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
Bedfordshire Day 2025
Bedfordshire Day is celebrated on 28th November, the birthday of celebrated local son John Bunyan. Bedfordshire Day was instigated in 2015 by our good friends at the Friends of Bedfordshire Society who were also behind the registration of the Bedfordshire flag. Always a well celebrated … Continue reading
Lancashire Day 2025
Lancashire Day is celebrated each year on 27th November. On this day in 1295 the first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by King Edward I to attend what later became known as “The Model Parliament”. Lancashire Day is the brainchild of our … Continue reading
‘West Surrey and South Middlesex Council’?
A long-time sore for county lovers has been the inclusion of the Spelthorne area of Middlesex within the local government “county” of “Surrey”. Surrey County Council and the district councils within its area are to be abolished in May 2027. The Government has just announced … Continue reading