| Shires of Scotland Historic Shires | |
|---|---|
| Historic Counties | |
 The counties, districts and burghs as they were in 1947 | |
| History | |
| • Preceded by | Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 An act to establish elected county councils in Scotland; etc. Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 An Act to consolidate with amendments the enactments relating to authorities for the purposes of local government in Scotland; etc. |
| • Created | 16 May 1975 |
| • Abolished | 1 April 1996 |
| • Succeeded by | Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 An Act to make provision with respect to local government and the functions of local authorities; etc. |
| Status | Historic |
The Shires of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachdan na h-Alba; Scots: Scots coonties),[a] or Counties of Scotland, were historic subdivisions of Scotland.
Originally established in the Middle Ages for judicial purposes (being the territory over which a sheriff had jurisdiction). From the 17th century, after the Union of Scotland and England (1707), "Shires" started to be used for local administration purposes as well. The areas used for judicial functions (sheriffdoms) diverged from the Shires/Counties over time. Sheriffdoms ceased to be used for local government purposes after 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.[2]
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 created thirty three Counties, with elected representatives.[3] When counties that were not named after their County Town, they were called County ie County of Argyll etc, or more commonly just Argyll etc. After this Act, the use of "Shire" decreased.[4]
Today, local government in Scotland is based upon unitary council areas (unitary; term is not used in Scotland, but the principle is used), currently thirty two. These thirty two Local Government Authorities sometimes incorporate county names, but frequently have vastly different boundaries. Counties continue to be used for land registration,[5] and form the basis of the lieutenancy areas (although the latter are not entirely identical).[6]
- ^ "Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: shire n1". Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- ^ "Counties and Burghs". National Records of Scotland. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/documents/product-support/support/historic-county-boundaries-c1890.pdf
- ^ "England County Towns". www.theedkins.co.uk.
- ^ "Land Register Counties & Operational Dates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013.
- ^ County Directory of Scotland. https://archive.org/details/countydirectoryo1875edin
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