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-lo ...

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 ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, 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 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. 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 ...

, some were awarded complete effective independence including their own

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

s, quarter sessions 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) 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). In the late 19th century the status of counties corporate changed. By the Militia Act 1882 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 Haverfordwest, 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 administra ...

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 t ...

in England and Wales, with administrative functions similar to counties corporate. Some smaller counties corporate ( Berwick upon Tweed, Lichfield, Poole, Carmarthen and Haverfordwest) became part of the administrative county 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

; and the fact that the

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...

appointing lord lieutenants still included the names of the town or city. For example, the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire'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, 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 neighbourin ...

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

act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation Primary legislation and secondary legislation (the latter also called delegated legislation or subordinate legislation) are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislat ...

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 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 ...

and Carrickfergus, 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 ...

are coterminous with the territories transferred from the respective cities in 1840, while the

North Liberties The North Liberties ( ga, Na Líbeartaí Thuaidh) or North Liberties of Limerick is a barony of County Limerick in Ireland, on the north bank of the River Shannon, between the centre of Limerick City to the east and County Clare to the north and ...

barony is part of the former county of the city of Limerick, 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 Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

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. 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 Carrickfergus 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 Berwick upon Tweed (s.6 of the

Berwick-on-Tweed Act 1836 The Berwick-on-Tweed Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4 c. 103; long title ''An Act to make temporary Provision for the Boundaries of certain Boroughs'') was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to remedy some defects of the Municipal Corp ...

, except that the Parliamentary constituency was not made a county borough constituency) *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 i ...

(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 (1451, abolished 1842) *County of the City of Exeter (1537) *County of the Town of Gloucester (1483, city since 1541) *

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

, County of Hullshire (1440, restricted to County of the Town of Kingston upon Hull 1835, city since 1897) *County of the City of Lichfield (1556) *County of the City of Lincoln (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 a ...

(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 Episcopal see, See of ...

(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 (1447, city since 1964) *County of the City of Worcester (1622) *County of the City of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

(1396)

Wales

*County of the Town of Carmarthen (1604) *County of the Town of Haverfordwest (1479)

Ireland

* County of the Town of Carrickfergus (1569) Carrickfergus gave its name to a "bailiwick" (by 1216) or "county" (by 1276) within the Norman Earldom of Ulster; 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

(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 Limerick (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 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 County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

", 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