The county was unpopular, especially among people from Herefordshire, who due to the disparity of sizes of the populations (Worcestershire: 550,000 (2001), Herefordshire: 170,000 (2001)), saw it as a takeover rather than a merger.
After a short life of 22 years, it was abolished by The Hereford and Worcester (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996 - SI 1996/1867, and split into new administrative counties Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which did not have had the same boundaries as the former administrative counties.