Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

counties, of, england, and, historic, uses, county, contents, nomenclature, definition, history, functions, list, administrative, ceremonial, other, see, also, footnotes, references, external, links, origins, welsh, border, corporate, exclaves, 1889, 1965, 1974, postal, cricket, recognition, boundaries, administration, justice, law, enforcement, defence, parliamentary, representation, local, government, subdivisions, southern, midlands, northern,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (677), and (279), county (184), #counties (158), was (92), for (85), from (75), england (73), were (73), local (60), government (58), historic (55), with (48), retrieved (48), that (42), shire (42), saxon (40), archived (39), which (39), anglo (36), areas (36), london (33), administrative (33), edit (32), century (32), isbn (31), yorkshire (31), into (31), english (30), kingdom (29), act (29), part (29), original (27), april (24), its (24), not (24), boundaries (24), have (23), this (22), history (22), such (22), their (22), lancashire (21), some (21), are (21), sussex (20), wales (20), also (20), cheshire (19), west (19), east (19), area (19), domesday (18), july (18), been (18), they (18), used (18), origins (18), became (18), these (18), october (17), first (17), ancient (17), kent (17), had (17), durham (17), use (16), new (16), middlesex (16), time (16), included (16), later (16), wayback (15), boundary (15), royal (15), known (15), divided (15), may (14), book (14), machine (14), britain (14), 2006 (14), after (14), 2014 (14), when (14), other (14), many (14), riding (14), created (14), sheriff (13), 2013 (13), south (13), but (13), between (13), shires (13), parts (13), september (12), august (12), british (12), north (12), oxford (12), press (12), name (12), there (12), until (12), westmorland (12), divisions (12), town (12), status (11), 2017 (11), established (11), university (11), norman (11), surrey (11), lincolnshire (11), exclaves (11), names (11), subdivisions (11), purposes (11), boroughs (11), greater (11), 2026 (10), one (10), all (10), november (10), traditional (10), 1974 (10), before (10), formed (10), under (9), links (9), has (9), postal (9), report (9), city (9), kingdoms (9), manchester (9), rutland (9), ceremonial (9), each (9), separate (9), northumberland (9), essex (9), palatine (9), cumberland (9), functions (9), wikipedia (8), page (8), map (8), historical (8), more (8), bbc (8), signs (8), cambridge (8), 1972 (8), remained (8), two (8), conquest (8), somerset (8), office (8), since (8), suffolk (8), berkshire (8), southern (8), 1889 (8), former (8), major (8), main (8), articles (7), council (7), survey (7), 2011 (7), hampshire (7), mail (7), pdf (7), general (7), police (7), reform (7), news (7), 2007 (7), york (7), june (7), 2020 (7), huntingdonshire (7), february (7), huntingdon (7), 1965 (7), henry (7), herefordshire (7), units (7), being (7), 2018 (7), based (7), leicestershire (7), period (7), form (7), worcestershire (7), shropshire (7), middle (7), hundreds (7), saxons (7), most (7), would (7), justices (7), administration (7), corporate (7), about (6), including (6), high (6), see (6), 2010 (6), central (6), control (6), what (6), online (6), cricket (6), midlands (6), cambridgeshire (6), 1888 (6), metropolitan (6), borough (6), urban (6), river (6), both (6), earldoms (6), wessex (6), number (6), 19th (6), recorded (6), northern (6), large (6), now (6), within (6), warwickshire (6), although (6), staffordshire (6), originally (6), ridings (6), basis (6), peace (6), parliamentary (6), however (6), file (6), land (6), suffix (6), earl (6), view (5), terms (5), dead (5), 1996 (5), vol (5), abbreviations (5), dictionary (5), john (5), political (5), post (5), day (5), january (5), communities (5), councils (5), independent (5), commission (5), upon (5), gloucester (5), peterborough (5), anglia (5), review (5), bristol (5), representation (5), article (5), mercia (5), territories (5), lost (5), parish (5), census (5), court (5), courts (5), devonshire (5), geographic (5), changes (5), flag (5), geographical (5), buckinghamshire (5), made (5), 1891 (5), uses (5), then (5), single (5), while (5), norfolk (5), years (5), 10th (5), territory (5), nottinghamshire (5), gloucestershire (5), late (5), around (5), dorset (5), devon (5), derbyshire (5), cornwall (5), further (5), several (5), role (5), took (5), during (5), out (5), following (5), continued (5), through (5), added (5), generally (5), same (5), detached (5), toggle (4), contents (4), search (4), text (4), non (4), ftp (4), multiple (4), external (4), 2021 (4), title (4), trust (4), series (4), phillips (4), 2002 (4), chester (4), ordnance (4), march (4), link (4), 5th (4), society (4), 1991 (4), routledge (4), democrats (4), 2019 (4), changed (4), michael (4), can (4), institute (4), 2004 (4), boards (4), ecb (4), public (4), order (4), proposals (4), isle (4), national (4), scotland (4), cardiff (4), creation (4), 2009 (4), people (4), 1086 (4), northumbria (4), definition (4), stamford (4), information (4), early (4), william (4), 2024 (4), law (4), standard (4), outside (4), oxfordshire (4), where (4), entities (4), whose (4), larger (4), particularly (4), population (4), 1881 (4), previously (4), great (4), district (4), own (4), right (4), subsequently (4), northamptonshire (4), lindsey (4), origin (4), times (4), named (4), only (4), hundred (4), quarter (4), sessions (4), three (4), itself (4), include (4), various (4), lord (4), lieutenant (4), over (4), appointed (4), addition (4), responsible (4), came (4), official (4), justice (4), monmouthshire (4), erected (4), flags (4), adopted (4), towns (4), border (4), division (4), regarded (4), separated (4), 1844 (4), cities (4), welsh (4), 1066 (4), category (4), hide (4), move (4), sidebar (4), legal (3), policy (3), using (3), commons (3), categories (3), cs1 (3), url (3), pages (3), image (3), language (3), date (3), latin (3), description (3), geography (3), celebrating (3), chichester (3), phillimore (3), ltd (3), 85033 (3), community (3), cumbria (3), harris (3), thacker (3), 1987 (3), david (3), vision (3), 2012 (3), help (3), 1967 (3), politics (3), ireland (3), bridges (3), united (3), management (3), party (3), protest (3), group (3), 2008 (3), special (3), association (3), george (3), eric (3), pickles (3), cite (3), scottish (3), 2003 (3), list (3), postcomm (3), guide (3), 1979 (3), 1964 (3), 1961 (3), ely (3), warwick (3), 2000 (3), charter (3), granted (3), means (3), mersey (3), together (3), left (3), still (3), way (3), king (3), somersetshire (3), dorsetshire (3), 1832 (3), pattern (3), conurbations (3), worcester (3), system (3), derived (3), either (3), celtic (3), size (3), them (3), term (3), medieval (3), largely (3), smaller (3), neighbouring (3), rest (3), continue (3), considerably (3), abandoned (3), place (3), 927 (3), 9th (3), records (3), dating (3), salop (3), mentioned (3), soke (3), oxon (3), organised (3), incorporated (3), northants (3), 11th (3), danelaw (3), danish (3), hertfordshire (3), southampton (3), dumnonia (3), become (3), corn (3), bucks (3), berks (3), subdivided (3), military (3), replaced (3), throughout (3), those (3), onwards (3), taxes (3), support (3), members (3), lieutenants (3), sheriffs (3), responsibility (3), militia (3), reforms (3), defence (3), often (3), enforcement (3), 1566 (3), removed (3), instance (3), street (3), flown (3), recognition (3), lieutenancy (3), abc (3), avon (3), considered (3), found (3), country (3), alias (3), existing (3), instead (3), much (3), built (3), any (3), effect (3), surrounding (3), historically (3), tunbridge (3), wells (3), todmorden (3), applied (3), create (3), surrounded (3), did (3), said (3), example (3), 12th (3), cases (3), earlier (3), thirty (3), 000 (3), tools (3), languages (2), table (2), mobile (2), statistics (2), code (2), contact (2), privacy (2), available (2), additional (2), site (2), registered (2), wikimedia (2), last (2), maint (2), containing (2), old (2), dates (2), short (2), wikidata (2), index (2), interactive (2), current (2), sylvester (2), 1980 (2), darwen (2), publications (2), morgan (2), 1978 (2), victoria (2), volume (2), roman (2), crosby (2), 1997 (2), wordsworth (2), 978 (2), paf (2), digest (2), contemporary (2), studies (2), geo (2), social (2), regulation (2), forces (2), 1871 (2), parliament (2), prisons (2), penal (2), towards (2), 1994 (2), 415 (2), authorities (2), bid (2), agreed (2), manifesto (2), wood (2), sign (2), department (2), planning (2), rules (2), allow (2), marking (2), formally (2), celebrate (2), simon (2), get (2), once (2), respect (2), december (2), 1995 (2), exeter (2), warrington (2), northampton (2), norwich (2), spelthorne (2), 2015 (2), sport (2), address (2), business (2), 1969 (2), study (2), bill (2), library (2), mile (2), house (2), lords (2), third (2), reading (2), six (2), coventry (2), peter (2), 1373 (2), 1918 (2), 1911 (2), toronto (2), given (2), convenience (2), real (2), wulfric (2), held (2), his (2), nevertheless (2), another (2), referred (2), explorer (2), winchcombeshire (2), year (2), 2139582 (2), chronicle (2), acts (2), duke (2), mentioning (2), hmso (2), institutions (2), structural (2), type (2), details (2), identity (2), merriam (2), webster (2), smallest (2), hereford (2), longer (2), needs (2), otherwise (2), back (2), pre (2), jutish (2), unified (2), varied (2), reports (2), references (2), less (2), figures (2), footnotes (2), furness (2), static (2), cover (2), altered (2), ipn (2), published (2), related (2), well (2), set (2), anglian (2), associated (2), worcs (2), wilts (2), wiltshire (2), 1226 (2), barony (2), warks (2), emerged (2), distinct (2), probably (2), mention (2), occurs (2), 1016 (2), harried (2), canute (2), staffs (2), 6th (2), notts (2), nottingham (2), earldom (2), half (2), province (2), middx (2), lincoln (2), leics (2), 1182 (2), ribble (2), hunts (2), herts (2), here (2), hants (2), glos (2), informally (2), region (2), dorchester (2), forming (2), far (2), carliol (2), powers (2), cambs (2), beds (2), bedfordshire (2), called (2), unit (2), level (2), turn (2), 17th (2), four (2), administered (2), significant (2), apart (2), sub (2), kesteven (2), holland (2), provided (2), 16th (2), increasingly (2), magistrates (2), roads (2), empowered (2), activities (2), sent (2), gained (2), split (2), knights (2), raising (2), army (2), gaols (2), organisation (2), mostly (2), establishment (2), assize (2), than (2), transferred (2), 1635 (2), 1567 (2), reeve (2), ages (2), authority (2), should (2), wrongly (2), mark (2), countywatch (2), actions (2), widely (2), recognised (2), cultural (2), regional (2), culture (2), announced (2), tapestry (2), road (2), encouraging (2), identities (2), state (2), popular (2), ever (2), reference (2), structure (2), restoration (2), abolition (2), cleveland (2), humberside (2), except (2), case (2), exceptions (2), board (2), because (2), ceased (2), postcode (2), cross (2), gave (2), ambiguity (2), perhaps (2), along (2), speak (2), examples (2), five (2), poole (2), shrievalty (2), taking (2), newmarket (2), tamworth (2), exchange (2), water (2), top (2), hall (2), down (2), every (2), principle (2), latter (2), even (2), covered (2), newly (2), whether (2), retained (2), additionally (2), dudley (2), treated (2), already (2), halesowen (2), despite (2), exclave (2), charters (2), shall (2), self (2), governing (2), jurisdiction (2), marcher (2), assizes (2), laws (2), 1535 (2), maelor (2), normans (2), successor (2), returns (2), elmet (2), annexed (2), tribal (2), word (2), folk (2), usually (2), tribes (2), administering (2), gradually (2), count (2), features (2), rivers (2), whole (2), end (2), possible (2), define (2), simple (2), shown (2), nomenclature (2), million (2), appearance (2), upload (2), read (2), subsection (2), log (2), account (2), donate (2), menu (2), add, topic, cookie, statement, developers, conduct, safety, contacts, disclaimers, apply, you, agree, trademark, profit, organization, foundation, inc, creative, attribution, sharealike, license, rendered, parsoid, edited, utc, hidden, auto, scaled, images, 450, 1100, errors, webarchive, template, written, dmy, different, vernacular, antiquity, https, org, php, historic_counties_of_england, oldid, 1377017578, comparing, campaign, 2nd, 384, 904532, atlas, 140, 722761, physique, prehistory, 932, bibliography, fletcher, imago, mundi, 1999, 131, 146, nineteenth, context, characteristics, impact, langscape, landscape, dale, rodney, puttick, steve, editions, 85326, 385, 319, acronyms, documents, issue, appendix, 1540, 1524, concise, warren, ser, 1984, 125, transactions, myth, efficiency, prothero, lecture, 86003, 832, philip, allan, will, grand, jury, 1833, 1803, easy, assessing, collecting, levying, rates, carl, zangerl, 1971, composition, magistracy, 1831, 1887, 113, journal, elcock, howard, 10167, sherratt, zac, putting, constitution, reported, alexandra, 2005, seizes, row, dumped, allen, liam, ministry, housing, 1st, sept, welcome, unveiled, put, garber, acknowledges, kelner, championing, something, behind, dickie, douglas, daily, express, banffshire, nats, told, shake, white, rose, lancastrians, pride, heritage, final, recommendations, future, basildon, thurrock, blackburn, blackpool, broxtowe, gedling, rushcliffe, dartford, gravesham, gillingham, rochester, medway, halton, wrekin, decision, document, corby, 85038, 227, kogan, sector, dearlove, 521, 29456, reorganisation, orthodoxies, perspective, jones, 099407, longmans, 216, 1973, 406, 11280, butterworth, company, arnold, baker, charles, 367, 1958, 366, inch, 7th, sheet, 154, hansard, 1937, extension, 1946, inches, cxii, barlow, max, environment, 02099, bruce, redcliffe, maud, 885091, reformed, via, clark, palliser, daunton, martin, 9780521431415, paragraph, florilegium, urbanum, 1933, 1948, encyclopædia, britannica, 340, 341, 8020, 2862, depicts, misleading, writes, doubt, write, 252, certainly, 1000, spot, lands, estates, grouped, death, brother, ælfhelm, indeed, seems, kind, connexion, surveyed, commissioners, seem, distinguished, certain, moot, reeves, section, ones, 269c, 301c, timeline, visitor, blair, hunter, 9780521537773, introduction, ring, 000th, cannon, revised, winchester, angus, 1990, 7478, 0060, discovering, geographies, incompatibility, thoms, 1838, facsimile, 104, 9781108078016, 102, huscroft, richard, abingdon, 203, 9781317866275, rochelle, mercedes, 1065, zinkeisen, frank, 1895, 139, jstor, 2307, doi, science, quarterly, 1853, bohn, comprising, invasion, julius, cæsar, accession, stephen, normandy, yorke, barbara, black, 9780718518561, historiccountiestrust, 1870s, headwords, usage, imperial, gazetteer, hampton, 582, 06204, longman, aspects, 702037, byrne, tony, harmondsworth, penguin, books, 017663, hackwood, frederick, 1920, heath, cranton, limited, story, lore, evolution, chandler, 0719067068, explaining, 1800, key, chisholm, 9780719057717, rhetoric, reality, worrall, britons, feeling, rootless, bell, bethan, flying, preservation, specsavers, championship, 1135, 0877795460, advance, amalgamated, adjustments, conforms, life, substantially, 750847, youngs, frederic, xiii, reach, suitable, tenth, artificial, creations, 901050, xii, vii, preliminary, notes, note, accurate, measurements, product, officially, adjusted, match, data, 1861, replacing, reliable, 100, registrar, histories, biological, recording, 1852, ignore, modified, subdividing, merging, make, biodiversity, easier, longitudinal, vice, preserved, correspond, subdivision, revived, lies, scandinavian, deira, yorks, constituted, older, hwicce, kendal, westm, war, warw, subsumed, ssx, preceding, suff, staf, stafford, documented, reign, ine, som, shrops, 1159, rut, rutlandshire, absorbed, 1377, bernicia, northumb, northd, 1011, wills, norf, roots, mddx, merged, lincs, oldest, surviving, record, 1087, leicester, lancs, lancaster, designated, 1067, delimited, hertford, 895, 939, athelstan, southamptonshire, independence, recognized, 1293, liberty, dur, ninth, dor, mercian, peak, derbys, derby, regained, scots, 1157, 1177, cumb, western, partial, duchy, kernow, ches, buckingham, bedford, rank, contraction, follows, wapentakes, centred, castle, intermediate, equivalents, class, administratively, principal, providers, services, hoc, districts, ossulstone, manors, townships, parishes, tithings, rapes, lathes, wards, separately, inherited, sokes, liberties, quite, second, largest, hence, vaguely, tower, hamlets, ainsty, 1880s, suggested, efficient, wider, variety, wide, transacted, summoned, exercising, licensing, alehouses, construction, asylums, superintendence, buildings, charitable, weights, measures, levy, 1739, rate, treasurer, build, maintain, salaried, surveyor, burgesses, 1821, disenfranchised, reapportioned, constituencies, grampound, 1540s, instituted, exercised, organising, lieutenancies, positions, heads, linked, recruiting, infantry, regiments, childers, cardwell, volunteer, force, maintaining, campaigned, against, primitive, conditions, home, prison, 1877, reformers, houses, correction, originating, carried, outdated, successful, constabularies, formation, compulsory, 1856, 1839, 1908, senior, position, shrieval, responsibilities, judges, coroners, 1070, 1576, 1248, 1229, intermittent, 1204, 1344, 1158, 1156, 1154, 1125, 1575, 1068, forests, head, hierarchy, keeping, shared, keeper, rolls, proposing, unitary, covers, commitment, restore, remove, consider, placed, resorted, claim, sited, criticised, pointed, taxpayers, pay, direct, action, long, regions, organisations, others, celebrated, days, 21st, acknowledged, existence, initiative, removal, restriction, preventing, displayed, publishing, without, permission, supported, wave, designed, offices, guidance, stating, bonds, draws, our, nation, secretary, hci, argues, bodies, distinguish, crosses, stated, objectives, mapping, clearer, terminology, realignment, affiliates, promotes, states, contends, fixed, divorced, changing, therefore, seeks, fully, establish, frame, encourage, sporting, friends, competition, led, 1990s, borders, mouth, twice, exceptional, allegiance, perceived, teesdale, tees, teams, governance, integrated, wight, representative, consultation, respondents, objected, discontinue, earliest, opportunity, software, advised, implement, change, modernisation, sorting, equipment, direction, outward, database, users, required, financial, crisis, able, alter, accordance, according, too, expensive, reason, adopting, result, appear, fallen, completely, locating, places, common, inside, ham, greenwich, brixton, bromley, dagenham, uxbridge, tend, freely, straddles, sprawls, sought, unite, retaining, practicable, tyneside, teesside, merseyside, christchurch, bournemouth, abolished, types, substituted, judicial, vanished, appeared, isles, scilly, resulting, merger, pairs, green, runs, theatre, actors, playing, audience, fractious, walsden, tunnel, dividing, reflected, architecture, ensured, sanitary, maintained, 20th, expanded, 1938, legally, assigned, rumney, stockport, sheffield, birmingham, culvert, wisbech, royston, burton, trent, banbury, notice, administrations, contained, wording, ensure, geographically, lay, custos, rotulorum, coroner, retrospect, statutory, identified, predecessors, censuses, 1901, locally, near, portion, narrow, strip, though, accessible, tidal, flats, morecambe, bay, woodbury, park, donisthorpe, touch, affected, remainder, norhamshire, bedlingtonshire, islandshire, anomalies, small, parcel, politically, physically, connected, passed, treat, done, 1814, shows, clent, broome, granting, 1238, 1396, 1400, 1440, 1551, berwick, tweed, hullshire, kingston, hull, newcastle, tyne, constituting, 1409, 1448, 1556, 1622, 1451, extensive, countryside, lichfield, similar, arrangements, 1404, 1447, 1471, 1483, 1537, 1571, canterbury, suburbs, precinct, exist, henceforward, exempt, developed, port, straddling, sides, decreed, edward, iii, adjacent, practical, introduced, 1130, point, relationship, manner, restricted, dominion, listed, among, 1950, unambiguously, circuit, duddestan, independently, monarch, flintshire, saesneg, atiscross, exestan, monmouth, firmly, dated, domain, off, 1572, hexhamshire, bishops, shired, best, huge, viking, rule, 1092, depopulated, disagreement, meant, actually, clear, northeast, unrecorded, inter, ripam, mersam, harrying, brittonic, cravenshire, hallamshire, thought, represent, eventually, fail, roughly, equal, tax, potential, worn, chestershire, hidage, represented, derives, come, representing, coast, takes, hamwic, sic, lasted, 1007, 1017, derive, inhabitants, respectively, meaning, foreigners, wealas, cornovii, dumnonii, somerton, saete, differing, fairly, gathering, 1824, jointly, fluctuation, belonged, era, corresponding, french, whilst, person, controlled, interchangeably, earls, reduced, eclipsed, importance, notably, honorary, effective, comte, romans, likely, arrival, constant, flux, demise, 410, petty, started, take, shape, soon, afterwards, founded, settlers, 445, imposed, necessary, subdivide, accounts, seven, malmesbury, robert, ealdormen, burhs, powys, due, varying, definitions, creates, defines, immediately, passing, does, optionally, sit, points, eliminate, undertaken, elsewhere, taken, lower, natural, customary, consist, truncation, signifying, obvious, referring, prefixed, contexts, dropped, exception, appended, 1603, 1694, oxonia, shrewsbury, gives, clue, how, centre, occupied, ethnic, majority, combining, feature, formulation, compass, directions, includes, corresponds, inhabited, anomalous, naming, falling, turned, ruled, expected, rarely, durhamshire, bishop, diocese, compare, heref, derbs, unlike, partly, existed, primarily, enforcing

Text of the page (random words):
town shrewsbury oxon for oxfordshire from latin oxonia referring to both the county and the city of oxford hants for hampshire and northants for northamptonshire 14 counties can be prefixed with county of in official contexts with any shire suffix dropped such as county of kent or county of york an exception is made for berkshire a county with a shire suffix which is not named after a town and whose official title has been royal county of berkshire since 1967 the shire suffix was also appended for some counties such as devonshire dorsetshire and somersetshire despite their origin 18 for instance there has been an earl of devonshire since 1603 and duke of devonshire since 1694 definition edit the county boundaries of england have changed at various points throughout history for instance before 1888 some towns and cities had been made counties corporate and acts of parliament had transferred areas between counties to eliminate exclaves in addition in yorkshire and lincolnshire some functions undertaken by counties elsewhere were taken by lower order subdivisions some county boundaries are also based on natural features which have changed over time 19 due to the varying possible geographic definitions of english counties the historic counties trust creates a historic counties standard which defines the boundaries historic counties as the boundaries existing immediately before the passing of the counties detached parts act 1844 the standard does however optionally define the detached parts of counties as either the county they are historically part of or the county they sit within 19 history edit the counties of england as recorded in the domesday book origins edit great britain was first divided into administrative areas by the romans most likely following major geographical features such as rivers 14 before their arrival there were distinct tribal areas but they were in a constant state of flux as territory was gained and lost after the demise of roman britain around 410 these first divisions of land were generally abandoned although traditional divisions taking the form of petty kingdoms such as powys dumnonia and elmet remained in those areas which remained british such as south west england the areas that would later form the english counties started to take shape soon afterwards with the kingdom of kent founded by settlers around 445 in southern england more widely shires emerged from earlier sub kingdoms as part of the administrative structure of wessex which then imposed its system of shires boroughs or burhs and ealdormen on mercia after it came under west saxon control during the 10th century 20 once the kingdom of england was united as a whole in 927 it became necessary to subdivide it for administrative convenience and to this end earldoms were created out of the earlier kingdoms which were in turn subdivided into shires the whole kingdom was divided into shires by the time of the norman conquest robert of gloucester accounts for thirty five shires and william of malmesbury thirty two 14 henry of huntingdon thirty seven 21 in anglo saxon times the earl and sheriff were jointly responsible for administering each shire through its shire court 22 each earl was responsible for multiple shires with some fluctuation in which shires belonged to which earldoms during this period 23 in the years following the norman conquest of 1066 the large earldoms of the anglo saxon era were gradually replaced by smaller earldoms corresponding to a single shire 24 the norman french term for an earl was a comte or count whilst in england the title count was not used for the person the territory they controlled nevertheless became known as a county as the shires and counties were generally the same areas from the 12th century onwards the terms shire and county came to be used interchangeably the earls role in administering their counties was gradually reduced as the shire court was eclipsed in importance by other courts notably the assizes and quarter sessions 14 later earldoms were created that were not named after a shire particularly from the 17th century onwards but by that time the title of earl was honorary with no effective role in local administration 25 an 1824 map of the english and welsh counties although all of england was divided into shires by the time of the norman conquest some counties were formed later such as lancashire in the 12th century perhaps because of their differing origins the counties varied considerably in size the county boundaries were fairly static until the local government act 1888 26 each shire was responsible for gathering taxes for the central government for local defence and for justice through assize courts 27 southern england edit in southern england the counties were mostly subdivisions of the kingdom of wessex and in many areas represented annexed previously independent kingdoms or other tribal territories kent derives from the kingdom of kent surrey from the anglian word for southern region 28 and essex sussex and middlesex come from the east saxons south saxons and middle saxons norfolk and suffolk were subdivisions representing the north folk and south folk of the kingdom of east anglia only one county on the south coast of england now usually takes the suffix shire hampshire named after the former town of hamwic sic the site of which is now a part of the city of southampton a lost saxon county was winchcombeshire which lasted from 1007 to 1017 before being incorporated into gloucestershire 29 dorset and somerset derive their names from the saete or inhabitants of the areas around the towns of dorchester and somerton respectively the names were first used by the saxons in the 9th century 30 devon and cornwall were based on the pre saxon celtic tribes known in latin as the dumnonii and cornovii in the latter case with the suffix wealas meaning foreigners added by the saxons midlands edit when wessex annexed mercia in the 10th century it subdivided the area into various shires of roughly equal size and tax raising potential or hidage these generally took the name of the main town the county town of the county along with shire examples are northamptonshire and warwickshire in some cases the original names have been worn down for example cheshire was originally chestershire 31 in the east midlands it is thought that county boundaries may represent a 9th century division of the danelaw between units of the danish army 27 the soke of rutland was originally an exclave of nottinghamshire but it eventually became the smallest county lincolnshire was the successor to the kingdom of lindsey and took on the territories of kesteven and holland when stamford became the only danelaw borough to fail to become a county town 32 northern england edit much of northumbria was also shired the best known of these counties being hallamshire and cravenshire the normans did not use these divisions and so they are not generally regarded as ancient counties the huge county of yorkshire was a successor to the viking kingdom of york and the brittonic kingdom of elmet at the time of the domesday book in 1086 it included large areas of what would later become lancashire cumberland and westmorland most of cumberland and westmorland were under scottish rule until 1092 after the norman conquest in 1066 and the harrying of the north much of the north of england was left depopulated and was included in the returns for cheshire and yorkshire in the domesday book 33 however there is some disagreement about the status of some of this land the area in between the river ribble and the river mersey referred to as inter ripam et mersam in the domesday book 34 was included in the returns for cheshire 35 whether this meant that this land was actually part of cheshire is however not clear 34 36 37 38 39 the northeast land that later became county durham and northumberland was left unrecorded cumberland westmorland lancashire county durham and northumberland were established as counties in the 12th century lancashire can be firmly dated to 1182 40 part of the domain of the bishops of durham hexhamshire was split off and was considered an independent county until 1572 when it became part of northumberland welsh border edit at the time of the domesday book some parts of what later became wales were included in english counties monmouth for example was included in herefordshire 41 additionally the domesday book included as part of cheshire areas that later became part of wales including the two hundreds of atiscross and exestan and the southern part of duddestan hundred as it was known as the time which later became known as maelor saesneg english maelor and later still flintshire detached 42 parts of the march of wales which after the norman conquest had been administered by marcher lords largely independently of the english monarch were incorporated into the english counties of shropshire herefordshire and gloucestershire in 1535 there was historic ambiguity as to the status of the county of monmouthshire as with other marcher areas added to existing counties it was created out of the said country or dominion of wales by the laws in wales act 1535 it was then added to the oxford circuit of the english assizes for legal purposes it was regarded as part of england but laws since the late 19th century were often applied to wales and monmouthshire 43 it was listed among the english counties for parliamentary purposes until 1950 and for local government until 1974 but the local government act 1972 unambiguously included the area as part of wales 44 counties corporate edit main article county corporate a charter of henry i in about 1130 gave the city of london its own sheriff 45 the sheriff of london also had jurisdiction over the county of middlesex so that london and middlesex were from that time regarded as one from an administrative point of view 46 although they retained their separate identities this relationship continued until the local government act 1888 created a new office of high sheriff of middlesex appointed in the same manner as other english and welsh counties created the county of london with its own high sheriff and restricted the jurisdiction of the sheriffs of london to the city 46 during the middle ages a number of other large cities and towns were granted the status of self governing counties separate from adjacent counties such a county became known as a county corporate or county of itself for most practical purposes this separate status was replaced in the late 19th century when county boroughs were introduced bristol developed as a major port in the medieval period straddling both sides of the river avon which formed the ancient boundary between gloucestershire and somerset in 1373 edward iii decreed that the said town of bristol with its suburbs and their precinct as the boundaries now exist henceforward shall be separated and exempt in every way from the said counties of gloucester and somerset on land and by water that it shall be a county in itself and be called the county of bristol for ever 47 similar arrangements were later applied to norwich 1404 southampton 1447 canterbury 1471 gloucester 1483 exeter 1537 and poole 1571 48 charters were granted constituting the boroughs or cities of lincoln 1409 nottingham 1448 lichfield 1556 and worcester 1622 as counties the county of the city of coventry was separated from warwickshire in 1451 and included an extensive area of countryside surrounding the city 49 charters granting separate county status to the cities and boroughs of chester 1238 9 york 1396 newcastle upon tyne 1400 and kingston upon hull with the surrounding area of hullshire 1440 in 1551 berwick upon tweed on the border with scotland was created a county corporate exclaves edit this 1814 map shows dudley in a detached part of worcestershire surrounded by staffordshire an exclave of shropshire the parish of halesowen to the south east and part of staffordshire broome and clent to the south west the ancient counties have many anomalies and many small exclaves where a parcel of land was politically part of one county despite not being physically connected to the rest of the county the counties detached parts act 1844 was passed the effect of which was to treat many of these exclaves as part of the county which surrounded them this had already been done for parliamentary purposes under the great reform act 1832 large exclaves affected by the 1844 act included the county durham exclaves of islandshire bedlingtonshire and norhamshire which were subsequently treated as hundreds of northumberland and those parts of halesowen forming part of shropshire which was subsequently treated as part of worcestershire as the remainder already was exclaves that the 1844 act did not touch included the part of derbyshire around donisthorpe locally in leicestershire a part of huntingdonshire near woodbury park separated by cambridgeshire and most of the larger exclaves of worcestershire including the town of dudley which remained surrounded by staffordshire additionally the furness portion of lancashire remained separated from the rest of lancashire by a narrow strip of westmorland though it was accessible by way of the morecambe bay tidal flats 1889 edit when the first county councils were set up in 1889 they covered newly created entities known as administrative counties several historic subdivisions with separate county administrations were also created administrative counties particularly the separate ridings of yorkshire the separate parts of lincolnshire and the east and west divisions of sussex 50 the local government act 1888 also contained wording to create both a new administrative county and a county of london 51 and to ensure that the county boroughs which were created at the same time continued for non administrative purposes to be part of the county which they geographically lay 52 these counties were to be used for all purposes whether sheriff lieutenant custos rotulorum justices militia coroner or other the effect was that new county boroughs which were counties corporate retained their status as separate counties in retrospect these statutory counties can be identified as the predecessors of the ceremonial counties of england the censuses of 1891 1901 and 1911 provided figures for the ancient counties notice on the corn exchange royal tunbridge wells mentioning the historic county boundary several towns are historically divided between counties including banbury burton upon trent newmarket peterborough royal tunbridge wells royston stamford tamworth todmorden warrington and wisbech in newmarket and tamworth the historic county boundary runs right up the middle of the high street in royal tunbridge wells the historic county boundary had a theatre now the corn exchange built right on it with the actors playing in sussex to an audience in kent and in todmorden the historically fractious border between lanc...