Counties at large, divisions and subdivisions
Counties at large
The term "county at large" was used to denote the entirety of a geographical county including any areas that had some level of immunity from the officers of the county or measure of independence. Except in the case of the City of London, which possessed its own commission of lieutenancy, and the three ridings of Yorkshire, the counties at large were the areas to which lord lieutenants were appointed. [1]
Divided counties
A number of counties were divided into separate jurisdictions, with each division having its own administrative machinery and officers, and effectively forming a distinct county, although continuing to collectively form a "county at large".
Of these, the most significant were the divisions of Yorkshire: the East Riding, West Riding, North Riding and (until 1836) the Ainsty of York.[2] The ridings were for almost all practical purposes separate counties, having their lord lieutenants, magistracy and county towns. The only office uniting the county was that of high sheriff.[3]
The second largest county, Lincolnshire, was divided into three historic "parts": Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven. Other divisions include those of Sussex into East Sussex and West Sussex and Suffolk into East Suffolk and West Suffolk, and, more informally and hence more vaguely, of Kent into East Kent and West Kent.
Several counties had liberties or Sokes within them that were administered separately. Cambridgeshire had the Isle of Ely, and Northamptonshire had the Soke of Peterborough. Such divisions were used by such entities as the Quarter Sessions courts and were inherited by the later administrative county areas under the control of county councils.
Subdivisions
Most English counties were subdivided into smaller subdivisions called hundreds. Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire were divided into wapentakes (a unit of Danish origin), while Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland were divided into wards, areas originally organised for military purposes, each centred on a castle.[4] Kent and Sussex had an intermediate level between their major subdivisions and their hundreds, known as lathes in Kent and rapes in Sussex. Hundreds or their equivalents were divided into tithings and parishes (the only class of these divisions still used administratively), which in turn were divided into townships and manors. In the 17th century the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex was further divided into four divisions, which replaced the functions of the hundred. The borough and parish were the principal providers of local services throughout England until the creation of ad-hoc boards and, later, local government districts.
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This is a list of county divisions in England prior to the coming into effect of the Local Government Act 1888.
Listed are those areas which enjoyed some freedom from the jurisdiction from the officers of the counties at large. These included:
- Counties corporate, incorporated boroughs that had the right to appoint their own sheriffs
- Liberties: areas where a high ecclesistic or lay lord of the manor exercised considerable powers and enjoyed considerable freedom from county administration.
- Divisions: areas with their own commissions of the peace and courts of quarter sessions.
- Stannary districts: tin-mining areas of Devon and Cornwall, where the Lord Warden of the Stannaries enjoyed some of the powers of a lord lieutenant.
- The Cinque Ports, a number of coastal towns with special privileges exempt from the magistracy of the counties in which they lay.[5]
| County at large | Division, county corporate or liberty | Origins and history | Jurisdiction | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | Isle of Ely | Liberty under the jurisdiction of the Abbot of Ely 970 – 1107. County palatine under the Bishop of Ely 1107 – 1536. Liberty under the bishop 1536 to 1837. | The bishop was custos rotulorum and appointed a chief bailiff in place of high sheriff until 1837. From 1837 the Isle had separate quarter sessions and county administration from the rest of Cambrigeshire, held at Ely and Wisbech. | Became an administrative county in 1889. |
| Cheshire | City and County of the City of Chester | County status confirmed by Great Charter of Henry VII 1506.[7] Shrievalty of city dated from 12th century.[8] | Separate shrievalty† | Became a county borough in 1889 |
| Cornwall | Stannary districts of Foweymore, Blackmore, Tywarnhaile and Penwith & Kerrier | Charters of 1337 and 1508[9] | The Lord Warden of the Stannaries held certain lieutenancy powers, allowing him to appoint special deputy wardens in the same manner as deputy lieutenants, and to raise a Corps of Miners of Cornwall and Devon.[10] | The Lord Warden's lieutenancy functions were ended in 1908.[11] |
| Devon | City and County of the City of Exeter | Charter of Henry VIII in 1537. | Separate shrievalty† | Became a county borough in 1889 |
| Stannary districts of Ashburton, Chagford, Plymstock and Tavistock[9] | Charter of 1201 | The Lord Warden of the Stannaries held similar powers to those he had in Cornwall.[10] | The Lord Warden's lieutenancy functions were ended in 1908.[11] | |
| Essex | Royal Liberty of Havering | Charter of 1465 | Separate quarter sessions, magistracy and gaol under a high steward. | Incorporated into Essex in 1893 |
| Gloucestershire | County of the City of Bristol | Charter of 1373[12], city 1542 | Separate shrievalty† | Became a county borough in 1889 |
| County of the City of Gloucester | Charter of 1483 constituted Gloucester, Dudstone and King's Barton hundred "The County of the Town of Gloucester"[13] Became a city by charter of 1541.[14] | Separate shrievalty† | Became a county borough in 1889 | |
| Hampshire | Isle of Wight | Palatine jurisdiction established in 1100, purchased by Edward I in 1293. From that time governed on behalf of the Crown by an officer known as a captain, warden or later governor. | Governor of the Isle of Wight held lieutenancy powers in the island. Considered to form part of the County of Southampton from 1293. | Became an administrative county in 1890. The Governor's lieutenancy powers ended in 1908.[15] |
| County of The Town of Southampton | Charter of 1447:[16] our said town, with the port and precinct thereof, and the port of Portsmouth, which is now called "the town of Suthampton and its precincts," shall be one entire county, incorporated in word and deed, separate and distinct from the county of Southampton for ever, and shall be called "our county of the town of Suthampton". | Separate shrievalty | The boundaries were redrawn to exclude Portsmouth in 1680.[16] Became a county borough in 1889 | |
| Hertfordshire | Liberty of St Albans | Palatine jurisdiction of Abbot of St Albans confirmed by Edward I On dissolution of abbey in 1539 jurisdiction passed to corporation of the Borough of St Albans | Separate custos rotulorum and gaol jurisdiction | Became part of St Albans Division 1874[17] |
| Hertford Division | Formed 1874[17] | Separate quarter sessions | Formed single county in 1889.[18] | |
| St Albans Division | Formed 1874[17] | Separate quarter sessions | Formed single county in 1889.[18] | |
| Kent | East Kent | NOTE NOTE NOTE | Separate quarter sessions | East and West Kent merged in 1814 |
| West Kent | NOTE NOTE NOTE | Separate quarter sessions | East and West Kent merged in 1814 | |
| Cinque Ports of Dover, Hythe, New Romney and Sandwich and ancient towns of Folkestone, Faversham and Tenterden | Origins of Confederation of Cinque Ports uncertain, but probably existed informally before the Norman Conquest. Mentioned by the name of "Cinque Ports" by the reign of Henry II in 1155.[19] Officialy recognised by charters of 1260 and 1278.[20] | Exempt from magistrates of Kent | Formed part of the administrative county of Kent from 1889. Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports continued to hold lieutenancy powers until 1908.[21] | |
| County of the City of Canterbury | Charter of Edward IV in 1471 created the city and suburbs a "county corporate distinct, and utterly separate from the said county of Kent".[22] | Separate shrievalty | Became a county borough in 1889 | |
| Lincolnshire | Parts of Holland | Predated the county | Separate quarter sessions | Became an administrative county in 1889 |
| Parts of Lindsey | Predated the county | Separate quarter sessions | Became an administrative county in 1889 | |
| Parts of Kesteven | Predated the county | Separate quarter sessions | Became an administrative county in 1889 | |
| County of the City of Lincoln | Charter of 1407[23] | Separate shrievalty | Became a county borough in 1889 | |
| Middlesex[24] | City of London | Charter of Henry I of 1131/2 | The City was constituted a county of itself. The livery of the City were given the right to elect two sheriffs of "London and Middlesex" on a payment of £300 per annum to the Crown.[25] In 1662 a Commission of Lieutenancy, headed by the Lord Mayor was granted to the city by act of parliament.[26] | In 1889 the City was included in the new County of London for some purposes, but retained a high level of autonomy. The commission of lieutenancy continued, but the right to appoint the High Sheriff of Middlesex was ended, with two sheriffs appointed for the City alone.[27] |
| Tower division | In 1605 the privy council ruled that the Constable of the Tower of London had the sole right of mustering militia in the Liberties of the Tower of London[28] The constable's area of jurisdiction had extended to the larger Tower Division by 1635.[29] He was ex officio lord lieutenant of the division, a position recognised in later legislation, such as the Militia Act 1761.[30] | The constable's lieutenancy jurisdiction was ended in 1889 when the area was included in the county of London under its own lord lieutenant[31] | ||
| Northamptonshire | Soke of Peterborough |
| The Lord Paramount was custos rotulorum of the liberty, which also has its own quarter sessions and commission of the peace. | Administrative county 1889 |
| Northumberland | Newcastle Berwick | |||
| Nottinghamshire | Nottingham | |||
| Staffordshire | Lichfield | |||
| Suffolk | Libery of St Edmund > W Suffolk 3 other divs> E Suffolk | |||
| Sussex | E & W (act) | |||
| Warwickshire | Coventry | |||
| Worcestershire | Worcester | |||
| Yorkshire | East Riding North Riding West Riding The Ainsty (until 1836) Liberty of St Peter etc Liberty of Ripon | |||
Liberty of St Peter
The liberty was under the jurisdiction of the Dean and Chapter of York Minster. Its area consisted of a large number of parcels of land scattered throughout the three ridings, the Ainsty and the City and county of York. In the late eighteenth century it comprised nine places within the city and The Ainsty, 62 in the East Riding, 40 in the West Riding and 51 in the North Riding.[34] The liberty had a completely separate county administration consisting of a steward, bailiffs, magistrates, coroners and constables. The quarter sessions for the liberty were held at the Minster Yard in York in a building known as the "Hall of Pleas". The liberty's gaol, the "Peter Prison" was also housed here.[35] [36]
The jurisdiction ended on 5 June 1838, when the Dean and Chapter declined to apply for the renewal of the commission on the accession of Queen Victoria.[37]
References
† Lieutenancy held jointly with that of the county at large.
^a This number included Monmouthshire