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

Yorkshire – County Durham border in Teesdale marked by new road signs

Six crossing of the River Tees have been marked by new road signs showing the border between County Durham and the North Riding of Yorkshire. Two further signs mark the Yorkshire – Westmorland border at Ley Seat Edge. This project was instigated by the Yorkshire … Continue reading →

Middlesex Day 2026

Dust off your three seaxes and raise a glass to community, heritage and identity – for today, Saturday 16th May 2026, is Middlesex Day. The date commemorates the actions of the 57th (West Middlesex Regiment) at the Battle of Albuera (1811) during the Peninsula War … Continue reading →

Somerset Day 2026 and Surrey Day 2026

The weekend of 9-10th May 2026 saw two county day celebrations. Our friends at Passion for Somerset have made Somerset Day one of the biggest county days in the country. This year the celebrations took place over the whole weekend of 9-10th May and on … Continue reading →