How do you record a birth when the county boundary has been "reorganised"?

[Gillg]

My late father was born in Widnes, Lancashire in the early 1900s.  Widnes has now been "moved" to Cheshire and it annoys me and would certainly have annoyed a proud Lancastrian like him to have his birth recorded on several family history sites as Widnes, Cheshire, using a boundary change which came into force around 1972. (Thanks, FreeBMD for getting it right.) Incidentally his birth is recorded in the March quarter, though he was actually born on December 20th, so sometimes people put his birth year down as the following year, too.  As a schoolgirl I played hockey for the county of Westmorland, not Cumbria.  Relatives give their address as Appleby-in-Westmorland, unhappy at their town's relocation on paper to Cumbria.  Just a couple of  examples of how much boundary changes annoy people.

Do you do as I do and note counties as they were at the time of the birth or whatever occasion?  What do you think is the correct way to enter them? 

[emeltom]

I would enter the county name as it was at the time of the birth/marriage/death.

Emeltom

[stanmapstone]

Note that the LGA 1972 did not do anything to the historic Counties of Britain. It only abolished the administrative counties and county boroughs. The Government was (and still is) happy to confirm that the Counties themselves were unaffected: "The new county boundaries are solely for the purpose of defining areas of ... local government. They are administrative areas, and will not alter the traditional boundaries of Counties, nor is it intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change."(DoE Statement, 1st April 1974).
It is usually recommended that for Local & Family History, the Historic Counties are used, as confusion can arise by trying to keep up with all the changes to Administrative Areas, although I am sure other people won't agree.
The UK is said to have more administrative boundary changes per year than the rest of the European Union put together. See http://www.gazetteer.org.uk/notes.php
Stan

[medpat]

Most of my ancestors lived in what is now the West Midlands, established 1st April 1974.

My grandfather was born in 1890 in Staffordshire not the West Midlands as it didn't exist. I always refer to the time of the B,M or D and keep it true to the time it happened.

[KGarrad]

I always use the county as it was at the time of the event.

There are websites out there that would insist I was born in Gloucestershire?
I was NOT!
I was born in The City & County of Bristol, and come from a Somerset family

As a twin, I was born in a maternity hospital, which just happened to be in Bristol

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I sometimes think, when entering more recent births in the family tree, that place of birth has little relevance now that they are all born in a hospital miles from home. 

[Girl Guide]

I've got that problem KGarrad.

I get letters/parcels where the county is either Avon which disappeared years ago, or Somerset.

I also get irritated with websites that insist you put a county and don't have Bristol in their list.  Or if they do then Bristol is repeated so it appears twice. 

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the postcode was the important bit. 

[Guy Etchells]

I record everything exactly the way the record shows it, in the same manner as if I was making a transcription.
For example if a county is recorded as Salop I record it as Salop, not Shropshire.
It is not up to me as a researcher to interpret what is written.
I would suggest that if anything does need an explanation add a footnote or endnote to explain the situation.
Cheers
Guy

[KGarrad]

I've got that problem KGarrad.

I get letters/parcels where the county is either Avon which disappeared years ago, or Somerset.

I also get irritated with websites that insist you put a county and don't have Bristol in their list.  Or if they do then Bristol is repeated so it appears twice. 

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the postcode was the important bit. 

When I send stuff to my daughters (still in Portishead!) I always put North Somerset

But I have it worse these days.
Online forms ask for city, county and country.
I live on the Isle of Man - not part of the UK
Sometimes I have to put Isle of Man down twice - as a county and as a country.
Sometimes these darned forms won't accept IOM as a country? And I have to put UK
I don't get a vote in UK elections; I don't pay UK tax