Real Counties | Historic Counties

A map of belonging. 🫶

@yorkshirelive It doesn’t ’belong in Yorkshire’ - Barnoldswick *is* in Yorkshire!

Some think it should still belong in Yorkshire examinerlive.co.uk/news/history/s…

@yorkshirelive Well, Barnoldswick is *still* in Yorkshire. The name used by the guys who run the rubbish dumps doesn’t affect that!

Some think it should still belong in Yorkshire examinerlive.co.uk/news/history/s…

@x__abc_1 It really is! 🤩

@RealCounties That's a beautiful county

You’ve probably been told: “Caernarfonshire / Sir Gaernarfon used to be a Welsh county but it was abolished.” It sounds true. But it isn’t. Caernarfonshire hasn’t changed - only administration has. So why are we pretending otherwise?

@CeliaHibbert @TiceRichard Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. 😎

Lovely highlight from yesterday’s visit to #Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre. One of Wolverhampton’s hidden gems, proudly showcasing our rich transport history. @TiceRichard having a bit of proper #British fun. Great place. Great British #heritage🇬🇧 #Wolverhampton #DadsArmy

You’ve probably been told: “Warrington, Wigan, Liverpool, Coniston and Barrow-in-Furness used to be in Lancashire but aren't anymore.” It sounds true. But it isn’t. Lancashire hasn’t changed - only administration has. So why are we pretending otherwise?

@Sidney65606346 One of five great Lancashire cities! 🌹 Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of the geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties I was born and bred in Liverpool and am a proud Lancastrian.

@bluesonofspeke Indeed, some addresses changed, but the geographic counties did not. Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of the geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties My address changed in 1974 it made zero difference to anything.

@AKeane1980 *Is* Yorkshire. 👍 The Forest of Bowland stretches across of the hills of western Pennines in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of the geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties Wait , the forest of bowland was Yorkshire ?

Rather than being divided, the two parts of Lancashire are actually *united* by the sands of Morecambe Bay. An ancient path may be following across the sands, though the sands are treacherous and this must not be attempted without the King’s Guide to the Sands, who is appointed for this purpose. Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties I never realised Lancs had an exclave, almost like it's the Northern Ireland of Lancashire.

And actually *still* includes all of those places. It’s the administrations that have changed, not the underlying geographic counties. The fact that many do not realise this is the problem. And that has resulted because of the conflation of councils and counties. Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of the geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties Same with Cheshire, which used to include all of the Wirral and parts of what is now Greater Manchester.

Those borders haven’t actually gone anywhere - they’re just being ignored in many cases. Regarding Lancashire, rather than being divided, the two parts are actually *united* by the sands of Morecambe Bay. An ancient path may be following across the sands, though the sands are treacherous and this must not be attempted without the King’s Guide to the Sands, who is appointed for this purpose. Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties We should absolutely return to historic borders. Same with Yorkshire. That said, the gap in Lancashire across Morecambe Bay has always annoyed me.

Short answer: nothing needs to be scrapped for this to work - and that’s not what’s being proposed. ⸻ What would actually change? Very little in terms of day-to-day governance. Councils, funding, services, policing, transport - all continue exactly as they are. Administrative boundaries unaffected 👉 This isn’t a reform of local government ⸻ So what’s the point? It’s about clarity and consistency, not restructuring. Right now: The same word (“county”) is used for different things. Some administrative areas use county names that don’t match the actual counties. That creates: confusion about where places are inconsistent use in data, records, and communication ⸻ What improves if you fix that? 1. Clearer communication People aren’t being told different “counties” depending on context. 2. More consistent data and reference Bodies like the Office for National Statistics already separate layers (historic counties, lieutenancies, admin areas) for this reason. 3. Less misleading naming Administrative areas stop implying they are counties when they’re not. ⸻ What doesn’t change? No impact on: bin collections schools NHS services transport systems policing 👉 Those are administrative functions - and remain so ⸻ Is it just about “feeling validated”? Not at all. It’s about avoiding a situation where: a temporary administrative structure is treated as if it defines a long-standing geographic framework. ⸻ Simple way to put it This isn’t: 👉 “replace the system” It’s: 👉 “stop mixing up two different systems” ⸻ The core idea Administration is about how places are run. Counties are about geographic location. You don’t improve services by changing that distinction - but you do improve clarity, which helps everything else make more sense. Interactive map showing the legal boundaries of the geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties What would actually change if the administration districts were scrapped? Would anything materially improve in terms of services, funding, transport, council structure, policing, or local decision-making, or is the main benefit to make residents feel historically validated?

@pjennings73pj Correct - more examples of unnecessary confusion caused by the conflation of counties and councils. However, the counties themselves are unchanged, despite the confusion. Interactive map showing the legal boundaries of geographic counties available at RealCounties.com

@RealCounties Try County Durham, Sunderland, South Shields, Gateshead, Jarrow, Hebburn. Classed as Tyne & Wear even though it doesnt exsist anymore. Stockton & Hartlepool in the south of the County both removed.

Geographic counties are the ancient territorial subdivisions of the country. Council borders have changed, county borders have not. As the @ONS says: “The historic counties of Great Britain have existed largely unchanged since the Middle Ages. They are recommended as a stable, unchanging geography which covers the whole of Great Britain.”

@RealCounties Dear me. What is a geographic county? They were all administrative entities at some point. The border moved when Rochdale was incorporated as a borough.…a very long time ago. What do we know….we only lived there.

@GarryLavin Again, you’re talking about *council areas* not geographic counties… two different things. Our maps show geographic counties, not council areas, lieutenancies or anything else.

@RealCounties When’s that from? In mine and parents lifetimes, the border was at Summit/Warland. Littleborough UDC on our side…county authority in Preston. On the other side was Walsden UDC, overall county authority was West Riding in Wakefield.

@MikeJMcC One of five great Lancashire cities! 👌

@RealCounties Mancunian. When I lived in Manchester I always used Lancashire as my address.

If you treat all boundaries as just 'invented bureaucracy', then: A county that has existed for a thousand years, and a council that lasted just 40, become the same thing. But they clearly aren't...

It’s a good question - and it gets to the philosophical core of it. Short answer: no - geography and administration aren’t the same thing, even though both involve boundaries. 1. Yes, boundaries are defined - but not all in the same way Of course, any boundary is drawn at some point. But there’s a big difference between: Administrative borders → deliberately designed, changed, and replaced for governance Geographic frameworks → evolve over time, often stabilising and persisting for centuries So while both are “defined”, one is frequently redesigned, the other becomes enduring convention. 2. Geography isn’t just bureaucracy If geography were just administration, then every time government changed, the map would effectively reset. But that’s not what happens. Rivers, coasts, and landscapes don’t change with policy Nor do long-established territorial units like historic counties That’s why organisations like the Office for National Statistics treat different layers separately - because they serve different purposes 3. Not all borders are arbitrary Some are: drawn for convenience (modern councils, regions) Others reflect: long-term patterns of settlement jurisdiction built up over centuries historical continuity Historic counties fall into that second category. They weren’t designed all at once - they emerged and then endured. 4. A useful way to think about it Administration = rules about how places are run Geography = how places are understood and related to each other over time They overlap - but they’re not interchangeable. 5. Why the distinction matters If you treat all boundaries as just “invented bureaucracy”, then: a county that lasted 1,000 years and a council that lasted 40 years …become the same thing. But they clearly aren’t. The core idea Yes, borders are defined. But some are: 👉 temporary tools of administration and others become: 👉 enduring parts of how a country is structured and understood Historic counties sit in that second category - which is why they’re worth distinguishing, even today. Detailed interactive map showing the legal boundaries of the geographic counties is available via RealCounties.com

@RealCounties @remigrationbob Isn’t geography just a form of administration and/or bureaucracy? Aren’t all borders invented?

@GarryLavin The border of geographic Lancashire and Yorkshire:

@RealCounties Dear me. The Todmorden sign was the West Riding border.