A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Counties corporate were created during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and were effectively small self-governing county-empowered entities such as towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county corporate could also be known as a ''county of itself'', similar to an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

or consolidated city-county in other countries. While they were administratively distinct counties, with their own sheriffs and lord lieutenancies, most of the counties corporate remained part of the "county at large" for purposes such as the county assize courts. From the 17th century, the separate jurisdictions of the counties corporate were increasingly merged with that of the surrounding county, so that by the late 19th century the title was mostly a ceremonial one.

History

By the 14th century, the growth of some towns had led to strong opposition to their government by local

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. While charters giving various rights were awarded to each

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

, some were awarded complete effective independence including their own sheriffs,

quarter session The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

s and other officials, and were sometimes given governing rights over a swathe of surrounding countryside. They were referred to in the form "Town and County of ..." or "City and County of ...", and so became known as the counties corporate. Other counties corporate were created to deal with specific local problems, such as border conflict (in the case of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

) and

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

(in the cases of Poole and

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

). In the late 19th century the status of counties corporate changed. By the

Militia Act 1882 A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

the lieutenancies of the cities and towns were combined with those of adjacent counties, with two exceptions: the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, which retained its separate status, and

, which had a separate lieutenancy until 1974. Then the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

created the new status of

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

in England and Wales, with administrative functions similar to counties corporate. Some smaller counties corporate (

Berwick upon Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

, Poole,

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

and Haverfordwest) became part of the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

in which they were situated. The City of London retained its previous status. Other counties corporate became county boroughs. In

and

counties corporate were not formally abolished until 1974, although the only vestiges of their existence were the right of the city or borough corporation to appoint a ceremonial sheriff; and the fact that the letters patent appointing lord lieutenants still included the names of the town or city. For example, the

Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. Since 1694, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire. *Edmund Brydges, 2nd Baron Chandos 1559–? * Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chando ...

's full title was "Lieutenant of and in the County of Gloucester, and the City and County of Gloucester, and the City and County of Bristol".

Ireland

In Ireland, eight counties corporate were extant by 1610. Each had its own grand jury, assizes and county gaol, separate from those of the adjoining "county-at-large", even though the relevant city or town might be the county town of the county-at-large, in which case the latter's courthouse and gaol would be considered exclaves of the county-at-large. An act of 1788 allowed the same courthouse or gaol to be shared by county corporate and county-at-large. ( Dublin city and

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, like the

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, were outside the assize system but similarly separate jurisdictions.) Where an

act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

referred to "any county" it was doubtful that this included counties corporate, the latter intent being expressed as "any county, county of a city, or county of a town". Acts of 1542 and 1765 were extended to counties corporate in 1807. Each county corporate contained rural "liberties" outside the city or town's

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

boundary; in six cases these were transferred to the adjacent county-at-large in 1840–2; the exceptions were

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

and

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...

, where the municipal corporation was abolished instead. The extant baronies of Cork and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

are coterminous with the territories transferred from the respective cities in 1840, while the North Liberties barony is part of the former county of the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, whose south liberties were absorbed by pre-existing baronies. The 1842 report of the Select Committee on Grand Jury Presentments of Ireland found none of the counties corporate except Drogheda derived any advantage from their status, and recommended they be absorbed as baronies of the adjoining county-at-large. The counties corporate were explicitly abolished in 1899 under the terms of the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...

. Cork, Dublin, Limerick and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

became county boroughs. Carrickfergus, Drogheda, Galway and Kilkenny became parts of administrative counties. The baronies of

and

are coterminous with the former corporate counties.

List of counties corporate

The counties corporate (listed with date of creation where known) were:

England

*County of the Borough and Town of

(s.6 of the Berwick-on-Tweed Act 1836, except that the Parliamentary constituency was not made a

county borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

) *County of the Town of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

(1373, city since 1542) *County of the City of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

(1471) *County of the Town of Chester (1238/1239, city since 1541) *

County of the City of Coventry The County of the City of Coventry was a county corporate of England which existed between 1451 and 1842. The county corporate covered an area of around and contained the city of Coventry and the surrounding villages of Ansty, Asthill, Bigg ...

(1451, abolished 1842) *County of the City of Exeter (1537) *County of the Town of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

(1483, city since 1541) *

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

, County of

Hullshire Hullshire was a county corporate in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1440 to 1889. Hullshire may refer to the area outside the town of Kingston upon Hull, whilst the entire entity was sometimes referred to as the "Town and County of Ki ...

(1440, restricted to County of the Town of Kingston upon Hull 1835, city since 1897) *County of the City of

(1556) *County of the City of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

(1409) *

(1132) *County of the Town of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

(1400, city since 1882) *County of the City of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

(1404) *County of the Town of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

(1448, city since 1897) *County of the Town of Poole (1568) *County of the Town of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

(1447, city since 1964) *County of the City of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

(1622) *County of the City of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(1396)

Wales

*County of the Town of

(1604) *County of the Town of

(1479)

Ireland

* County of the Town of

(1569) Carrickfergus gave its name to a "bailiwick" (by 1216) or "county" (by 1276) within the Norman

Earldom of Ulster The Earldom of Ulster was an Anglo-Norman lordship in northern medieval Ireland, established by John de Courcy from the conquest of the province of Ulaid in eastern Ulster. It was the most important Anglo-Norman lordship in the north of Ireland ...

; after the 14th-century Gaelic Resurgence, Norman control was confined to the environs of the town. The town's 1569 charter formally linked its corporation to the eponymous county. * County of the City of Cork (1608) * County of the Town of Drogheda (1412) * County of the City of

(1548) * County of the Town of

(1610) * County of the City of Kilkenny (1610) * County of the City of

(1609) * County of the City of

(1574) * City and county of Derry (1604–13). The 1604 charter incorporated the city and liberties as the "city and county of Derry". The 1836 report of the commissioners on municipal corporations in Ireland said "the charter does not appear ... to have been further acted upon"; however, in 1609, the commissioners who planned for the Plantation of Ulster held assizes in the " ruined city of Derry", separate from those of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

to the west and

County Coleraine County Coleraine, called the County of Colerain in the earliest documents,Hill, George. ''The Fall of Irish Chiefs and Clans; The Conquest of Ireland''. Irish Roots Cafe, 2004. p.97 was one of the counties of Ireland from 1585 to 1613. It was ...

to the east, and John Davies called it "this little county". The 1613 charter renamed the city ''Londonderry'' and merged it and County Coleraine into the new " County Londonderry", sometimes called "the City and County of Londonderry".

References

{{reflist

External links

Vision of Britain on counties corporate
Counties of Ireland Former subdivisions of Wales Defunct types of subdivision in the United Kingdom Counties of the United Kingdom

History

Ireland

List of counties corporate

England

Wales

Ireland

See also

References

External links