List of counties of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has different sorts of counties. Some are traditional areas and some are for local government or other government things.
Counties (Traditional)
changeThese counties are sometimes called historic counties, traditional counties or ancient or geographical counties.[1] People argue about how much they exist in law. They are useful for genealogical and historic matters. Anyone may choose to use traditional counties or not.
The traditional counties have had nothing to do with government since 1889. However until 1974 most local government counties were very like them.
The United Kingdom has 92 traditional counties.
Counties (Local Government) Districts & Principal Areas
changeSee also
Local government administrative areas have different functions and powers in each of the different countries in the United Kingdom (England and the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) This resulted from devolution of administrative, executive, or legislative authority to the new institutions operating. The areas administered by local government have different types of names in the different parts of the United Kingdom.
There is a total of 326 English districts. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there are currently four principal types of district-level subdivision (numbers shown in brackets)
- Metropolitan borough (36)
- Non-Metropolitan district (Shire District) (201)
- Unitary authority (55)
- London boroughs (32)
As a result, in parts of England there are local government counties with districts in them.[1] In other parts there are counties with just one district, and in those parts there is only one council, which is the district council or the county council.[2] Greater London is not a county; it has City of London, London Borough Councils, and a Greater London Authority. The Council of the Isles of Scilly is unique but is in effect a county council operating as unitary authority.
- Scotland
In Scotland there are "local government areas"[3] but most people call them "council areas".
- Wales
In Wales there are "principal areas".[4] Some councils' areas in Wales are called "counties" and others "county boroughs".
- Northern Ireland
In 1972, administrative functions in the Counties of Northern Ireland were replaced by 26 unitary authorities.[5]
County | Type | Part of the UK | Council | Districts in the county/area |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aberdeen | council area | Scotland | City Council | none |
Aberdeenshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Angus | Council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Argyll and Bute | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Bath and North East Somerset | county | England | (district council) | Bath and North East Somerset |
Bedford | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Bedford |
Berkshire | county | England | none | Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham |
Blackburn with Darwen | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Blackburn with Darwen |
Blackpool | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Blackpool |
Blaenau Gwent | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Bournemouth | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Bournemouth |
Bridgend | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Brighton and Hove | county | England | (district council) | City of Brighton and Hove |
Bristol | county | England | (district council) | City of Bristol |
Buckinghamshire | county | England | County Council | Aylesbury Vale, South Bucks, Chiltern, Wycombe |
Cambridgeshire | county | England | County Council | Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire, South Cambridgeshire |
Caerphilly | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Cardiff | principal area | Wales | City and County Council | none |
Carmarthenshire | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Central Bedfordshire | county | England | (district council) | Central Bedfordshire |
Ceredigion | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Cheshire East | county | England | (district council) | Cheshire East |
Cheshire West and Chester | county | England | (district council) | Cheshire West and Chester |
Clackmannanshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Conwy | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Cornwall | county | England | Council | none |
Cumbria | county | England | County Council | Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden, South Lakeland |
Denbighshire | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Derby | county | England | (district council) | City of Derby |
Derbyshire | county | England | County Council | Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire, South Derbyshire |
Devon | county | England | County Council | East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon |
Dorset | county | England | County Council | Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, East Dorset, Christchurch |
Dumfries and Galloway | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Dundee | council area | Scotland | City Council | none |
County Durham | county | England | County Council | none |
East Ayrshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
East Dunbartonshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
East Lothian | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
East Renfrewshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
East Riding of Yorkshire | county | England | (district council) | East Riding of Yorkshire |
East Sussex | county | England | County Council | Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother, Wealden, |
Edinburgh | council area | Scotland | City Council | none |
Essex | county | England | County Council | Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring, Uttlesford |
Falkirk | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Fife | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Flintshire | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Glasgow | council area | Scotland | City Council | none |
Gloucestershire | county | England | County Council | Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud, Tewkesbury |
Greater London | Region | England | Authority | Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, City of Westminster |
Greater Manchester | metropolitan county | England | Authority | Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, City of Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan |
Gwynedd | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Halton | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Halton |
Hampshire | county | England | County Council | Basingstoke and Deane, Eastleigh, East Hampshire, Fareham, Gosport, Hart, Havant, New Forest, Rushmoor, Test Valley, City of Winchester |
Hartlepool | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Hartlepool |
Herefordshire | county | England | (district council) | Herefordshire |
Hertfordshire | county | England | County Council | Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, Hertsmere, North Hertfordshire, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford, Welwyn Hatfield |
Highland | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Inverclyde | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Isle of Anglesey | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Isle of Wight | county | England | Council | none |
Kent | county | England | County Council | Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Gravesham, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Shepway, Swale, Thanet, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells |
Kingston upon Hull | county | England | (district council) | Kingston upon Hull |
Lancashire | county | England | County Council | Burnley, Chorley, South Ribble, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, West Lancashire, Wyre |
Leicester | county | England | (district council) | City of Leicester |
Leicestershire | county | England | County Council | Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Melton, North West Leicestershire, Oadby and Wigston |
Lincolnshire | county | England | County Council | Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven, West Lindsey |
City of London | county | England | City of London Corporation | none |
Luton | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Luton |
Medway | county | England | (district council) | City of Medway |
Merseyside | metropolitan county | England | none | Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral |
Merthyr Tydfil | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Middlesbrough | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Middlesbrough |
Midlothian | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Milton Keynes | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Milton Keynes |
Monmouthshire | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Moray | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Neath Port Talbot | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Newport | principal area | Wales | City Council | none |
Norfolk | county | England | County Council | Breckland, Broadland, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Norwich, South Norfolk |
Northamptonshire | county | England | County Council | Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough |
North Ayrshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
North East Lincolnshire | county | England | (district council) | North East Lincolnshire |
Northern Ireland | Region | Northern Ireland | Assembly | Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Derry, Down, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane |
North Lanarkshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
North Lincolnshire | county | England | (district council) | North Lincolnshire |
North Somerset | county | England | (district council) | North Somerset |
Northumberland | county | England | County Council | none |
North Yorkshire | county | England | County Council | Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby |
Nottingham | county | England | (district council) | City of Nottingham |
Nottinghamshire | county | England | County Council | Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, Rushcliffe |
Orkney Islands | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Oxfordshire | county | England | County Council | Oxford, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire |
Pembrokeshire | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Perth and Kinross | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Peterborough | county | England | (district council) | City of Peterborough |
Plymouth | county | England | (district council) | Portsmouth City of Plymouth |
Poole | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Poole |
Portsmouth | county | England | (district council) | City of Portsmouth |
Powys | principal area | Wales | County Council | none |
Redcar and Cleveland | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Redcar and Cleveland |
Renfrewshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Rutland | county | England | (district council) | Rutland |
Scottish Borders | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Shetland Islands | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Shropshire | county | England | Council | none |
Somerset | county | England | County Council | Mendip, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Sedgemoor, West Somerset |
Southampton | county | England | (district council) | City of Southampton |
South Ayrshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Southend-on-Sea | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Southend-on-Sea |
South Gloucestershire | county | England | (district council) | South Gloucestershire |
South Lanarkshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
South Yorkshire | metropolitan county | England | none | Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield |
Staffordshire | county | England | County Council | Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, Tamworth |
Stirling | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
Stockton-on-Tees | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Stockton-on-Tees |
Stoke-on-Trent | county | England | (district council) | City of Stoke-on-Trent |
Swindon | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Swindon |
Suffolk | county | England | County Council | Babergh, Forest Heath, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal, Waveney |
Surrey | county | England | County Council | Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley, Woking |
Swansea | principal area | Wales | City and County Council | none |
Telford and Wrekin | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Telford and Wrekin |
Thurrock | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Thurrock |
Torbay | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Torbay |
Torfaen | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Tyne and Wear | metropolitan county | England | none | Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland |
Vale of Glamorgan | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
Warrington | county | England | (district council) | Borough of Warrington |
Warwickshire | county | England | County Council | North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick |
West Dunbartonshire | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
West Lothian | council area | Scotland | Council | none |
West Midlands | metropolitan county | England | none | Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton |
West Sussex | county | England | County Council | Adur, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex, Worthing |
West Yorkshire | metropolitan county | England | none | Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield |
Wiltshire | county | England | Council | none |
Worcestershire | county | England | County Council | Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest |
Wrexham | principal area | Wales | County Borough Council | none |
York | county | England | (district council) | City of York |
Other areas: | ||||
Inner Temple | liberty | England | The Sub-Treasurer | none |
Isles of Scilly | England | Council | none | |
Middle Temple | liberty | England | The Undertreasurer | none |
Ceremonial Counties & Lieutenancy Areas
changeThe Queen appoints officers called "lord-lieutenants" and High Sheriff in ceremonial counties and lieutenancy areas. The UK area in which their duties are carried out is usually called a ceremonial county except in Scotland, where they are called "Lieutenancy Areas". In Scotland only a lord-lieutenant is appointed to each lieutenancy area.
Ceremonial Counties (England, Northern Ireland and Wales)
changeA ceremonial county in England and Wales is a local government county or a group of local government counties. In Northern Ireland it is a county or county borough.
Ceremonial County | Consisting of: |
---|---|
Antrim | County of Antrim |
Armagh | County of Armagh |
Bedfordshire | Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton |
Belfast City | Belfast County Borough |
Berkshire | Berkshire |
Bristol | City of Bristol |
Buckinghamshire | Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes |
Cambridgeshire | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough |
Cheshire | Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington |
City of London | The City of London |
Clwyd | Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham |
Cornwall | Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |
Cumbria | Cumbria |
Derbyshire | Derbyshire and Derby |
Devon | Devon, Plymouth and Torbay |
Dorset | Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole |
Down | County of Down |
Durham | Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, and the part of Stockton-on-Tees which is north of the River Tees |
Dyfed | Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire |
East Riding of Yorkshire | East Riding of Yorkshire and Kingston-upon-Hull |
East Sussex | East Sussex and Brighton and Hove |
Essex | Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock |
Fermanagh | County of Fermanagh |
Gloucestershire | Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire |
Greater London | Greater London apart from the City of London |
Greater Manchester | Greater Manchester |
Gwent | Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Newport |
Gwynedd | Anglesey, Gwynedd |
Hampshire | Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton |
Herefordshire | Herefordshire |
Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire |
Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight |
Kent | Kent and Medway |
Lancashire | Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, and Blackpool |
Leicestershire | Leicestershire and Leicester |
Lincolnshire | Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire |
Londonderry | County of Londonderry |
Londonderry City | Londonderry County Borough |
Merseyside | Merseyside |
Mid Glamorgan | Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff |
Norfolk | Norfolk |
North Yorkshire | North Yorkshire, York, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and the part of Stockton-on-Tees which is south of the River Tees |
Northamptonshire | Northamptonshire |
Northumberland | Northumberland |
Nottinghamshire | Nottinghamshire and Nottingham |
Oxfordshire | Oxfordshire |
Powys | Powys |
Rutland | Rutland |
Shropshire | Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin |
Somerset | Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset |
South Glamorgan | Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan |
South Yorkshire | South Yorkshire |
Staffordshire | Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent |
Suffolk | Suffolk |
Surrey | Surrey |
Tyne and Wear | Tyne and Wear |
Tyrone | County of Tyrone |
Warwickshire | Warwickshire |
West Glamorgan | Neath Port Talbot, Swansea |
West Midlands | West Midlands |
West Sussex | West Sussex |
West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire |
Wiltshire | Wiltshire and Swindon |
Worcestershire | Worcestershire |
Lieutenancy Areas (Scotland)
changeArea Name | Areas covered[2] |
---|---|
Aberdeenshire | Aberdeenshire (historic) except parts in the City of Aberdeen |
Angus | The Angus principal area |
Argyll and Bute | The former district of Argyll and Bute |
Ayrshire and Arran | The former districts of Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Cunninghame, and Kyle and Carrick |
Banffshire | Banffshire (historic) |
Berwickshire | The former district of Berwickshire |
Caithness | Caithness |
Clackmannan | The former district of Clackmannan |
Dumfries | The former districts of Nithsdale, and Annandale and Eskdale |
Dunbartonshire | The former districts of Dumbarton, Clydebank, Bearsden and Milngavie, Strathkelvin, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, South Lenzie/Waterside ward |
East Lothian | The former district of East Lothian |
Fife | Fife |
Inverness | The former districts of Lochaber, Inverness, and Badenoch and Strathspey |
Kincardineshire | Kincardineshire (historic) except Nigg |
Lanarkshire | The former districts of Monklands, Motherwell, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Clydesdale, and various other parts of the former Strathclyde region |
Midlothian | The former district of Midlothian |
Moray | Morayshire except those in the former Highland Region |
Nairn | The former district of Nairn |
Orkney | Orkney |
Perth and Kinross | The Perth and Kinross principal area |
Renfrewshire | The former districts of Eastwood, Renfrew, and Inverclyde |
Ross and Cromarty | The former districts of Ross and Cromarty, and Skye and Lochalsh |
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale | The former districts of Roxburgh, and Ettrick and Lauderdale |
Shetland | Shetland |
Stirling and Falkirk | The former districts of Stirling and Falkirk |
Sutherland | The former district of Sutherland |
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright | The former district of Stewartry |
Tweeddale | The former district of Tweeddale (Peeblesshire) |
West Lothian | The former district of West Lothian |
Western Isles | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
Wigtown | The former district of Wigtown |