Counties of the United Kingdom

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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. 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 have been carried on 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

Name County of Area (sq m) Population Principal towns in the county
Aberdeenshire Aberdeen 1,950 Template:Hcspop Aberdeen, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Peterhead, Turriff
Anglesey Anglesey 276 Template:Hcspop Beaumaris, Amlwch, Holyhead, Llangefni, Menai Bridge
Angus Forfar 889 Template:Hcspop Forfar, Dundee, Arbroath, Brechin, Carnoustie, Kirriemuir, Montrose
Antrim Antrim 1,175 Template:Hcspop Belfast, Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carnlough, Larne, Portrush
Argyllshire Argyll 3,110 Template:Hcspop Lochgilphead, Campbeltown, Dunoon, Inverary, Oban, Tobermory
Armagh Armagh 512 Template:Hcspop Armagh, Newry
Ayrshire Ayr 1,129 Template:Hcspop Ayr, Cumnock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Kilwinning, Largs, Saltcoats, Troon
Banffshire Banff 641 Template:Hcspop Banff, Buckie, Dufftown, Keith, Macduff, Portsoy
Bedfordshire Bedford 465 Template:Hcspop Bedford, Biggleswade, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Luton, Sandy
Berkshire Berks 722 Template:Hcspop Reading, Abingdon, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Newbury, Windsor, Wokingham
Berwickshire Berwick 457 Template:Hcspop Greenlaw, Coldstream, Duns, Eyemouth, Lauder
Brecknockshire Brecon 743 Template:Hcspop Brecon, Builth Wells, Hay-on-Wye, Llanwrtyd Wells, Talgarth
Buckinghamshire Buckingham 745 Template:Hcspop Aylesbury, Buckingham, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Slough
Buteshire Bute 225 Template:Hcspop Rothesay, Brodick, Lochranza, Millport
Caernarfonshire Caernarfon 480 Template:Hcspop Caernarfon, Bangor, Conwy, Llandudno, Porthmadog, Pwllheli
Caithness Caithness 618 Template:Hcspop Wick, Castletown, Halkirk, Thurso
Cambridgeshire Cambridge 820 Template:Hcspop Cambridge, Ely, Chatteris, March, Whittlesey, Wisbech
Cardiganshire Cardigan 815 Template:Hcspop Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter, New Quay, Tregaron
Carmarthenshire Carmarthen 1,095 Template:Hcspop Carmarthen, Ammanford, Kidwelly, Llandovery, Llanelli, St Clears
Cheshire Chester 1,027 Template:Hcspop Chester, Birkenhead, Crewe, Macclesfield, Runcorn, Stockport, Wallasey
Clackmannanshire Clackmannan 48 Template:Hcspop Clackmannan, Alloa, Dollar, Tillicoultry, Tullibody
Cornwall Cornwall 1,349 Template:Hcspop Bodmin, Truro, Camborne, Falmouth, Newquay, Penzance, Redruth, St Austell
Cromartyshire Cromarty 370 Template:Hcspop Cromarty, Ullapool
Cumberland Cumberland 1,516 Template:Hcspop Carlisle, Brampton, Keswick, Penrith, Whitehaven, Workington
Denbighshire Denbigh 640 Template:Hcspop Ruthin, Abergele, Denbigh, Llangollen, Wrexham
Derbyshire Derby 1,029 Template:Hcspop Derby, Ashbourne, Buxton, Chesterfield, Ilkeston, Matlock, Swadlincote
Devon Devon 2,405 Template:Hcspop Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Tavistock, Tiverton, Torquay
Dorset Dorset 980 Template:Hcspop Dorchester, Poole, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Weymouth, Wimborne Minster
Down Down 950 Template:Hcspop Downpatrick, Bangor, Holywood, Newcastle, Strangford
Dumfriesshire Dumfries 1,063 Template:Hcspop Dumfries, Annan, Gretna, Langholm, Lockerbie, Moffat, Sanquhar
Dunbartonshire Dunbarton 241 Template:Hcspop Dumbarton, Alexandria, Clydebank, Cumbernauld, Helensburgh, Kirkintilloch
Durham Durham 1,015 Template:Hcspop Durham, Gateshead, Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, Washington
East Lothian Haddington 267 Template:Hcspop Haddington, Dunbar, East Linton, North Berwick, Tranent
Essex Essex 1,542 Template:Hcspop Chelmsford, Basildon, Brentwood, Colchester, Harlow, Romford, Southend-on-Sea, Stratford
Fermanagh Fermanagh 715 Template:Hcspop Enniskillen, Belleek, Irvinestown
Fife Fife 504 Template:Hcspop Cupar, Dunfermline, Burntisland, Cowdenbeath, Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, St Andrews
Flintshire Flint 640 Template:Hcspop Mold, Connah's Quay, Buckley, Flint, Holywell, Prestatyn, Rhyl, St Asaph
Glamorgan Glamorgan 845 Template:Hcspop Cardiff, Swansea, Barry, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath, Pontypridd
Gloucestershire Gloucester 1,225 Template:Hcspop Gloucester, Bristol, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud, Tewkesbury
Hampshire Southampton 1,622 Template:Hcspop Winchester, Portsmouth, Southampton, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Newport
Herefordshire Hereford 833 Template:Hcspop Hereford, Bromyard, Kington, Ledbury, Leominster, Ross-on-Wye
Hertfordshire Hertford 727 Template:Hcspop Hertford, St Albans, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Watford
Huntingdonshire Huntingdon 359 Template:Hcspop Huntingdon, Ramsey, St Ives, St Neots, Yaxley
Inverness-shire Inverness 4,211 Template:Hcspop Inverness, Fort William, Kingussie, Newtonmore, Portree
Kent Kent 1,555 Template:Hcspop Maidstone, Canterbury, Bromley, Dover, Folkestone, Greenwich, Rochester
Kincardineshire Kincardine 380 Template:Hcspop Stonehaven, Banchory, Inverbervie, Laurencekirk
Kinross-shire Kinross 73 Template:Hcspop Kinross, Milnathort
Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbright 899 Template:Hcspop Kirkcudbright, Castle Douglas, Dalbeattie, New Galloway
Lanarkshire Lanark 879 Template:Hcspop Lanark, Glasgow, Coatbridge, Carluke, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Motherwell
Lancashire Lancaster 1,880 Template:Hcspop Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Barrow-in-Furness, Bolton, Warrington
Leicestershire Leicester 800 Template:Hcspop Leicester, Coalville, Hinckley, Loughborough, Lutterworth, Melton Mowbray
Lincolnshire Lincoln 2,646 Template:Hcspop Lincoln, Boston, Grantham, Grimsby, Louth, Scunthorpe, Skegness, Stamford
Londonderry Londonderry 816 Template:Hcspop Londonderry, Coleraine, Limavady
Merionethshire Merioneth 780 Template:Hcspop Bala, Barmouth, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Dolgellau, Harlech, Tywyn
Middlesex Middlesex 285 Template:Hcspop London, Brentford, Westminster, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Potters Bar, Staines, Twickenham
Midlothian Edinburgh 362 Template:Hcspop Edinburgh, Bonnyrigg, Dalkeith, Musselburgh, Penicuik
Monmouthshire Monmouth 530 Template:Hcspop Monmouth, Newport, Abergavenny, Blackwood, Chepstow, Cwmbran, Tredegar
Montgomeryshire Montgomery 780 Template:Hcspop Montgomery, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Newtown, Welshpool
Morayshire Elgin/Moray 476 Template:Hcspop Elgin, Fochabers, Lossiemouth, Forres, Rothes
Nairnshire Nairn 200 Template:Hcspop Nairn, Auldearn, Cawdor
Norfolk Norfolk 2,044 Template:Hcspop Norwich, Cromer, East Dereham, Great Yarmouth, Hunstanton, King's Lynn
Northamptonshire Northampton 984 Template:Hcspop Northampton, Peterborough, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough
Northumberland Northumberland 2,018 Template:Hcspop Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Alnwick, (Berwick-upon-Tweed), Hexham, Morpeth
Nottinghamshire Nottingham 825 Template:Hcspop Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark-on-Trent, Retford, Southwell, Worksop
Orkney Orkney 376 Template:Hcspop Kirkwall, Balfour, Stromness
Oxfordshire Oxford 756 Template:Hcspop Oxford, Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Henley-on-Thames, Thame, Witney
Peeblesshire Peebles 548 Template:Hcspop Peebles, Innerleithen, West Linton
Pembrokeshire Pembroke 655 Template:Hcspop Pembroke, Fishguard, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Tenby, St David's
Perthshire Perth 2,493 Template:Hcspop Perth, Blairgowrie, Callander, Coupar Angus, Crieff, Kincardine, Pitlochry, Rattray
Radnorshire Radnor 485 Template:Hcspop Presteigne, Knighton, Llandrindod Wells, New Radnor, Rhayader
Renfrewshire Renfrew 245 Template:Hcspop Renfrew, Barrhead, Greenock, Johnstone, Kilmacolm, Paisley, Port Glasgow
Ross-shire Ross 3,089 Template:Hcspop Dingwall, Alness, Invergordon, Stornaway, Tain
Roxburghshire Roxburgh 666 Template:Hcspop Jedburgh, Hawick, Kelso, Melrose, Roxburgh
Rutland Rutland 152 Template:Hcspop Oakham, Cottesmore, Uppingham
Selkirkshire Selkirk 267 Template:Hcspop Selkirk, Galashiels
Shetland Shetland 551 Template:Hcspop Lerwick, Baltasound, Scalloway
Shropshire Shrewsbury/Salop 1,343 Template:Hcspop Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry, Telford, Whitchurch
Somerset Somerset 1,640 Template:Hcspop Taunton, Bath, Bridgwater, Glastonbury, Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Yeovil
Staffordshire Stafford 1,171 Template:Hcspop Stafford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, Cannock, Walsall
Stirlingshire Stirling 447 Template:Hcspop Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Denny, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Kilsyth
Suffolk Suffolk 1,489 Template:Hcspop Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Bungay, Felixstowe, Haverhill, Lowestoft, Sudbury
Surrey Surrey 758 Template:Hcspop Guildford, Brixton, Croydon, Egham, Farnham, Kingston upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Woking
Sussex Sussex 1,458 Template:Hcspop Chichester, Bognor Regis, Brighton, Crawley, Eastbourne, Hastings, Horsham, Worthing
Sutherland Sutherland 2,028 Template:Hcspop Dornoch, Brora, Durness, Golspie, Helmsdale, Lairg, Tongue
Tyrone Tyrone 1,260 Template:Hcspop Omagh, Cookstown, Dungannon, Strabane
Warwickshire Warwick 885 Template:Hcspop Warwick, Birmingham, Coventry, Nuneaton, Rugby, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon
West Lothian Linlithgow 120 Template:Hcspop Linlithgow, Armadale, Bathgate, Bo'ness, Broxburn, Livingston, Whitburn
Westmorland Westmorland 783 Template:Hcspop Appleby, Ambleside, Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale, Windermere
Wigtownshire Wigtown 487 Template:Hcspop Wigtown, Newton Stewart, Stranraer, Whithorn
Wiltshire Wilts 1,370 Template:Hcspop Salisbury, Chippenham, Devizes, Marlborough, Swindon, Trowbridge, Warminster
Worcestershire Worcester 738 Template:Hcspop Worcester, Dudley, Evesham, Great Malvern, Halesowen, Kidderminster, Stourbridge
Yorkshire York 6,066 Template:Hcspop York

East Riding: Kingston upon Hull, Beverley, Bridlington, Driffield, Filey, Hornsea

North Riding: Middlesbrough, Northallerton, Redcar, Scarborough, Whitby

West Riding: Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, Wakefield, Halifax, Harrogate

See also

Notes and References

  1. Census Report, 1891 (General Register Office)

External references