The County of Avon was a non-metropolitan county and ceremonial county in the west of England, named after the River Avon which ran through it. In 1996 the county was abolished and the area split between Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire unitary local authorities. The Avon area is still used for some purposes (see "Legacy" section), and today has a population of approximately one million people.
The Avon , formerly known as Dunolly, was a 1,572 ton, iron sailing ship with a length of 255.6 feet, breadth of 37.6 feet and depth of 22.6 feet. She was built by Charles Connell of Glasgow in 1884 for John Brown of Glasgow. The Nourse Line bought the ship in 1890 and renamed it the Avon after the River Avon in the south west of England.