County town

Great Britain, historic

England

This list shows towns or cities which held county functions at various points in time.

Scotland

Wales

Following the Norman invasion of Wales, the Cambro-Normans created the historic shire system (also known as ancient counties). Many of these counties were named for the centre of Norman power within the new county (Caernarfonshire named for Caernarfon, Monmouthshire named for Monmouth) others were named after the previous medieval Welsh kingdoms (Ceredigon becomes Cardigan, Morgannwg becomes Glamorgan). The 1535 Laws in Wales Act established the historic counties in English law, but in Wales they were later replaced with eight preserved counties for ceremonial purposes and the twenty two principal areas are used for administrative purposes. Neither of these subdivisions use official county towns, although their administrative headquarters and ceremonial centres are often located in the historic county town.

Great Britain, post 19th-century reforms

With the creation of elected county councils in 1889, the administrative headquarters in some cases moved away from the traditional county town. Furthermore, in 1965 and 1974 there were major boundary changes in England and Wales and administrative counties were replaced with new metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. The boundaries underwent further alterations between 1995 and 1998 to create unitary authorities, and some of the ancient counties and county towns were restored. (Note: not all headquarters are or were called County Halls or Shire Halls e.g.: Cumbria County Council's HQ up until 2016 was called The Courts and has since moved to Cumbria House.) Before 1974, many of the county halls were in towns and cities that had the status of a county borough i.e. a borough outside the county council's jurisdiction.

England, from 1889

England, from 1965

Wales

1. Due to its better transport links and more central location, some administrative functions were moved to Llangefni.
2. Cardigan was often still referred to as 'the county town' due to the name link. However, assizes were held at Lampeter while Aberystwyth housed the administration of the county council. Aberystwyth was therefore the de facto county town.
3. Due to its better transport links and more central location, some administrative functions were moved to Llandrindod Wells.

Ireland and Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland

The follow lists the location of the administration of each of the 31 local authorities in the Republic of Ireland, with 26 of the traditional counties.

Northern Ireland

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.

References

References

1. Lewis, Samuel. (1831). "A Topographical Dictionary of England".
2. (4 July 1868). "Berkshire Quarter Sessions". Jackson's Oxford Journal.
3. (17 February 2009). "Hampshire Placenames and their Meanings".
4. Webb, Sidney. (1906). "English Local Government from the Revolution to the Municipal Corporations Act: The Parish and the County". [[Longman.
5. ''Justice in Eighteenth-Century Hackney (Process and Procedures)'', by Ruth Paley [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38816#s5 British History Online]
6. (22 June 2003). "''Alnwick (St. Mary and St. Michael)'', ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'' (1848), pp. 39–44". British-history.ac.uk.
7. (22 June 2003). "''Morpeth (St. Mary)'', ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'' (1848), pp. 345–350". British-history.ac.uk.
8. (22 June 2003). "''Northiam – Nortoft'', ''A Topographical Dictionary of England'' (1848), pp. 433–439.". British-history.ac.uk.
9. Nicholson, A P. (11 November 2007). "Shire (County) Hall, Nottingham". Nottinghamshire History.
10. "Somerton archaeological survey (Somerset County Council)".
11. (1955). "Southwark Prisons". British History Online.
12. Edward Walford. (1878). "The Old Kent Road". British History Online.
13. Stewart, Alexander. (1828). "A compendium of modern geography: with remarks on the physical peculiarities, productions of the various countries; Questions for Examination at the end of each Section; and Descriptive Tables". Oliver & Boyde.
14. (11 March 2015). "About Sussex". Sussex County Flag.
15. (1870). "A List of Some Towns of Commercial, Antiquarian, Historical or Sanitary Interest". Longmans, Green and Co..
16. (1834). "Chichester, Lewes". E. Taylor.
17. ''General history of Horsham – The town as county centre'', Victoria County History of Sussex, Volume VI [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=18350&strquery=county%20town#s2 British History Online]
18. "Question: Why is Trowbridge the county town of Wiltshire?". Wiltshire Council.
19. Wilson, John Marius. (1872). "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales: WILTS". A. Fullarton and Co.
20. Notice in ''Edinburgh Gazette'', 28 February 1964 that county council's address changed from Lanarkshire House, 191 Ingram Street, Glasgow C1 to County Buildings, Hamilton from 6 April 1964
21. John Davies, ''A History of Wales'', Penguin, 1993, {{ISBN. 0-14-028475-3
22. ''Removal of County Headquarters'', The Times, 28 January 1958
23. Frederic A. Youngs, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Vol.1: Southern England, London, 1979, p.83
24. Northumberland County Hall was situated within an exclave of Northumberland (''Moot Hall Precincts'') within the county borough of Newcastle 1889 – 1974; the area became part of the county of Tyne and Wear in 1974 and was thus extraterritorial
25. County Hall moved to Morpeth on 21 April 1981 (see notice in ''London Gazette'' issue 48579, dated 10 April 1981)
26. (23 December 2020). "127 year chapter of history comes to an end as Surrey County Council moves home". Get Surrey.