counties of england


	Monarchs of England \| Counties of England

The Counties of England

     The term "British Isles" is a geographical one describing the two large islands of the Great Britain and the numerous smaller ones around the coast. The larger island contains England, Scotland and Wales. Ireland has Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and the smaller islands are the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

     "United Kingdom" is a contraction of "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". From 1797, when the parliaments of the England and Scotland united, there was a the "United Kingdom of Great Britain". In 1801, when Ireland joined the union, it was the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". Finally, in 1922, when 26 of the 32 counties in Ireland left the union to form the Irish Free States (later to be called the Republic of Ireland) the present name was adopted.

     In England, Wales and Scotland, the word 'County' is not part of the county's name. Their is one exception to the rule - County Durham, where this form is used to distinguish the county from Durham city. In Ireland, the opposite is true. The word county is used to prefix the county names, such as County Dublin.

     The suffix 'shire' appears on many county names in England. The general rule is the 'shire' is used only where there is a town or city with the same name as the county. Nottinghamshire is used to distinguish from the city of Nottingham. More information on the individual counties is available through the selection menu at the top of the page.

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