Difference between revisions of "Counties of the United Kingdom"
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− | The [[United Kingdom]] has 92 '''counties''' or '''shires'''. | + | The [[United Kingdom]] has 92 '''counties''' or '''shires'''. The British counties are the oldest extant national divisions in the world. |
Where a distinction has to be made with statutory "counties" so called for administrative purposes, the counties are variously known as ''historic counties'', ''traditional counties'' or ''ancient or geographical counties''<ref>Census Report, 1891 (General Register Office)</ref>. | Where a distinction has to be made with statutory "counties" so called for administrative purposes, the counties are variously known as ''historic counties'', ''traditional counties'' or ''ancient or geographical counties''<ref>Census Report, 1891 (General Register Office)</ref>. | ||
− | The counties have no administrative function, existing as geographical and cultural areas. | + | The counties have no administrative function, existing as geographical and cultural areas. Most of the counties have an existence stretching back to the Middle Ages and almost all of the English counties have been established for over a thousand years.<ref>''"From the [[Domesday Book]] of the Conqueror (completed AD 1086) it is known that County limits have since that time undergone no alteration; in fact they have been jealously maintained"''. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zQFDAAAAcAAJ Abstract of the Answers and Returns Made pursuant to an Act passed in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George IV Intituled "An Act for taking an Account of the Population of Great Britain and of the Increase or Diminution thereof" Enumeration Abstract Vol. I], 2 April 1833.</ref> Even the relatively young Highland shires, only 450 years old as such, have a much older existence as geographical and cultural areas. |
In this time many activities many activities and much social understanding and local identity has grown up intertwined with the counties, and so they have become a vital part of British and Irish culture. | In this time many activities many activities and much social understanding and local identity has grown up intertwined with the counties, and so they have become a vital part of British and Irish culture. | ||
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Until the late twentieth century, administrative functions were carried out by bodies using the counties' boundaries or approximations to them, and so centuries of public records have been organised county by county, for which reason an understanding of the counties is vital for genealogical and historic research. | Until the late twentieth century, administrative functions were carried out by bodies using the counties' boundaries or approximations to them, and so centuries of public records have been organised county by county, for which reason an understanding of the counties is vital for genealogical and historic research. | ||
− | <!-- | + | <!-- Revisit or put in a separate article |
==History== | ==History== | ||
===Wessex=== | ===Wessex=== | ||
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--> | --> | ||
==List of the counties== | ==List of the counties== | ||
− | The following table lists each county, along with its proper name, area (in square miles), population, population density (in persons/square mile) and a selection of its principal towns. [[County town]]s are listed first and [[List of cities in the United Kingdom|cities]] are shown in bold. | + | The following table lists each county, along with its proper name, area (in square miles), population, population density (in persons/square mile) and a selection of its principal towns. [[County town]]s are listed first and [[List of cities in the United Kingdom|cities]] are shown in bold. Population figures are taken from the Historic Counties Trust's ''The Demography of the Historic Counties''.<ref>Historic Counties Trust [http://historiccountiestrust.co.uk/The_Demography_of_the_Historic_Counties.pdf The Demography of the Historic Counties] 21 March 2020</ref> |
− | + | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable toccolours" border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid grey;" | {| class="wikitable sortable toccolours" border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid grey;" | ||
|- | |- | ||
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|<big>[[Brecknockshire]]</big>||Brecon||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Brecknockshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Brecknockshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Brecknockshire|population}} / {{database|Brecknockshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Brecon]], [[Builth Wells]], [[Hay-on-Wye]], [[Llanwrtyd Wells]], [[Talgarth]] | |<big>[[Brecknockshire]]</big>||Brecon||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Brecknockshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Brecknockshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Brecknockshire|population}} / {{database|Brecknockshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Brecon]], [[Builth Wells]], [[Hay-on-Wye]], [[Llanwrtyd Wells]], [[Talgarth]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[Buckinghamshire]]</big>||Buckingham||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buckinghamshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buckinghamshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Buckinghamshire|population}} / {{database|Buckinghamshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Aylesbury]], [[Buckingham]], [[High Wycombe]], [[Milton Keynes]], [[Slough]] | + | |<big>[[Buckinghamshire]]</big>||Buckingham||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buckinghamshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buckinghamshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Buckinghamshire|population}} / {{database|Buckinghamshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Aylesbury]], [[Buckingham]], [[High Wycombe]], '''[[Milton Keynes]]''', [[Slough]] |
|- | |- | ||
|<big>[[Buteshire]]</big>||Bute||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buteshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buteshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Buteshire|population}} / {{database|Buteshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Rothesay]], [[Brodick]], [[Lochranza]], [[Millport, Isle of Cumbrae|Millport]] | |<big>[[Buteshire]]</big>||Bute||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buteshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Buteshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Buteshire|population}} / {{database|Buteshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Rothesay]], [[Brodick]], [[Lochranza]], [[Millport, Isle of Cumbrae|Millport]] | ||
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|<big>[[Cumberland]]</big>||Cumberland||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Cumberland|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Cumberland|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Cumberland|population}} / {{database|Cumberland|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Carlisle]]''', [[Brampton, Cumberland|Brampton]], [[Keswick]], [[Penrith]], [[Whitehaven]], [[Workington]] | |<big>[[Cumberland]]</big>||Cumberland||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Cumberland|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Cumberland|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Cumberland|population}} / {{database|Cumberland|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Carlisle]]''', [[Brampton, Cumberland|Brampton]], [[Keswick]], [[Penrith]], [[Whitehaven]], [[Workington]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[Denbighshire]]</big>||Denbigh||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Denbighshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Denbighshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Denbighshire|population}} / {{database|Denbighshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Ruthin]], [[Abergele]], [[Denbigh]], [[Llangollen]], [[Wrexham]] | + | |<big>[[Denbighshire]]</big>||Denbigh||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Denbighshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Denbighshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Denbighshire|population}} / {{database|Denbighshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Ruthin]], [[Abergele]], [[Denbigh]], [[Llangollen]], '''[[Wrexham]]''' |
|- | |- | ||
|<big>[[Derbyshire]]</big>||Derby||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Derbyshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Derbyshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Derbyshire|population}} / {{database|Derbyshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Derby]]''', [[Ashbourne, Derbyshire|Ashbourne]], [[Buxton]], [[Chesterfield]], [[Ilkeston]], [[Matlock]], [[Swadlincote]] | |<big>[[Derbyshire]]</big>||Derby||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Derbyshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Derbyshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Derbyshire|population}} / {{database|Derbyshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Derby]]''', [[Ashbourne, Derbyshire|Ashbourne]], [[Buxton]], [[Chesterfield]], [[Ilkeston]], [[Matlock]], [[Swadlincote]] | ||
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|<big>[[Dorset]]</big>||Dorset||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dorset|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dorset|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Dorset|population}} / {{database|Dorset|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Dorchester]], [[Poole]], [[Shaftesbury]], [[Sherborne]], [[Weymouth]], [[Wimborne Minster]] | |<big>[[Dorset]]</big>||Dorset||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dorset|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dorset|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Dorset|population}} / {{database|Dorset|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Dorchester]], [[Poole]], [[Shaftesbury]], [[Sherborne]], [[Weymouth]], [[Wimborne Minster]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[County Down|Down]]</big>||Down||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|County Down|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|County Down|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|County Down|population}} / {{database|County Down|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Downpatrick]], [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]], [[Holywood]], [[Newcastle, County Down|Newcastle]], [[Strangford]] | + | |<big>[[County Down|Down]]</big>||Down||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|County Down|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|County Down|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|County Down|population}} / {{database|County Down|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Downpatrick]], '''[[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]]''', [[Holywood]], [[Newcastle, County Down|Newcastle]], [[Strangford]] |
|- | |- | ||
|<big>[[Dumfriesshire]]</big>||Dumfries||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dumfriesshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dumfriesshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Dumfriesshire|population}} / {{database|Dumfriesshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Dumfries]], [[Annan]], [[Gretna]], [[Langholm]], [[Lockerbie]], [[Moffat]], [[Sanquhar]] | |<big>[[Dumfriesshire]]</big>||Dumfries||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dumfriesshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Dumfriesshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Dumfriesshire|population}} / {{database|Dumfriesshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Dumfries]], [[Annan]], [[Gretna]], [[Langholm]], [[Lockerbie]], [[Moffat]], [[Sanquhar]] | ||
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|<big>[[East Lothian]]</big>||Haddington||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|East Lothian|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|East Lothian|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|East Lothian|population}} / {{database|East Lothian|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Haddington]], [[Dunbar]], [[East Linton]], [[North Berwick]], [[Tranent]] | |<big>[[East Lothian]]</big>||Haddington||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|East Lothian|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|East Lothian|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|East Lothian|population}} / {{database|East Lothian|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Haddington]], [[Dunbar]], [[East Linton]], [[North Berwick]], [[Tranent]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[Essex]]</big>||Essex||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Essex|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Essex|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Essex|population}} / {{database|Essex|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Chelmsford]]''', [[Basildon]], [[Brentwood]], [[Colchester]], [[Harlow]], [[Romford]], [[Southend-on-Sea]], [[Stratford, Essex|Stratford]] | + | |<big>[[Essex]]</big>||Essex||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Essex|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Essex|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Essex|population}} / {{database|Essex|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Chelmsford]]''', [[Basildon]], [[Brentwood]], '''[[Colchester]]''', [[Harlow]], [[Romford]], '''[[Southend-on-Sea]]''', [[Stratford, Essex|Stratford]] |
|- | |- | ||
|<big>[[Fermanagh]]</big>||Fermanagh||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fermanagh|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fermanagh|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Fermanagh|population}} / {{database|Fermanagh|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Enniskillen]], [[Belleek, Fermanagh|Belleek]], [[Irvinestown]] | |<big>[[Fermanagh]]</big>||Fermanagh||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fermanagh|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fermanagh|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Fermanagh|population}} / {{database|Fermanagh|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Enniskillen]], [[Belleek, Fermanagh|Belleek]], [[Irvinestown]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[Fife]]</big>||Fife||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fife|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fife|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Fife|population}} / {{database|Fife|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Cupar]], [[Dunfermline]], [[Burntisland]], [[Cowdenbeath]], [[Glenrothes]], [[Kirkcaldy]], [[St Andrews]] | + | |<big>[[Fife]]</big>||Fife||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fife|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Fife|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Fife|population}} / {{database|Fife|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Cupar]], '''[[Dunfermline]]''', [[Burntisland]], [[Cowdenbeath]], [[Glenrothes]], [[Kirkcaldy]], [[St Andrews]] |
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[Flintshire]]</big>||Flint||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Flintshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Flintshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Flintshire|population}} / {{database|Flintshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Mold]], [[Connah's Quay]], [[Buckley]], [[Flint]], [[Holywell]], [[Prestatyn]], [[Rhyl]], '''[[St Asaph]]''' | + | |<big>[[Flintshire]]</big>||Flint||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Flintshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Flintshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Flintshire|population}} / {{database|Flintshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Mold]], [[Connah's Quay]], [[Buckley, Flintshire|Buckley]], [[Flint]], [[Holywell, Flintshire|Holywell]], [[Prestatyn]], [[Rhyl]], '''[[St Asaph]]''' |
|- | |- | ||
|<big>[[Glamorgan]]</big>||Glamorgan||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Glamorgan|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Glamorgan|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Glamorgan|population}} / {{database|Glamorgan|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Cardiff]]''' (part), '''[[Swansea]]''', [[Barry, Glamorgan|Barry]], [[Bridgend]], [[Caerphilly]], [[Merthyr Tydfil]], [[Neath]], [[Pontypridd]] | |<big>[[Glamorgan]]</big>||Glamorgan||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Glamorgan|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Glamorgan|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Glamorgan|population}} / {{database|Glamorgan|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[Cardiff]]''' (part), '''[[Swansea]]''', [[Barry, Glamorgan|Barry]], [[Bridgend]], [[Caerphilly]], [[Merthyr Tydfil]], [[Neath]], [[Pontypridd]] | ||
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|<big>[[Rutland]]</big>||Rutland||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Rutland|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Rutland|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Rutland|population}} / {{database|Rutland|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Oakham]], [[Cottesmore]], [[Uppingham]] | |<big>[[Rutland]]</big>||Rutland||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Rutland|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Rutland|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Rutland|population}} / {{database|Rutland|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Oakham]], [[Cottesmore]], [[Uppingham]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |<big>[[Selkirkshire]]</big>||Selkirk||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Selkirkshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Selkirkshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Selkirkshire|population}} / {{database|Selkirkshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Selkirk]], [[Galashiels]] | + | |<big>[[Selkirkshire]]</big>||Selkirk||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Selkirkshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Selkirkshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Selkirkshire|population}} / {{database|Selkirkshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Selkirk]], [[Galashiels]] (part) |
|- | |- | ||
|<big>[[Shetland]]</big>||Shetland||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Shetland|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Shetland|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Shetland|population}} / {{database|Shetland|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Lerwick]], [[Baltasound]], [[Scalloway]] | |<big>[[Shetland]]</big>||Shetland||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Shetland|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Shetland|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Shetland|population}} / {{database|Shetland|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|[[Lerwick]], [[Baltasound]], [[Scalloway]] | ||
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|<big>[[Yorkshire]]</big>||York||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Yorkshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Yorkshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Yorkshire|population}} / {{database|Yorkshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[York]]''' | |<big>[[Yorkshire]]</big>||York||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Yorkshire|area}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{database|Yorkshire|population}}|0||,}}||align="right"|{{#formatnum: {{#expr: {{database|Yorkshire|population}} / {{database|Yorkshire|area}}}}|2,|.|,}}||style="padding-left: 0.5em;"|'''[[York]]''' | ||
− | ''[[East Riding of Yorkshire|East Riding]]:'' | + | ''[[East Riding of Yorkshire|East Riding]]:'' '''[[Kingston upon Hull]]''', [[Beverley]], [[Bridlington]], [[Driffield]], [[Filey]] (part), [[Hornsea]] |
− | ''[[North Riding of Yorkshire|North Riding]]:'' | + | ''[[North Riding of Yorkshire|North Riding]]:'' [[Middlesbrough]], [[Northallerton]], [[Redcar]], [[Scarborough]], [[Whitby]] |
− | ''[[West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding]]:'' | + | ''[[West Riding of Yorkshire|West Riding]]:'' '''[[Bradford]]''', '''[[Leeds]]''', '''[[Sheffield]]''', '''[[Wakefield]]''', '''[[Doncaster]]''', [[Halifax]], [[Harrogate]], '''[[Ripon]]''' |
|} | |} | ||
− | |||
+ | [[File:Population Density of the Historic Counties of the UK from the 2011 Census.jpg|thumb|center|1000px|Population Density (persons per square mile) of the Historic Counties of the UK from the 2011 Census]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==See also== | ||
*[[Counties of the Republic of Ireland]] | *[[Counties of the Republic of Ireland]] | ||
*The [[Historic Counties Standard]] | *The [[Historic Counties Standard]] |
Latest revision as of 13:21, 11 September 2023
The United Kingdom has 92 counties or shires. The British counties are the oldest extant national divisions in the world.
Where a distinction has to be made with statutory "counties" so called for administrative purposes, the counties are variously known as historic counties, traditional counties or ancient or geographical counties[1].
The counties have no administrative function, existing as geographical and cultural areas. Most of the counties have an existence stretching back to the Middle Ages and almost all of the English counties have been established for over a thousand years.[2] Even the relatively young Highland shires, only 450 years old as such, have a much older existence as geographical and cultural areas.
In this time many activities many activities and much social understanding and local identity has grown up intertwined with the counties, and so they have become a vital part of British and Irish culture.
Until the late twentieth century, administrative functions were carried out by bodies using the counties' boundaries or approximations to them, and so centuries of public records have been organised county by county, for which reason an understanding of the counties is vital for genealogical and historic research.
List of the counties
The following table lists each county, along with its proper name, area (in square miles), population, population density (in persons/square mile) and a selection of its principal towns. County towns are listed first and cities are shown in bold. Population figures are taken from the Historic Counties Trust's The Demography of the Historic Counties.[3]
See also
- Counties of the Republic of Ireland
- The Historic Counties Standard
- The Association of British Counties
- The Historic Counties Trust
Notes and References
- ↑ Census Report, 1891 (General Register Office)
- ↑ "From the Domesday Book of the Conqueror (completed AD 1086) it is known that County limits have since that time undergone no alteration; in fact they have been jealously maintained". Abstract of the Answers and Returns Made pursuant to an Act passed in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of His Majesty King George IV Intituled "An Act for taking an Account of the Population of Great Britain and of the Increase or Diminution thereof" Enumeration Abstract Vol. I, 2 April 1833.
- ↑ Historic Counties Trust The Demography of the Historic Counties 21 March 2020