The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town need be involved. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within a county.

In England] the township has been generally been made obsolete, although in Lancashire and Yorkshire it is still very much in use. Before the Industrial Revolution Lancashire was sparsely populated and had few and large Parishes. Because of the distances involved the parishes were divided into Townships which were the basic unit of government. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Lancashire (archaically, the County of Lancaster) is a county palatine of England, lying on the Irish Sea. ... Yorkshire as a traditional county. ... A parish is a subdivision of a diocese or bishopric within the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, and of some other churches. ...

The 'ship' in township in England is thought to mean 'cheap' or 'chepe', an old name for a market. There are townships in England known by names like Shipley, Skipton, Shepton. Many Lords of the Manor specifically created townships on their land, with market rights. The land and the people there were no longer under the jurisdiction of the manorial court. Townships were set up with an incorporated body to run the market and they were centered around the market place. The lord of the manor often taxed transactions in the market. He would also make money out of it from rents. Free men could live and trade in townships (i.e. men who were not the lord's servants, villeins or bonded labour - these still had to live on manorial land). Some townships were established right next to the castle or manor house, others near a river crossing or crossroads. Later on, many townships grew and swallowed up the manorial lands, but in others the market declined and went out of existence. Street markets such as this one in Rue Mouffetard, Paris are still common in France. ... In England, Lord of the Manor is a minor, feudal title. ... A villein is, in the feudal system, a member of the class of serfs tied to the land, distinguished from those in actual slavery, but restricted by law from exercising the rights of a free man. ...