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Counties of the United Kingdom
 
 
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The counties
County

A county is a land area of Local government government within a larger state. A county may have city and towns within its area....
 of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 are a type of subnational division of historical origin; by the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 they had become established as a unit of local government. In some areas the ancient counties have been adapted to perform the functions of modern local government while in others they have been replaced with alternative, unitary, systems; which are considered 'county level' authorities.

a class="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m4752367",this)' onMouseout='hide("m4752367")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/England">England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, counties are a current level of subnational division
Subdivisions of England

The subdivisions of England consists of as many as four levels of administrative division and at some levels there are a variety of types of administrative entity....
 and are broadly based on the historic counties of England
Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxons kingdoms and shires....
.






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The counties
County

A county is a land area of Local government government within a larger state. A county may have city and towns within its area....
 of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 are a type of subnational division of historical origin; by the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 they had become established as a unit of local government. In some areas the ancient counties have been adapted to perform the functions of modern local government while in others they have been replaced with alternative, unitary, systems; which are considered 'county level' authorities.

England

In England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, counties are a current level of subnational division
Subdivisions of England

The subdivisions of England consists of as many as four levels of administrative division and at some levels there are a variety of types of administrative entity....
 and are broadly based on the historic counties of England
Historic counties of England

The historic counties of England are ancient subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxons kingdoms and shires....
. Acts of Parliament in the last two centuries altered county boundaries and, in addition to these changes, in 1889 created administrative counties
Administrative county

An administrative county was an administrative division in England and Wales and Ireland used for the purposes of local government. They are now abolished, although in Northern Ireland their former areas are used as the basis for lieutenancy....
 and county borough
County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control....
s. The counties and their boundaries existing prior to these changes are known variously as the ancient or historic counties.

The changes which formed the current structure began in 1965 with the London Government Act 1963
London Government Act 1963

The London Government Act 1963 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which recognised officially the conurbation known as Greater London and created a new local government structure for the capital....
 and the creation of Greater London
Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London , the City of Westminster and the other 31 London boroughs....
. In 1974 the administrative counties and county boroughs were abolished and replaced with metropolitan counties
Metropolitan county

The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million....
 and non-metropolitan counties
Shire county

A non-metropolitan county or shire county in England, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England which is not a metropolitan county....
 (also known as shire counties) with much altered borders. In the 1990s unitary authorities
Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national government....
 were also created which combine functions of county and district.

Unlike Scotland and Wales, England now has a mixed pattern of county level subnational division:

The areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant are the Ceremonial counties of England
Ceremonial counties of England

The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997....
.

Scotland

Scotlandcountiesnumbered
In Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, local government counties, created under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889

The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland....
, were abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973

The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government of Scotland in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
, in favour of regions and districts
Regions and districts of Scotland

The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
 and islands council areas
Islands council areas of Scotland

There were three islands council areas of Scotland:* Orkney* Shetland* Na h-Eileanan SiarThe islands council areas were unitary council areas dating from 1975, created under the Local Government Act 1973 and notably the only unitary authorities created by the local government reforms of the 1970s in Great Britain; which generally appli...
. The regions and districts were themselves abolished in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994

The Local Government etc. Act 1994 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current Local government of Scotland structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland....
, in favour of unitary Scottish council areas. (The islands areas had been created as unitary council areas, and their boundaries were unaffected.)

The 1889 legislation created county council
County council

A County council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries....
s, turned each civil county (with one exception) into a contiguous area (without separate fragments) and adjusted boundaries where civil parish
Civil parish

In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a civil parish is usually the lowest unit of local government, below district and county councils....
es straddled county boundaries, or had fragments in more than one county. The counties of Ross and Cromarty were merged to form Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty is a vaguely or variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland in current use....
.

One region and various districts, created in 1975, had areas similar to those of earlier counties, and various council areas, created in 1996, are also similar. Two of the three islands areas - Orkney and Shetland - have boundaries identical to those of earlier counties.

Scotland has also registration counties
Registration county

A registration county was, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a statistical unit used for the output of census information. Registration counties were formed by grouping together the registration districts wholly or partly within a county....
, which are in current use. The areas of Scotland that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant are called lieutenancy areas
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland

The Lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial Lord Lieutenant, the British monarch's representatives, in Scotland. They are different from the local government of Scotland council areas, the committee areas, the sheriffdoms, the registration counties, the former Regions and districts of Scotland, the former counties...
.

Wales

Walestradnumbered
The thirteen historic counties of Wales were fixed by statute in 1535 (although counties such as Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the South West Wales of Wales in the United Kingdom....
 date from 1138). The administrative counties of Wales
History of local government in Wales

The history of local government Wales in a recognisably modern form emerged during the late 19th century....
 created in 1889 were based on these. In 1974 a new system was created using vastly different entities. These were abolished in 1996 and since then Wales has been entirely divided into a system of unitary authorities called the Principal areas of Wales.

The areas of Wales that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant are the preserved counties of Wales
Preserved counties of Wales

The Preserved counties of Wales are the current areas used in Wales for ceremonial purposes such as Lord-Lieutenant. They are based on the subdivisions of Wales created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996....
; based on the counties constituted in 1974.

Northern Ireland


The six historic counties of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
 are no longer strictly in use for administrative purposes. Combined with the boroughs of Belfast
Belfast

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of Devolution#United Kingdom Northern Ireland Executive and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland....
 and Derry
Derry

Derry or Londonderry , often called the Maiden City, is a City status in the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland....
, the counties do serve for organisational purposes within government, and often with private businesses and sporting clubs.

The counties of Northern Ireland are all fully contained within the historic province
Provinces of Ireland

Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces, although the Irish-language word for this territorial division, c?ige , indicates that there were once five ? Kingdom of Mide being the fifth....
 of Ulster
Ulster

Ulster is one of the four Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster. The name is sometimes informally used as a synonym for Northern Ireland, one of the countries of the United Kingdom, although Northern Ireland covers only two thirds of Ulster....
. One county has changed its name from County Coleraine
County Coleraine

The County of Coleraine, also known as County Coleraine, was a counties of Ireland. It was the only one of the original counties of Ireland to be abolished before the twentieth century ....
 to County Londonderry
County Londonderry

County Londonderry or County Derry is one of the six Counties of Ireland of Northern Ireland in the Provinces of Ireland of Ulster in Ireland....
 (also known as County Derry).

See also

  • List of counties of the United Kingdom
    List of counties of the United Kingdom

    This is a list of the counties of the United Kingdom. The history of local government in the United Kingdom differs between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the subnational divisions within these which have been called counties have varied over time and by purpose....