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

Sussex Day 16th June 2025

Sussex Day is celebrated on 16th June, the feast day of St Richard of Chichester, the county’s patron saint. This has become a huge annual event, one of the largest and most joyful of all county day celebrations. Huge thanks and congratulations are due to … Continue reading →

Kent Day: Off the Beaten Track

Kent Day is celebrated on 26th May, the feast day of St Augustine. In celebration, we present a few of the county’s sometimes overlooked gems in Off the Beaten Track. Kent’s name derives from the Cantii, an ancient British tribe. Kent was a British kingdom before the … Continue reading →

Middlesex Day 16th May 2025

Middlesex Day is celebrated each year on 16th May. This commemorates the actions of the 57th (West Middlesex Regiment) at the battle of Aluera (1811) during the Peninsula War. During the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel William Inglis, despite his injuries, refused to retire from the battle but … Continue reading →