Traditional counties are unofficial, informal and non-administrative divisions of the British Isles which are based on previous administrative divisions.

The British Isles have been divided into areas for administrative and geographical demarcation purposes for several hundred years, and these have been known as counties for various periods of time in the constituent countries. Acts of Parliament in the last two centuries altered these county boundaries and created new units for administration (also known as counties). Those counties existing previous to these changes became known informally as traditional counties, or "ancient counties", (or indeed by other names, listed below). The areas they refer to no longer have official use, but are still sometimes used in informal, non-administrative settings. This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Constituent Countries is an official term used to describe three of the four principal component parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK): England Scotland Wales All three were formerly independent, sovereign states, and have always continued to have distinctive variations in legislative and administrative status. ...

There is no single canonical set of "traditional" counties, as the boundaries have varied constantly over time. However, in England and Wales, the phrase is often employed to refer to the (largely static) boundaries that existed between the 16th Century Laws in Wales acts and the creation of administrative counties in the Local Government Acts of the late nineteenth century. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked... For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom and England, see British Isles (terminology). ... The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 were a series of parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to England and the norms of English administration introduced in order to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction, which is frequently referred to as England... An administrative county is an administrative area in the British Isles. ... There are many acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom called the Local Government Act. ...

Traditional counties are also sometimes referred to by the terms "ancient", "geographic", "ancient or geographic", "historic", "old", or "former" counties:

An example of this usage in England is seen in the censuses of 1901, in which the county borders immediately previous to the Local Government Act 1888 are referred to as "ancient counties" [1] The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. ...

Some pressure groups (the "traditional counties movement") exist to promote the use of previous boundaries for current purposes; these include the Association of British Counties and County Watch. Advocacy is an umbrella term for organized activism related to a particular set of issues. ... ABC map of counties, based approximately on reputed boundaries from first edition Ordnance Survey maps The Association of British Counties (ABC) is one of a small number of pressure groups in the United Kingdom dedicated to promoting the traditional counties of Britain. ... County Watch is a direct action group which was set up in 2004 to remove what they consider to be wrongly-placed County boundary signs that do not mark the historic, traditional County boundaries of Britain. ...

See also

• England—Traditional counties of England
• Ireland—Counties of Ireland
• Scotland—Counties of Scotland
• Wales—Traditional counties of Wales

• Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom