| Context | Number of Shire Counties | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | | 34 | Excludes ancient non-shires like Cornwall, Kent, Essex. | | Ceremonial (modern Lord-Lieutenancies) | 29 | Most common answer in atlases and quizzes. | | Administrative (functioning county councils) | 24 | The “real” shires that still run local services. | | Linguistic (end in “-shire”) | 26 | Strictly by name only. |
Therefore, when people ask about shire counties , they generally exclude the ancient, non-shire counties like Cornwall, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, and Essex. Before the local government reforms of 1974, England had 39 historic counties. Of these, 34 were typically called shires. The five non-shires were: Cornwall, Cumberland, Durham, Essex, Kent, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northumberland, Suffolk, Surrey, Westmorland, and Yorkshire (though Yorkshire was a shire in name, it’s often grouped separately due to its massive size). how many shire counties are there in england
In the most commonly referenced sense, there are 29 shire counties in England. However, if you look at the modern administrative structure, the number drops to 24 (or even 21, depending on the definition). If you go back to the historic counties, the total is 39. | Context | Number of Shire Counties |
To simplify: Part 4: The Administrative Reality (How Many Exist for Local Government? – 24) This is where it gets messy for local council services. Since the 1990s, many shire counties have been broken up into unitary authorities – single-tier councils that combine county and district functions. | | Linguistic (end in “-shire”) | 26
To get the , we exclude the ancient non-shire names? No. The modern definition usually excludes the six metropolitan counties (Tyne & Wear, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire) and the Greater London area. It also excludes the smaller unitary authorities like Bristol, Rutland, and the Isle of Wight.
The most widely accepted list of (for non-metropolitan statistical purposes) is:
Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk. East Midlands: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire. South East: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex. South West: Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire. West Midlands: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire. Yorkshire and the Humber: East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire (but often South and West are excluded as metropolitan).