List of English Counties

England is divided into many counties, which are currently subdivided a number of ways. Most are very old, but a few date only from the local government reforms on the 1970s. Some former counties have been abolished, and exist only for ceremonial purposes.

The counties

 * Avon - created in 1974 from parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset.
 * Bedfordshire
 * Berkshire - broken up into Unitary authorities in 1998.
 * Buckinghamshire
 * Cambridgeshire
 * Cheshire
 * Cleveland - created from parts of County Durham and Yorkshire in 1974. Abolished in 1996.
 * Cornwall - once an independent state with its own language, Cornish.
 * Cumbria - created in 1974 from Cumbria, Westmoreland and part of Lancashire.
 * Derbyshire
 * Devon
 * Dorset
 * Durham - usually called County Durham, the only county in Britain to be thus addressed.
 * Essex - once independent.
 * Gloucestershire
 * Greater London - created in 1965 to absorb Middlesex, northern Surrey, Northwestern Kent and the East End into the ever-growing London.
 * Greater Manchester - created from parts of Lancashire and Cheshire in 1974. Effectively abolished in 1986, still exists for ceremonial purposes.
 * Hampshire
 * Hereforshire - absorbed into hereford and worcester in 1974, split off again in 1998.
 * Hertfordshire
 * Humberside - created from parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in 1974.
 * Huntingdonshire - absorbed into Cambridgeshire in 1974,
 * Isle of Wight - split from Hampshire in 1974.
 * Kent - formerly independent.
 * Lancashire
 * Leicestershire
 * Lincolnshire
 * Merseyside - created from parts of Lancashire and Cheshire in 1974. Effectively abolished in 1986, still exists for ceremonial purposes.
 * Monmouthshire - considered as part of Wales for some purposes, in 1974 it was renamed Gwent and moved entirely to Wales.
 * Norfolk
 * Northamptonshire
 * Northumberland
 * Nottinghamshire
 * Oxfordshire
 * Rutland - Absorbed into Leicestershire in 1974, split off again in 1997.
 * Shropshire
 * Somerset
 * Staffordshire
 * Suffolk
 * Surrey - formerly independent.
 * Sussex - divided into East Sussex and West Sussex in 1974. Formerly independent.
 * Tyne and Wear - created in 1974 from parts of Northumberland and County Durham. Effectively abolished in 1986, still exists for ceremonial purposes.
 * West Midlands - created in 1974 from parts of Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. Effectively abolished in 1986, still exists for ceremonial purposes.
 * Wiltshire
 * Yorkshire:
 * North Yorkshire - Created in 1974.
 * South Yorkshire - created in 1974. Effectively abolished in 1986, still exists for ceremonial purposes.
 * West Yorkshire - created in 1974. Effectively abolished in 1986, still exists for ceremonial purposes.