Counties of England

Counties of England

The term Counties of England can refer to several different divisions of the territory. Untill the mid 1990s there were, by any measure, about 40 counties, many incorporating both cities and countryside. Following that time the number of counties used for administrative purposes rose to 81, and urban places were increasingly separated from rural ones. But these new areas do not fit the popular English concept of a "county" and are more usually referred to as Unitary Authorities. There are also "postal counties" relating to the way mail is addressed.

Administrative counties of England - various divisions which have been used over the years
Traditional counties of England - the original division
Lieutenancy counties of England - an intermediate division used for some ceremonies
Postal counties of England - the counties as they appear on postal addresses, reflecting the division of operations by the Royal Mail.

The Administrative counties of England (called 'administrative counties' by the 1888 local government act, but 'counties' by later legislation). These are the legal entities used for administration. In the last two centuries, they have been reformed three times - in 1880s, in the 1970s, and in the 1990s, to create the London County Council, the metropolitan counties and the unitary authorities. There have also been a number of smaller changes within the this time span.

The Traditional counties of England (called 'counties', 'historic counties' or 'traditional counties'). These at one time were administrative entities at some point between 1133 (when Carlisle was transferred from County Durham, which the advocates of historic counties accept), and 1373 (when Bristol was made an independent county, which they do not accept). The supporters state they are real existing entities not changed by successive local government reforms, although some accept certain minor border changes, notably the reversion of exclaves to their host territory. They claim that not only is it right and proper to speak of Westminster as being in Middlesex, that it is wrong to speak of it as being formerly part of it, since the county of this name was never abolished.

The Postal counties of England. Traditionally a postal address requires a county to be listed, although since 1996 the Royal Mail has indicated that it no longer formally requires this and will accept both the traditional and administrative counties. However from an organisational point of view they still follow these counties, whilst many individuals and organisations still list the county in their address, whilst a lot of forms include a section for county. The postal counties broadly follow the traditional counties but there are many places where there are differences, such as Denham which is in both the traditional and administrative county of Buckinghamshire but postally is in Middlesex. The London postal district is especially confusing because it does not conform to the boundaries of either the London County Council or the Greater London Council/Greater London Authority whilst other parts of the Greater London administrative area are in the postal counties of variously Surrey, Kent, Essex and Middlesex.