Counties of England

England has been divided into counties for hundreds of years. The divisions originated as administrative areas, but have been adopted for geographic purposes.

Ceremonial counties

The ceremonial counties are the areas covered by a Lord-Lieutenant. Historically these largely coincided with the traditional counties, but with the addition of the City of London and the City and County of Bristol. They broadly followed the administrative changes, although for example East Suffolk and West Suffolk were a single ceremonial county, Suffolk.

Related Topics:
Lord-Lieutenant - City of London - Bristol - East Suffolk - West Suffolk - Suffolk

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These counties were adopted as the usual geographic reference frame. In 1974 when the administrative counties were reformed, the ceremonial counties were made to match these exactly.

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After the local government reforms in the 1990s, certain areas that became unitary authorities were returned to their original ceremonial county. These counties are probably the ones most commonly in geographic use, although many people still use the 1974 ones.

Related Topics:
1990s - 1974

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