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
Victory! We are ‘West Surrey and South Middlesex Council’
We are delighted to report that the shadow council for the new unitary West Surrey Council voted last night to change the council’s name to West Surrey and South Middlesex Council – finally righting a 61 year wrong. This is a double-win, since both Middlesex … Continue reading
More County Days of Summer…
County Days come thick and fast in the summer months. It’s hard to keep up! Our thanks to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for once again flying the county flags in Parliament Square for the week of Historic County Flags Day (23rd … Continue reading
Yorkshire ignored as councils consult on names for new ‘Lancashire’ authorities
Lancashire County Council, its districts, Blackburn with Darwen Council, and Blackpool Council will all be abolished on 1st April 2028 to make way for four new unitary councils. Current council leaders have an August 17 deadline to accept Whitehall’s provisional names for these new councils … Continue reading