Administrative county
An
administrative county was an administrative area in the
British Isles used for the purposes of local government.
England and Wales
The term was introduced for
England and Wales by the
Local Government Act 1888, which created
county councils for various areas, and called them 'administrative counties' to distinguish them from the continuing statutory
counties (which would now be termed ceremonial counties).
In
England and Wales the legislation was repealed in
1974, and entities called '
metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties' in England and 'counties' in Wales were introduced in their place. Though strictly inaccurate, these are often called 'administrative counties' to distinguish them from both the traditional counties, and the
ceremonial counties.
Scotland
In
Scotland they were never established as separate entities as they were in England and Wales. For local government purposes Scottish counties were replaced in
1975 with a system of
regions and
island council areas.
Ireland
The
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 created administrative counties in Ireland on the same model that had been used in England and Wales.
In
Northern Ireland they were never formally repealed, though have been replaced for local government use by a system of 26
districts. Administrative counties remain in use for Lieutenancy, along with the county boroughs.
In
Republic of Ireland the legislation that created them remained in force until the
Local Government Act 2001 was passed, which renamed them 'counties'.
The administrative counties that did not share the names of traditional counties :
England*
East Riding of Yorkshire (
Yorkshire)
*
East Sussex (
Sussex)
*
East Suffolk (
Suffolk)
*
Holland (
Lincolnshire)
*
Isle of Ely (part of
Cambridgeshire)
*
Isle of Wight (
Hampshire)
*
Kesteven (
Lincolnshire)
*
Lindsey (
Lincolnshire)
*
London (parts of
Middlesex,
Kent,
Surrey)
*
North Riding of Yorkshire (
Yorkshire)
*
Soke of Peterborough (part of
Northamptonshire)
*
West Riding of Yorkshire (
Yorkshire)
*
West Suffolk (
Suffolk)
*
West Sussex (
Sussex)
Scotland*
Ross and Cromarty (
Ross-shire and
Cromartyshire)
Republic of Ireland*
South Tipperary and
North Tipperary (
County Tipperary)
and, created in
1994 -
*
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown,
Fingal,
South Dublin (
County Dublin)
*
List of articles about local government in the United Kingdom*
The Boundary Committee for England*
The Boundary Committee for Scotland*
The Boundary Committee for Wales
