Help: Counties in the United Kingdom
The concept of a county in United Kingdom is understood in different ways by different people and organisations, not helped by the ambiguous way these definitions have been crafted by legislatures. Our approach for each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom is documented on this page.
Click on a heading below for our policy on that particular country.
The counties in England are understood in 3 ways:
- Lieutenancy areas (48 in number, sometimes known as ceremonial counties, as defined in the Lieutenancies Act 1997)
- Local government areas (324 in number since 2023),
categorised as:
- 6 metropolitan counties all of which are also lieutenancy areas, divided into 36 metropolitan boroughs;
- 56 unitary authorities, some of which are formally counties, and the rest districts;
- 21 non-metropolitan counties with county councils, divided into 164 non-metropolitan districts;
- 1 non-metropolitan county (Berkshire – also a lieutenancy area) without a county council, divided into 6 unitary authorities;
- 32 London boroughs;
- 2 unique administrative areas: the City of London (also a ceremonial county) and the Isles of Scilly.
- Historic counties (39 in number, existing largely unchanged since the Norman Conquest)
Dove’s Guide currently uses lieutenancy areas plus the Isles of Scilly as the primary means of indicating a location in England. Historic counties, together with the metropolitan borough, unitary authority or London borough containing a tower can be found on the tower details page. We intend to add non-metropolitan districts in due course.
In the dove.csv download, the
Region
and County
field give the lieutenancy area, while the
HistRegion
field contains the historic county. All English towers
have England
in the Country
field.
The counties in Wales are understood in 3 ways:
- Preserved counties (8 in number, sometimes called lieutenancy areas or ceremonial counties, and also established in 1996)
- Principal areas (22 in number, created in 1996 by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 for local government)
- Historic counties (13 in number, established by the Laws in Wales Act 1535, many based on earlier existing areas)
Dove’s Guide currently uses both principal areas and preserved counties as the primary means of indicating a location in Wales. Historic counties can be found on the tower details page.
In the dove.csv download, the
County
field is the principal area, while both the preserved county
and principal area are included in the Region
field. The
HistRegion
field gives the historic county. All Welsh towers
have Wales
in the Country
field.
The counties in Scotland are understood in 3 ways:
- Lieutenancy areas (35 in number, known as ceremonial counties, defined by The Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996)
- Council areas (32 in number, created in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 for local government)
- Historic counties (34 in number, based on ancient shires in place since 1540)
Dove’s Guide currently uses the council areas as the primary means of indicating a location in Scotland. Lieutenancy areas and historic counties can be found on the tower details page. Note that not all Scottish counties contain a ring of bells within the current scope of Dove’s Guide.
In the dove.csv download, the
County
and Region
fields both contain the council area,
while HistRegion
field gives the historic county. All Scottish
towers have Scotland
in the Country
field.
The counties in Northern Ireland are understood in 3 ways:
- Historic counties (6 in number, which have remained consistent since the creation of County Derry in 1613)
- Lieutenancy areas (8 in number, created in 1899 by the Local
Government (Ireland) Act 1898), as follows:
- 2 county boroughs (namely the Cities of Belfast and Derry); and
- 6 counties (being the historic counties excluding those areas in the county boroughs).
- Local government districts (11 in number, created in 2015 by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008)
Dove’s Guide currently uses historic counties as the primary means of indicating a location in Northern Ireland. County boroughs and local government districts can be found on the tower details page. Note that not all counties in Northern Ireland contain a ring of bells within the current scope of Dove’s Guide.