Bedfordshire
Explanation:
Generally, the names of counties in EN are not preceded by 'County of...', except in archaic or very formal uses.
Some county names always take the '-shire' (e.g. Yorkshire, Lancashire), while others never do (e.g. Kent, Norfolk); the problem arises when some counties get abbreviated to just the name (usually of the main town); so 'Bedfordshire' is often shortened to just 'Bedford' (abb. 'Beds.'), while others do not (Yorkshire is only ever shortened to Yorks.)
Other counties do not use the '-shire', even though it once would have been common; cf. Dorset(shire) and Devon(shire) — though the latter older form is often still used to give quaint, rural appeal to local products like Devonshire cream.
So 'County of Bedford' OR 'Bedfordshire' are both correct; 'County of Bedfordshire' is arguably incorrect, since 'shire' and 'county' basically mean the same thing! But if there is an implied question "Waht county?", then obviously "Bedfordshire" makes sense as an answer.
Note that there is one county whose actual name is 'County Durham' (note absent 'of'!); there are also a number of County Boroughs, but that is a whole other issue...
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Note added at 24 mins (2012-09-10 06:52:19 GMT)
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Many county names were originally taken from their county town (Bedford, Nottingham, York, etc.), while others have different origins (Devon, Essex, Suffolk).
Local government reorganization in the '70s changed many county boundaries, did away with some altogether, and created some entirely new administrative areas.
R.I.P. Rutland!
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Note added at 52 mins (2012-09-10 07:20:24 GMT)
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Sadly, this sort of thing is all too common these days, with the current generation of semi-literates.
Back in the '70s, 'the County of Bedford' would have been understood as correct, if pompous / formal.
Nowadays, people have forgotten the origins of these terms, so it's not uncommon to encounter an abomination like 'County of Bedfordshire'.
Of course, it's also complicated by the fact that we do indeed refer to 'the shire counties'!!!
Thankfully, we have J R R Tolkien to remind us with 'The Shire' (translated as 'Le Comté' in French)
I suppose historically, not all of these geographical areas were literally 'counties' (= with a Count) — but I think that archaic nicety has long been lost. I know there's a Duke of Bedford...
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-09-10 07:29:15 GMT)
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There is also a question of register; the 'County of X' is these days rather formal, and will be found in official documents like 'Born this day, ..., in the County of Bedford, ...' blah blah. It is also the sort of thing you might find on the county's coat-of-arms, for example.
In everyday parlance, one would normally talk about Bedfordshire, which would be used in the names of organizations etc. — as in the (former) Bedfordshire County Council, Bedfordhsire Fire Service, etc.
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Note added at 3 days1 hr (2012-09-13 08:08:39 GMT) Post-grading
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Just one little proviso, though: where the '-shire' is an inseperable part of the county name, you will of course then encounter the 'County of ...shire' construction, if the register of the document requires the 'County of...' syntax:
'County of Yorkshire / Lancashire / Lanarkshire / Shropshire' etc.
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Note added at 3 days1 hr (2012-09-13 08:10:49 GMT) Post-grading
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Apologies for the typo: inseparable — I'm not illiterate, just a poor typist ;-)
| Tony M
France
Local time: 10:25
Native speaker of:  English
PRO pts in category: 12
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