County town
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A county town is the 'capital' of a county in Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its original meaning of where the county administration is based.
Note that in Eastern Canada and the United States of America, the term county seat is usually used for the same purpose. However, in the state of Louisiana the term parish seat is used instead.
Contents |
[edit] List of county towns
[edit] Historic counties of England
- The county administration was split between the two towns by the nineteenth century. Lent assizes were held at Reading, where the county gaol and house of correction were situated; summer assizes were held at Abingdon, which was the site of the county bridewell. Knights for the shire were nominated at Reading and elected at Abingdon.[1]
- Sir John Baldwin, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, caused the county assizes to be moved to Aylesbury. Knights for the shire continued to be elected at Buckingham. the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica considered Buckingham to be the county town. [1]
- The 1911 Britannica considered Bodmin to be the county town. Launceston was also historically considered the county town.[2]
- Knights of the Shire were elected at Cockermouth
- East Kent and West Kent had separate administrations until 1814, with East Kent sessions meeting at Canterbury, and West Kent at Maidstone, the over-all county town.
- Knights of the Shire were elected at Alnwick
- Knights of the Shire were elected at Ilchester
- Southwark is listed as the county town by Stewart (1828).[2] Quarter Sessions were held at Newington by Southwark.
- Horsham was occasionally described as the county town of Sussex due to the presence of the county gaol and the periodic holding of the county assizes and quarter sessions in the town. The last assizes were held there in 1830, while the gaol was closed in 1845.[3]
- Wiltshire County Council note that Wiltshire "never had a well recognised county town". Wilton had served as the seat of Quarter Sessions and for election of Knights of the Shire until 1832. Knights had been nominated at Devizes. [4]A 1870s gazetteer describes "Salisbury and Devizes" as the "county towns". [5] The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica names only Salisbury.
[edit] Counties of Scotland
| County | County town |
|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | Aberdeen |
| Angus | Forfar |
| Argyll | Lochgilphead (formerly Inveraray)1 |
| Ayrshire | Ayr |
| Banffshire | Banff |
| Berwickshire | Duns (formerly Berwick-upon-Tweed, formerly Greenlaw) |
| Bute | Rothesay |
| Caithness | Wick |
| Clackmannanshire | Alloa (formerly Clackmannan) |
| Cromartyshire | Cromarty |
| Dumfriesshire | Dumfries |
| Dunbartonshire | Dumbarton |
| East Lothian | Haddington |
| Fife | Cupar |
| Inverness-shire | Inverness |
| Kincardineshire | Stonehaven (formerly Kincardine) |
| Kinross-shire | Kinross |
| Kirkcudbrightshire | Kirkcudbright |
| Lanarkshire | Lanark |
| Midlothian | Edinburgh |
| Morayshire | Elgin |
| Nairnshire | Nairn |
| Orkney | Kirkwall |
| Peeblesshire | Peebles |
| Perthshire | Perth |
| Renfrewshire | Renfrew |
| Ross-shire | Dingwall (also the county town of Ross and Cromarty) |
| Roxburghshire | Jedburgh (formerly Roxburgh) |
| Selkirkshire | Selkirk |
| Shetland | Lerwick |
| Stirlingshire | Stirling |
| Sutherland | Dornoch |
| West Lothian | Linlithgow |
| Wigtownshire | Wigtown2 |
- Inverary was regarded as the county town until 1890, when the Argyll County Council was created with headquarters in Lochgilphead.
- Stranraer became the administrative headquarters of the Wigtown county council in 1890, and was sometimes described as the "county town" therafter.
[edit] Historic counties of Wales
| County | County town |
|---|---|
| Anglesey | Llangefni (formerly Beaumaris) |
| Brecknockshire | Brecon |
| Caernarvonshire | Caernarfon |
| Cardiganshire | Cardigan |
| Carmarthenshire | Carmarthen |
| Denbighshire | Ruthin (formerly Denbigh) |
| Flintshire | Mold (formerly Flint) |
| Glamorgan | Cardiff |
| Merionethshire | Dolgellau |
| Monmouthshire | Monmouth |
| Montgomeryshire | Montgomery |
| Pembrokeshire | Haverfordwest (formerly Pembroke) |
| Radnorshire | Presteigne (formerly New Radnor) |
[edit] Historic counties of Northern Ireland
| County | County town |
|---|---|
| County Antrim | Antrim |
| County Armagh | Armagh |
| County Down | Downpatrick |
| County Fermanagh | Enniskillen |
| County Londonderry | Derry |
| County Tyrone | Omagh |
Note - Despite the fact that Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, it is not the county town of any county. Greater Belfast straddles two counties (Antrim and Down).
[edit] Traditional counties of the Republic of Ireland
The term county capital is also used.
| County | County town |
|---|---|
| County Carlow | Carlow |
| County Cavan | Cavan |
| County Clare | Ennis |
| County Cork | Cork |
| County Donegal | Lifford |
| County Dublin | Dublin |
| County Galway | Galway |
| County Kerry | Tralee |
| County Kildare | Naas |
| County Kilkenny | Kilkenny |
| County Laois | Portlaoise |
| County Leitrim | Carrick-on-Shannon |
| County Limerick | Limerick |
| County Longford | Longford |
| County Louth | Dundalk |
| County Mayo | Castlebar |
| County Meath | Trim (Navan - de facto) |
| County Monaghan | Monaghan |
| County Offaly | Tullamore |
| County Roscommon | Roscommon |
| County Sligo | Sligo |
| County Tipperary | traditionally Tipperary, but the ridings were administered as distinct counties from 1838 |
| County Waterford | Waterford |
| County Westmeath | Mullingar |
| County Wexford | Wexford |
| County Wicklow | Wicklow |
[edit] Other counties of the Republic of Ireland
- County of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown - Dún Laoghaire
- County of Fingal - Swords
- County of North Tipperary - Nenagh
- County of South Dublin - Tallaght
- County of South Tipperary - Clonmel
[edit] County Halls
Over time, the location of administrative headquarters (County Halls) have moved away from the traditional county town. Furthermore, in 1965 and 1974 there were major administrative boundary changes in England and Wales and administrative counties were replaced with new metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. The boundaries underwent more major alterations between 1995 and 1998 to create unitary authorities and some of the traditional counties and county towns were restored for administrative purposes.
[edit] England
| County council | Date | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Avon | 1974 to 1996 | Bristol |
| Bedfordshire | 1889 onwards | Bedford |
| Berkshire | 1889 to 1998 | Reading (county borough until 1974) |
| Buckinghamshire | 1889 onwards | Aylesbury |
| Cambridgeshire | 1889 to 1965 1974 onwards |
Cambridge |
| Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely | 1965 to 1974 | Cambridge |
| Cheshire | 1889 onwards | Chester |
| Cleveland | 1974 to 1996 | Middlesbrough |
| Cornwall | 1889 onwards | Truro |
| Cumberland | 1889 to 1974 | Carlisle (county borough) |
| Cumbria | 1974 onwards | Carlisle |
| Derbyshire | 1889 onwards | Matlock (moved from Derby, county borough) |
| Devon | 1889 onwards | Exeter (county borough until 1974) |
| Dorset | 1889 onwards | Dorchester |
| Durham | 1889 onwards | Durham |
| Essex | 1889 onwards | Chelmsford |
| Gloucestershire | 1889 onwards | Gloucester (county borough until 1974) |
| Greater Manchester | 1974 to 1986 | Manchester |
| Hampshire | 1889 onwards | Winchester |
| Herefordshire | 1889 to 1974 1998 onwards |
Hereford |
| Hereford and Worcester | 1974 to 1998 | Worcester |
| Hertfordshire | 1889 onwards | Hertford |
| Humberside | 1974 to 1996 | Beverley |
| Huntingdonshire | 1889 to 1965 | Huntingdon |
| Huntingdon and Peterborough | 1965 to 1974 | Huntingdon |
| Isle of Ely | 1889 to 1965 | March |
| Isle of Wight | 1890 onwards | Newport |
| Kent | 1889 onwards | Maidstone |
| Lancashire | 1889 onwards | Preston (moved from Lancaster, County Hall opened in 1882, county borough until 1974) |
| Leicestershire | 1889 onwards | Glenfield (moved from county borough of Leicester in 1967) |
| Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey | 1889 to 1974 | Lincoln (county borough) |
| Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland | 1889 to 1974 | Boston |
| Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven | 1889 to 1974 | Sleaford |
| Lincolnshire | 1974 onwards | Lincoln |
| London | 1889 to 1965 | County Hall was based at Lambeth |
| Merseyside | 1974 to 1986 | |
| Middlesex | 1889 to 1965 | Middlesex Guildhall at Westminster in County of London |
| Norfolk | 1889 onwards | Norwich (county borough until 1974) |
| Northamptonshire | 1889 onwards | Northampton (county borough until 1974) |
| Northumberland | 1889 onwards | Morpeth (moved from county borough of Newcastle upon Tyne) |
| Nottinghamshire | 1889 onwards | West Bridgford (moved from county borough of Nottingham in 1959) |
| Oxfordshire | 1889 onwards | Oxford (county borough until 1974) |
| Soke of Peterborough | 1889 to 1965 | Peterborough |
| Rutland | 1889 to 1974 1997 onwards |
Oakham |
| Shropshire | 1889 onwards | Shrewsbury |
| Somerset | 1889 onwards | Taunton |
| Staffordshire | 1889 onwards | Stafford |
| East Suffolk | 1889 to 1974 | Ipswich (county borough) |
| West Suffolk | 1889 to 1974 | Bury |
| Suffolk | 1974 onwards | Ipswich |
| Surrey | 1889 onwards | Kingston upon Thames (extra-territorial) (date?) |
| East Sussex | 1889 onwards | Lewes |
| West Sussex | 1889 onwards | Chichester (originally jointly with Horsham)[3] |
| Tyne and Wear | 1974 to 1986 | |
| Warwickshire | 1889 onwards | Warwick |
| Westmorland | 1889 to 1974 | Kendal |
| Wiltshire | 1889 onwards | Trowbridge |
| Worcestershire | 1889 to 1974 1998 onwards |
Worcester (county borough until 1974) |
| Yorkshire, East Riding | 1889 to 1974 1996 onwards |
Beverley (later HQ of Humberside) |
| Yorkshire, North Riding | 1889 to 1974 | Northallerton |
| North Yorkshire | 1974 onwards | Northallerton |
| South Yorkshire | 1974 to 1986 | |
| Yorkshire, West Riding | 1889 to 1974 | Wakefield (county borough until 1974) |
| West Yorkshire | 1974 onwards | Wakefield (as West Riding) |
[edit] Wales
| County council | Headquarters |
|---|---|
| Anglesey | Llangefni (until 1974) |
| Brecknockshire | Brecon (until 1974) |
| Caernarfonshire | Caernarfon (until 1974) |
| Carmarthenshire | Carmarthen (until 1974) |
| Cardiganshire | Aberaeron (until 1974) |
| Clwyd | Mold (1974-1996) |
| Denbighshire | Denbigh (until 1974) |
| Dyfed | Carmarthen (1974-1996) |
| Flintshire | Mold (until 1974) |
| Glamorgan | Cardiff (until 1974) |
| Gwent | Cwmbran (1975-1996) |
| Gwynedd | Caernarfon (1974-1996) |
| Mid Glamorgan | Cardiff (extraterritorial, 1974-1996) |
| Merionethshire | Dolgellau (until 1974) |
| Monmouthshire | Newport (until 1974) |
| Montgomeryshire | Welshpool (until 1974) |
| Pembrokeshire | Haverfordwest (until 1974) |
| Radnorshire | Llandrindod Wells (until 1974) |
| Powys | Llandrindod Wells (1974-1996) |
| South Glamorgan | Cardiff (1974-1996) |
| West Glamorgan | Swansea (1974-1996) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of England, Vol. I, 1831
- ^ a b Stewart, Alexander (1828). A compendium of modern geography. Oliver & Boyde.
- ^ a b General history of Horsham - The town as county centre, Victoria County History of Sussex, Volume VI British History Online
- ^ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified. Wiltshire County Council (January 9, 2003).
- ^ Wilson, John Marius (1872). Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales: WILTS. A. Fullarton and Co.
