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EspañolCOUNTY TOWN
A 'county town' is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. 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. Many county towns are in fact cities, but all are referred to as county towns irrespective of whether city status is held or not.
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.
# 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 Encyclopædia Britannica considered Buckingham to be the county town.
# The 1911 Britannica considered Bodmin to be the county town. Launceston was also historically considered the county town. A compendium of modern geography, Stewart, Alexander, , , Oliver & Boyde, 1828,
# 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. Somerton temporarily became the county town in the late thirteenth century, when the shire courts and county gaol were moved from Ilchester.[2]
# Southwark is listed as the county town by Stewart (1828). 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.''General history of Horsham - The town as county centre'', Victoria County History of Sussex, Volume VI British History Online
# 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. [3]A 1870s gazetteer describes "Salisbury and Devizes" as the "county towns". [4] The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica names only Salisbury.
# In 1900 Aberdeen became a county of a city and thus outside Aberdeenshire.
# Inverary was regarded as the county town until 1890, when the Argyll County Council was created with headquarters in Lochgilphead.
# The headquarters of the Lanark County Council established in 1890 were in Hamilton.
# Edinburgh was a county of itself, and therefore lay outside the county of Midlothian.
# The headquarters of Renfrew County Council were in Paisley from 1890.
# Newtown St Boswells was the administrative headquarters of the county council established in 1890.
# The headquarters of Sutherland County Council were at Golspie from 1890.
# Stranraer became the administrative headquarters of the Wigtown county council in 1890, and was sometimes described as the "county town" thereafter.
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'').
The term 'county capital' is also used.
★ 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
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. (Note: not all headquarters are or were called County Halls or Shire Halls eg: Cumbria County Council's HQ is called ''The Courts'')
1. Samuel Lewis, ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', Vol. I, 1831
2. Somerton archaeological survey (Somerset County Council)
3. Why is Trowbridge the county town of Wiltshire?
4. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales: WILTS Wilson, John Marius
5. ''Removal of County Headquarters'', The Times, January 28 1958
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.
List of county towns
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 Encyclopædia Britannica considered Buckingham to be the county town.
# The 1911 Britannica considered Bodmin to be the county town. Launceston was also historically considered the county town. A compendium of modern geography, Stewart, Alexander, , , Oliver & Boyde, 1828,
# 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. Somerton temporarily became the county town in the late thirteenth century, when the shire courts and county gaol were moved from Ilchester.[2]
# Southwark is listed as the county town by Stewart (1828). 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.''General history of Horsham - The town as county centre'', Victoria County History of Sussex, Volume VI British History Online
# 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. [3]A 1870s gazetteer describes "Salisbury and Devizes" as the "county towns". [4] The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica names only Salisbury.
Counties of Scotland
# In 1900 Aberdeen became a county of a city and thus outside Aberdeenshire.
# Inverary was regarded as the county town until 1890, when the Argyll County Council was created with headquarters in Lochgilphead.
# The headquarters of the Lanark County Council established in 1890 were in Hamilton.
# Edinburgh was a county of itself, and therefore lay outside the county of Midlothian.
# The headquarters of Renfrew County Council were in Paisley from 1890.
# Newtown St Boswells was the administrative headquarters of the county council established in 1890.
# The headquarters of Sutherland County Council were at Golspie from 1890.
# Stranraer became the administrative headquarters of the Wigtown county council in 1890, and was sometimes described as the "county town" thereafter.
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) |
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'').
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 | Tipperary is often mistakenly assumed to be the county town. The honour has been held by Cashel and Clonmel and since 1898 shared between Clonmel and Nenagh |
| County Waterford | Waterford |
| County Westmeath | Mullingar |
| County Wexford | Wexford |
| County Wicklow | Wicklow |
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
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. (Note: not all headquarters are or were called County Halls or Shire Halls eg: Cumbria County Council's HQ is called ''The Courts'')
England
| County council | Date | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Avon | 1974 to 1996 | Bristol |
| Bedfordshire | 1889 onwards | Bedford |
| Berkshire | 1889 to 1998 | Reading (county borough until 1974) |
| City and County of Bristol | 1996 onwards | Bristol |
| 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 from 1914) |
| Cumbria | 1974 onwards | Carlisle |
| Derbyshire | 1889 onwards | Matlock (moved from Derby, county borough 1958)[5] |
| 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 London | 1965 to 1986 2002 onwards | County Hall, Lambeth ''(Greater London Council)'' City Hall, Southwark ''(Greater London Authority)'' |
| 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 | Liverpool |
| Middlesex | 1889 to 1965 | Middlesex Guildhall at Westminster in County of London |
| Monmouthshire | 1889 to 1974 | Newport (county borough) |
| 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 | Inner London Sessions House, Newington, until County Hall, Kingston upon Thames opened in 1893 (Kingston has been in Greater London since 1965) |
| East Sussex | 1889 onwards | Lewes |
| West Sussex | 1889 onwards | Chichester (originally jointly with Horsham) |
| Tyne and Wear | 1974 to 1986 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Warwickshire | 1889 onwards | Warwick |
| West Midlands | 1974 to 1986 | Birmingham |
| 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 | Barnsley |
| Yorkshire, West Riding | 1889 to 1974 | Wakefield (county borough until 1974) |
| West Yorkshire | 1974 onwards | Wakefield |
Wales
| County council | Date | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Anglesey | 1889 to 1974 1996 onwards | Llangefni |
| Brecknockshire | 1889 to 1974 | Brecon |
| Caernarfonshire | 1889 to 1974 | Caernarfon |
| Carmarthenshire | 1889 to 1974 1996 onwards | Carmarthen |
| Cardiganshire | 1889 to 1974 | Aberaeron |
| Clwyd | 1974 to 1996 | Mold |
| Denbighshire | 1889 to 1974 | Denbigh |
| Dyfed | 1974 to 1996 | Carmarthen |
| Flintshire | 1889 to 1974 | Mold |
| Glamorgan | 1889 to 1974 | Cardiff (county borough) |
| Gwent | 1978 to 1996 | Cwmbran |
| Gwynedd | 1974 to 1996 | Caernarfon |
| Mid Glamorgan | 1974 to 1996 | Cardiff (extraterritorial) |
| Merionethshire | 1889 to 1974 | Dolgellau |
| Monmouthshire | 1889 to 1974 | Newport (county borough) |
| Montgomeryshire | 1889 to 1974 | Welshpool |
| Pembrokeshire | 1889 to 1974 1996 onwards | Haverfordwest |
| Radnorshire | 1889 to 1974 | Llandrindod Wells |
| Powys | 1974 onwards | Llandrindod Wells |
| South Glamorgan | 1974 to 1996 | Cardiff |
| West Glamorgan | 1974 to 1996 | Swansea |
References
1. Samuel Lewis, ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', Vol. I, 1831
2. Somerton archaeological survey (Somerset County Council)
3. Why is Trowbridge the county town of Wiltshire?
4. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales: WILTS Wilson, John Marius
5. ''Removal of County Headquarters'', The Times, January 28 1958
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