall that the Queen was bestowing city status to selected places. BUT now l know all the reasons and details WHY cities are cities so thank you for another great show where l learned stuff and had fun doing it . 👍❤️

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Crazy isn't it??

[@michelletrudgill4573]

Learn something new everyday, I knew about the Cathedrals but there was alot I didn't know, will watch again. Well done girlies very informative video again. See you Wednesday ❤👏👏👏👏

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Thanks so much!

[@dnf-dead]

Another great video 😊

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Thank you 🤗

[@anndbritch-barney8378]

There is the original' City of London' known as the Square Mile. It has the city walls built by the Romans. The Romans named London, Londinium. It has its own Lord Mayor and is mostly thought of as the financial centre of London. The Roman walls are still there. In medieval times being a city did mean somthing anyone given the Freedom of the City meant they could trade. The financial growth of the country went from Village economy to town economy to city economy and in the process a free trade economy. Now a global economy.

[@robertwatford7425]

It's only in the last ten years that I learned that it wasn't about cathedrals. I've been to St David and I've seen bigger Motorway Service Stations :-( It's well worth pausing the list and reading it properly. It's pretty reaonable at first but then you start getting some really mad stuff. My favourite is 'synchronise car indicators'. Actually not difficult in these days of BlueTooth. I also liked that item 70 was 'ban the number 71' and this was followed by item 72 :-)

[@memkiii]

How many Cathedrals are NOT in cities though? 16 from what I can find. While the number of Cities without Cathedrals is 18. Some cities are much older than the modern City status too. Not everything started with William the conqueror. Lincoln, York, Gloucester, for just a few Examples, have been cities since Roman times.

[@KernowDreamer]

Another highly amusing reaction show. I live in Marazion and I, prematurely, sent my friends and family 'City of Marazion' Christmas cards when we 'bid' for city status! 🤣

[@orwellboy1958]

As a native of Cambridge, I did know the you don't need a cathedral to be a city. I now live in Bournemouth, we have a university and we are not a city. Cambridge also has a smaller population than Bournemouth.

[@johnchallener]

That completely got me with the working class pictures of those kids in Birmingham.. at that time it was the richest country on Earth, .Nowadays we have got so many talking about white entitlement..yeah ok..starved..used as cannon fodder, sent to Australia as convicts ...kept on the breadline at home..probably because they were scared there would be a revolution like the rest of European countries that rebelled if they didn't come down hard on them?..there are so many things good about the UK..but the class system,?..my Dad was in WW2 in the pacific on HMS Formidamable aircraft carrier and saw action..and my grandfather in France in WW1, so I think I am entitled to say what I feel

[@RabbitTeaPot]

1- it’s “privilege” not “entitlement” though I disagree with either assertion being a thing 2- Birmingham wasn’t a country nor “the richest on earth”. Where you got that idea, even if you’re talking about the UK is beyond me. 3- this is a video about city status, not about race politics, so why you felt the need to waffle on about events and actions YOU had no part in (your grandfather, father…what did YOU do?) to justify something “say what I feel” that’s never been under threat, is beyond me.

[@jenlaw398]

Those guys are hilarious. Keep their videos coming. Great job girls!

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Thanks Jen!

[@kellysnowdon7736]

Wow what a funny video thank you ladies x

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Glad you enjoyed it!!

[@Isleofskye]

These 2 brilliant Guys do a whole series of videos about London and England and then Britain,in general. Jay ,the Guy on our right, hilariously, explained his absence for 2 years or so by saying he helped create one of these and then, lovingly,held up his Baby Son to the camera.😀

[@malcolmhouston7932]

I live in a VILLAGE of 10600 people. We don't want to be a TOWN or a CITY. We enjoy being ignored by Government.

[@RichardFraser-y9t]

It makes no difference

[@malcolmhouston7932]

@@RichardFraser-y9t What? you watch this and you have no sense of humour?

[@markwalker2627]

Where is this..?

[@malcolmhouston7932]

@@markwalker2627 Duh, The video you are commenting on

[@TreVader1378]

Yes i am shocked, i always thought it was the cathedral thing.

[@kirstylou142]

Makes sense now! I live in Sunderland and was always confused why we don’t have a cathedral 😂

[@andrewcoates6641]

While it is not quite as complicated as the differences between a city and a town my particular grumble is how a council can rename an area of their city, purely to increase or decrease the number of residents who live in a historically designated area. In my case I have lived in the same property since 1968, which was at that time was widely recognised as being within the suburb of Heaton, which was originally a small community named for its first owner Hea( OE) and the term for a settlement in the woods, so it was originally the settlement in the woods that was established by a man called Hea and his family. However due to the local government’s reorganisation of district boundaries aimed at creating equally sized communities for council and parliamentary seats, Heaton had a constituency amount of properties shaved off and shoehorned onto a newly created district called Toller named for the main road in the area which was once a toll road between Bradford and Keighley has very little community feeling as the Ward was constructed from the shaved off part’s of wards ranging between urban/industrial areas to suburban and agricultural/rural areas.

[@femcymoedd535]

The thing about cathedrals was something I was taught when I was young, and it was much later when I learned it was wrong.

[@jasonericf]

I'm from Stoke-on-Trent. I guess you could say this is a little fun fact: it's basically six towns that grouped together and formed a city

[@CulturePhilter]

Six towns in a trench coat.

[@robjackson_CDXL]

I’m British, I’m 42 years old. ALL my life I thought a city needed a Cathedral, to find out that “fact” is wrong……..I’m gobsmacked 😮🤯

[@valeriejackson7659]

The more I learn about my country the more confused I become. Our governments simply can't resist the temptation to faff and fiddle until we don't know whether we are coming or going. Cities? Taxation? It's all the same power games to keep us on our toes. 🤔Great video girls. I really love your reactions. x

[@SusanCampbell-j1f]

That was a great video and very informative in an amusing way, I didn’t realise the Monarch gave city status,,

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@ventolin97]

I live in Milton Keynes (10 mins drive to Bletchley Park). It was a town but became a City last year

[@AnonEMoose-wj5ob]

What is usually referred to collectively as 'London' is more properly the ceremonial county of 'Greater London,' which includes the tiny 'City of London' and the City of Westminster. Greater London consists of 32 boroughs, the 12 innermost comprising 'Inner London' and the rest 'Outer London'. Thus 'London' is not a City but a much larger conglomeration that includes two cities. Simples!

[@bravo2966]

Also, it's a shithole.

[@arwelp]

Just to add to the confusion, there are now two cities called Bangor - the one in northwest Wales has a cathedral, but the one in eastern Northern Ireland doesn’t.

[@stalfithrildi5366]

London is a region, not a city. Made up of dozens of different boroughs that are very bad at working together, which Map Men probably didn't go into here cos their back catalogue goes really in depth.

[@yeokat7802]

however there is a city of london. it the middle bit.

[@sandrahughes8645]

Please don’t confuse us any more!!!! 😂

[@johnperkins4611]

London is a war zone.

[@stephenlee5929]

There is the City of London, but its not on the list, its a very strange place in English law, Map Men did a brief explanation of its status in their boroughs of London video. I think William 1 accepted that City of London was not subject to his rule.

[@wildwine6400]

Ah, I mentioned St Davids in your Tenby video comments. Its less than an hour away from Tenby and nice to go with being in the area. There's a nice little 13 minute video on here "What to do in St Davids, Pembrokeshire" by Mac & Sarah just showcasing some highlights of the city and some nearby places to go

[@gillspeck3173]

That was fun😂

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

Learned a lot from this one, London not being a city by technicality but there is a city of London that's not the city itself makes perfect sense. I think? Never heard of the channel but I'll go down the rabbit hole, loved the video. Except their stance on ice cream vans.... Anyway, I'll check out your video on their take regarding counties. My partner is from Yorkshire and the sun relvolves around it apparently so I'm hoping it technically doesn't exist due a paperwork issue.

[@timford544]

They're great and well worth watching. Your partner is correct btw

[@chloer2584]

The rugby World Cup is going on at the moment and recently princess Anne, William and Kate did a podcast called “the good, bad, rugby” which is on KZbin! Anne is patron of the Scotland team, William the welsh team and Kate the English team and the hosts of the podcast are former rugby players and one of them called Mike tindall is princess Anne’s son in law. Might be interesting for you to watch! It’s very good but is 50 minutes long

[@Mediawatcher2023]

hi ladies i am new to the channel i want to say a big thankyou to your reaction of Australia as i am australian myself sorry i cant be with you i have to go up to my brothers place for sunday night dinner i will give a review of this video later enjoy the rest of your day all the very best

[@OriginalHandprint]

My local town, Rochester (with 10thC cathedral) was a city until the late 90’s - it was combined with other towns to create a larger urban area. The council ‘forgot’ to renew its charter and this wasn’t discovered for 4 years when a new council assumed we still had a city. We haven’t.

[@jwSN12]

That's fascinating! I didn't know that you had to renew it! Like car insurance! 😂

[@liamblack2574]

I’m from rochester too! Lol

[@richmatt76]

Greater London is an urban agglomeration that has TWO cathedral cities at its heart - Westminster (the Abbey) and City of London (the financial centre which has St Paul’s). 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@pedanticradiator1491]

Westminster Abbey was only a cathedral for a short period of time during the 16th century. There is the Roman Catholic of Cathedral of Westminster though. The London Borough of Southwark has both an Anglican and a Roman Catholic cathedral but is not a city

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

Btw, the cathedral list in this video simply added unneccessary confusion. Most of the cathedrals without a city (on the right) were of Catholic cathedrals in places were there were none prior to the separation from Rome, or Scottish cathedrals (as Scotland had different criteria). At least one place (on the left) listed as a city without a cathedral has had one (St Deiniol's) for almost 1500 years, namely Bangor (in Wales).

[@pedanticradiator1491]

The Bangor on the list is the city in Northern Ireland that does not have a cathedral

[@robertgriffith8857]

@@pedanticradiator1491; I think it is Bangor North Wales because they list it elsewhere in the Cities of Wales.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

@@robertgriffith8857 no if you check the actual original Mapmen video Jay Foreman notes in the comments several times that he was referring to the Irish city

[@grantmason740]

For many of us from Reading, the lack of city status is a minor irritation. Quite why other towns have been awarded in preference to Reading is baffling but life goes on. The town is famous for it's prison, whose inmates included actor Stacy Keach, serial child murderer Amelia Dyer and playwright Oscar Wilde, who was imprisoned for being gay. Notable residents of the town have included Jane Austen, Kate Winslet, Natalie Dormer and Ricky Gervais. Catherine, Princess of Wales was born in Reading at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. King Henry I is also buried somewhere within the grounds of the ruined Abbey, and is now the only British monarch who's exact whereabouts are unknown.

[@bravo2966]

If you change your name to Redding we'll talk. Until then it's too confusing for people.

[@grantmason740]

@@bravo2966 I'm happy with the name my parents gave me, thank you all the same. As for my town, we like the spelling as it is- Reading. Just like the county we are situated in, Berkshire, with the first syllable pronounced Bark. Once you realise that the English language is made up of a whole set of rules that are being perpetually broken, it all makes perfect sense.

[@bravo2966]

@@grantmason740 Mate if that wasn't blatantly obvious it was a tongue in cheek comment I don't know what to tell you.

[@grantmason740]

@@bravo2966 I don't quite know how to break this to you but my response to you was most definitely tongue in cheek.

[@bravo2966]

@@grantmason740 My response to your response was tongue in cheek.

[@katyleeming1873]

I'm from Nottingham in the UK 🇬🇧

[@johnd6487]

Lol.. me too! Well.. I'm South of the river, so Nottinghamshire. Can't believe Derby only became a city in my lifetime.

[@stevencuthbertson9399]

THINKING, OF THE BOTH OF YOU ON THIS SAD DAY.. AND ALL AMERICANS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.❤

[@Cleow33]

I wish the map men would say which Bangor they are talking about, because the Bangor in Gwynedd is a city and it certainly does have a cathedral.

[@robertgriffith8857]

@Cleow33: I think they are referring to Bangor North Wales because they list it in the number of Welsh cities. I agree with you that Bangor has one of the oldest cathedrals in Wales and has been a city for many years as also has St Asaph.

[@RCassinello]

I gotta be honest, I'm absolutely loving your videos - I'm so sorry that when I first saw one of your avatars pop up in my timeline, I just wrote you off as a pair of teen air-heads. Your content is just brilliant - so funny, and so respectful. :)

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

We'll take the "teen" thing as a compliment! 😉 Glad you gave us a chance! Appreciate it!

[@MarkKnightSHG]

I'm loving your reaction videos! Top tier every time! I'd love to see more reactions to Map Men videos, or Jay Foreman's other series Unfinished London.... Very interesting tidbits about our capital there.... Keep up the good work!

[@MrPaulFCockburn]

Perth, in Scotland, also lost its city status because they couldn’t find proof of royal consent; many locals just kept referring to it as the “fair city” until Queen Elizabeth finally caught up.

[@TheAuburnEnigma]

My hometown (Dudley) did apply for city status in 2022 - we have neighbouring cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but we were probably just as much at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution as Birmingham was. We have a castle which is surrounded by a zoo, we have a 'Living Museum' (think you've reacted to it before) and we're probably what people think of when they hear 'Black Country'. Our Metropolitan Borough spreads pretty wide too. In terms of famous people, Sir Lenny Henry (comedian and actor, was one of the real driving forces behind 'Comic Relief') is the one who most people would have heard of, but the football manager Sam Allardyce grew up here as well.

[@AlisonJC]

very interesting fun.

[@MrSwifts31]

Every town that has a Cathedral IS a City,but not all Cities have Cathedrals. Confuse,well we in the UK are too! This is from Wikipedia:~ City status in the UK can be associated with having a cathedral or a university, a particular form of local government, or having a large population. Although any of these might be used to justify the popular use of the term 'city', in formal terms UK city status is granted by the monarch, on the advice of ministers.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

There are several places in the UK with cathedrals that are not cities eg: Blackburn, Southwell, Bury St Edmonds

[@pureholy]

@@pedanticradiator1491not to mention poor old Rochester.

[@countofdownable]

London is basically two cities that grew so big they joined up and just got called London. City of Westminster joined the City of London absorbed the surrounding areas and became London.

[@Hugh_de_Mortimer]

There is a more interesting, conspiratorial, theory about how Greater London came by its name.

[@countofdownable]

@@Hugh_de_Mortimer Do tell?

[@Hugh_de_Mortimer]

@@countofdownable being as Greater London was built around the City of London, which is an enclave within the modern Greater London, some suggest that a naming conflict between the two would provide a degree of invisibility to the City and people would be less likely to question this separation and therefore better preserve the City's long-held privileges and not fall victim to a reform that would merge the two together. I can't recall who it was who told me this but it's certainly an interesting idea.

[@Dead25m]

Would be funny if any city that grew big enough became a 'London'

[@PhillipDavison-iy2gh]

City of London was original london bounded by walls with gates. Aldgate, Ludgate, Aldersgate. Moorgate, these are now basically where Businesses are situated Banks Insurance Co,at weekends quite as few people live there

[@Mathew-xc6yk]

What about Stanley in Falklands is a city 😊

[@OnASeasideMission]

I remember that when Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales in '69 he toured Wales and informed the bigwigs of Swansea that the Queen had asked him to tell them that she would be creating Swansea a city. Massive round of applause. Charles commented: 'So glad to hear that you approve.'

[@barty7016]

Another great video ladies, thoroughly enjoyed it. Love the T-shirt Debbie. The whole Hysteria album is the best Natasha, it's part of the soundtrack of my late teens 😊❤

[@antheabrouwer3258]

Oh..loving the Def Leppard t-shirt Debbie!! They featured in the English movie Bank of Dave (Based on a true story). Check it out!!

[@frankhooper7871]

The association with being a city and having a cathedral is a very common English miscomprehension, so not surprising that many people had [wrongly] told you this. Something you probably won't have caught is at 9:25 the picture of Lord Salisbury Borrowed the squiggly underline from the Sainsbury's logo! And did you notice that #70 ban the number 71 was followed in the list by #72?

[@Suprahampton]

Jay Forman has a video on why London doesn't have Trams, it's really good

[@markwalker2627]

Er Croydon calling....

[@MsPinkwolf]

I'm sure the video will say this but in Britain traditionally a city was somewhere with a cathedral, no matter it's size. These days any large town seems to get city status.

[@geoffpoole483]

Probably due to the power of the Church. These days there are bidding processes linked to major events like the Diamond and Platinum Jubilee celebrations. My home town of Ipswich makes unsuccessful bids on a regular basis. Southend was granted city status in the wake of the murder of its MP David Amess.

[@katrinabryce]

Except Reading, which is the largest town in the country.

[@glastonbury4304]

Brilliant video and reaction ❤

[@MaxineSmith027]

I live in Northampton, East Midlands, we used to be the capital in 913 under Danelaw. In the English Civil war in 17th Century we unfortunately sided with Parliament (dont blame me, I wasnt there!) In 1611, Charles II was so annoyed with us going against his dad Charles 1st, he tore down our walls and declared we would never be a city. To this day, we are still a town, a huge great sprawling town, WITH a cathedral, but no city status for us 😊

[@ThisWontEndWell]

With the two places you hate the most Leicester and Milton Keynes both cities.

[@Isleofskye]

Hi. I'm a 69-year-old Londoner and Northampton was, always,the one place that I, consistently, misplaced. It just seems strange that Northampton is in The East Midlands. lol

[@MaxineSmith027]

@@ThisWontEndWell hate? Why would I hate those places? Odd comment.

[@MaxineSmith027]

@@Isleofskye yup, it certainly is. I love my town, its had its ups and downs over the years but still a lovely place to live 🙂

[@Uk5haky]

Umm , 17th century you mean.

[@AngeDownie]

Its Ange Loved to see that both Perth and Stirling have city status as they have namesakes here in Western Australia

[@mandypotts9090]

Now this looks interesting 🤔❤️‍🩹

[@alanhilton7336caradventure]

I live in Cornwall in the UK and our only city is Truro which is no bigger than a large town but it does have a cathedral but now I'm wondering if it really is a city as I've always thought.

[@memkiii]

Yes, it is a County Seat, & City, and has been since 1876, but not because of the Cathedral, which is "modern Gothic Revival, only started in 1880, (not medieval), and finished in 1910, but because it was granted a Diocese status and a Bishop.

[@alanhilton7336caradventure]

@@memkiii thanks that was really informative.😊

[@themoderntemplar1567]

You weren't kidding about them being informative, like many Brits I thought a city needed a)A cathedral & b) A university. Although I am aware of two new "cities"? in Northern Ireland, Lisburn & Newry which having been in both are really just large towns. These guys are great and funny too, so thanks girls I'm gonna give them a follow. Great vid btw.👍😁 PS: Natasha, stop apologising!! We take the piss outta everyone and everything so it's 99.999999% certainthat you wont(or probably cant) offend us. STOP worrying.😂

[@scented-leafpelargonium3366]

@the moderntemplar1567 : The same for Bangor, County Down in 2022.

[@melovesawyer]

I lived in Rochester from August ‘97 to April ‘99, definitely remember being confused about the city/not city thing. The Dickens festival they have there was fun.

[@suzettewilliams1758]

We have two Cathedrals in Norwich . We used also have a pub for each day and church for each week of the the year.

[@lucylewis9437]

Another amazing video by you two awesome ladies. Thanks for the mention in the video I knew you didn't have to have a university and cathedral as we don't have a cathedral but have a university and St Asaph the other way around.❤❤❤

[@zedbee42]

Hi, I've recent came across your channel and have started subscribing. I really enjoyed watching your reaction to the Map Men video mainly because I had already seen it when they first posted it online. Watching again with you I actually picked up some bits that I had missed when I first watched it, such as their list at the end. It went past so quick I never realised how funny some of the items were. Jay Foreman, one of the Map Men, is also a stand-up comedian and makes a lot of silly / funny songs. I've seen him live a few times and he is extremely funny. It's worth have a look at some of his music videos.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

I grew up being told it was only cathedrals that made a city a city. Incidentally St David's became a city because it had a cathedral but the old rules didn't apply to Wales so that change was making up for a past injustice.

[@patriciarowland2124]

I'm in my 70s & I was told at school, in books etc. that a city had to have a Cathedral to be a city. Enjoy your videos & thanks for sharing.

[@jamessouth3808]

I remember Southend was given city status in honour of David Amess MP who was murdered a few years ago

[@margaretnicol3423]

It's worth looking at the City of London. It's about a square mile and has a wall built round it. Mostly financial institutions now with very few actual residents.

[@barneylaurance1865]

And the only local government area in the UK where corporations get to vote as well as humans.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

The wall around the City of London was demolished centuries ago

[@TonyWilmott]

There must be a video explaining London! The City of London, also known as the Square Mile is in part a city 'because Romans'. It contains St Paul's Cathedral, and when the Great Fire is mentioned it refers to this. It was a huge mercantile centre in the Middle Ages and generated huge income - and the monarch borrowed money from the merchants of the City to fund (eg) military enterprises. For this reason the medieval monarchs gave the City immense independent privileges. In fact if the monarch wishes to enter the City he/she has to go through a whole ceremony by which the Lord Mayor of London surrenders his power to the monarch. It involves a sword. The City corporation retains, and jealously guards all of these privileges. When London as a financial centre is mentioned, it refers to the City. To the west, along the Thames, and linked by the road known as the Strand (which has a whole ancient history of its own) is the City of Westminster, which contains Westminster Abbey (which is not a cathedral), and importantly the royal palace of Westminster, and Parliament. So you have a financial city and a royal/ governmental city within the boundaries of Greater London. Greater London was formed when a large number of small villages and towns expanded, until they merged. These are now London Boroughs. This is why every borough has its own town centre, and despite being part of the greater whole, each has its own character. Confusingly Greater London is governed by the Greater London Authority, headed by the Mayor of London. This office was created in 1998 (I think). The office of the Lord Mayor of the City of London on the other hand was instituted in 1189. Hope that helps.

[@F11BAR84]

Loved this, informative and funny, you guys have the BEST content :-) Happy Sunday to you both :-)

[@TheNatashaDebbieShow]

Thank you! You too! ❤️

[@DrDaveW]

If you look at their map again, there's the City of Westminster with Westminster Abbey, and the City of London with St Paul's Cathedral. Both are really small. The rest of London, is not a city.

[@lindablackley4916]

the map guys had the London Borough of Harrow my home town woow whhhoo on they map cool very funny an informative ,keep it up

[@susanashcroft2674]

On that fun list of things the government have to do...when I saw ban ice cream vans my heart sank for Debbie. However would she start her ice cream business in boat, van or shop!! 😃 Ps. Looking forward to watching and learning more about Norway.

[@webbzz91]

London, Birmingham and Glasgow are the 3 biggest cities in the UK.

[@grahamsmith9541]

London is not a big city. The actual City of London has a population of less than 10,000 people. It is only 1.12 sq. Miles in size. Is run by the City Of London Corporation. Not Greater London Authority that runs the rest of London. Its neighbour the City of Westminster is larger. with a population of over 204,000 people. Covering 8.28 sq. miles.

[@danielgardecki1046]

For anyone who wants to argue - All my figures are from the *Office for National Statistics* the government agency, and only official source for UK statistics. The *15 biggest cities in the UK by area:* 1 - *Carlisle - 401.27 square miles* (1,039.29 square kilometres) 2 - *Winchester - 255.20 square miles* (660.97 square kilometres) 3 - *Lancaster - 222.09 square miles* (576.21 square kilometres) 4 - *Doncaster - 219.30 square miles* (568 square kilometres) 5 - *Leeds - 213.01 square miles* (551.70 square kilometres) 6 - *Swansea - 146.58 square miles* (379.65 square kilometres) 7 - *Sheffield - 142.06 square miles* (367.93 square kilometres) 8 - *Bradford - 141.47 square miles* (366.41 square kilometres) 9 - *Peterborough - 132.57 square miles* (343.37 square kilometres) 10 - *Chelmsford - 132.14 square miles* (342.25 square kilometres) 11 - *Wakefield - 130.74 square miles* (338.61 square kilometres) 12 - *Canterbury - 119.26 square miles* (308.88 square kilometres) 13 - *York - 104.99 square miles* (271.93 square kilometres) 14 - *Birmingham - 103.39 square miles* (267.79 square kilometres) 15 - *Edinburgh - 101.68 square miles* (263.35 square kilometres)