Welcome
The Association of British Counties (ABC) is a society dedicated to promoting awareness of the continuing importance of the 92 historic counties of the United Kingdom.
The ABC believes that the historic counties are an important part of the culture, geography and heritage of The United Kingdom. The ABC contends that Britain needs a fixed popular geography, one divorced from the ever-changing names and areas of local government but, instead, one rooted in history, public understanding and commonly held notions of community and identity. The ABC, therefore, seeks to fully re-establish the use of the historic counties as the standard popular geographical reference frame of Britain and to further encourage their use as a basis for social, sporting and cultural activities.
More information about what the historic counties are and why they matter can be found in our An introduction to the historic counties factsheet.
Featured Articles
The Fiftieth Yorkshire Day
Yorkshire Day was first celebrated on 1st August 1975, which means that the 2024 celebration is the fiftieth Yorkshire Day! Over that time, it has grown to become a huge event, both within the county and for Yorkshire men and women throughout the world. Yorkshire … Continue reading
Historic County Flags Day 23rd July 2024
Historic County Flags Day 2024 has been another spectacular celebration of our county heritage. Our thanks are due to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for once again displaying the county flags in Parliament Square for the week. All those county flags included … Continue reading
County Days Boom in May
The county day phenomena continues to gather pace in 2024. May 2024 has seen four county days (so far): Staffordshire Day (Weds 1st May), Surrey Day (Sat 11th May), Somerset Day (Sat 11th May) and Middlesex Day (Thurs 16th May). All four have been the … Continue reading