There’s a whole lot happening in the traditional county movement at the moment, from the upcoming abolition of the last of 1974 “county councils”, to the erection of new historic county border signs and much else besides. We present a roundup of the latest news.
It’s The End of Local Government As We Know It…
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, recently announced the outcome of the Government’s deliberations on the structure of unitary councils which will replace Hampshire County Council, Essex County Council, Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council from April 2028.
- Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Council and Thurrock Council will be replaced by 5 unitary councils to be named West Essex Council, North East Essex Council, Mid Essex Council, South West Essex Council and South East Essex Council. Map.
- Suffolk County Council will be replaced by 3 unitary councils to be named Western Suffolk Council, Eastern and Central Suffolk Council and Ipswich and South Suffolk Council. Map.
- Norfolk County Council will be replaced by 3 unitary councils to be named Great Norwich City Council, East Norfolk Council and West Norfolk Council. Map.
- Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council will be replaced by 4 unitary councils to be named North Hampshire Council, Mid Hampshire Council, South-West Hampshire Council and South-East Hampshire Council. Isle of Wight Council will continue. Map.
The Association of British Counties (ABC) welcomes these decisions in two key regards
- that each of the new councils is to be called “Council” and not “County Council”;
- that none of the new councils makes unqualified, inappropriate use of a historic county name.
This ending of local government entities being portrayed and promoted as “counties” cannot come soon enough as far as ABC is concerned. It will be a massive help in our task of promoting the real counties.
We might quibble as to whether South West Essex Council and South-West Hampshire Council are accurate in a geographical sense, but such names will not undermine the identities of the real Essex and Hampshire to anything like the extent that Essex County Council and Hampshire County Council have. Ultimately, the new councils themselves will be able to change the names initially give them by the Government.
The Government will be announcing the unitary structures to replace the remaining county councils in the summer. All of the new councils will have shadow authorities elected in May 2027 and will take office on 1st April 2028.
Mr Reed appears to have a preference for smaller councils. This gives us hope that even those smaller county councils which grossly misuse a real county name (notably Oxfordshire County Council and Warwickshire County Council) may not be made the basis of single unitary councils.
Proposing ‘West Surrey and South Middlesex Council‘
Surrey County Council will actually be abolished in April 2027, a year earlier than the other county councils. It is being replaced by two unitary councils, provisionally called West Surrey Council and East Surrey Council. Our friends in Middlesex have been fighting a magnificent campaign which is Proposing the name ‘West Surrey and South Middlesex Council‘, to properly reflect the Middlesex identity of the sizeable Spelthorne area.
The power to change the name will lie with the new shadow authority once it is elected on May 7th 2026. The idea has significant local political support, including from Spelthorne MP Lincoln Jopp and from councillors and candidates across the political spectrum. Whatever the make-up of the new council, the case for a change of name will be made loudly both inside and outside the council. Watch this space…
YouTuber Tom Scott explores the counties of England
Prominent Youtuber Tom Scott has embarked on a road trip to every county of England, visiting infrastructure, traditions, and a surprising number of bells. And the good news is that Tom is visiting each of the real counties – and each of the ridings of Yorkshire. Tom’s videos regularly get several million views. Tom’s project is both fantastic publicity for our counties and also a measure of how far we have come in re-establishing the counties as our nation’s standard geography. Tom has been kind enough to name-check the Historic Counties Trust’s Historic Counties Border Project. You can follow Tom’s journey and check out his videos on England: The Map.
Somerset Day 2026 – Naming the Somerset Dragon
Our friends at Passion for Somerset are hard at work preparing for the celebration of Somerset Day 2026. The celebration will take place over the whole weekend of 9th and 10th May and on the day itself, Mon 11th May 2026.
At the heart of this year’s celebrations is The Journey of the Somerset Dragon, a county-wide storytelling tour running throughout April and May. The Dragon has been traveling across Somerset, appearing in Wells, Minehead, Evercreech, Weston-super-Mare, Sparkford, Watchet, Street, Somerton, Nailsea and more, bringing families together for live interactive readings of The Tail of the Somerset Dragon and celebrations at each stop.
BBC Somerset has been running a Name the Somerset Dragon Competition, the result to be announced on Somerset Day itself. The shortlisted names are Dunkery, Skittles, Kingston and Spitfire. The whole idea of having a county mascot is proving an effective way to promote the county, especially to children, and could certainly be extended to other counties.
Among the many other events planned are An Evening of Poetry with Mark Freestone and Valerie Singleton OBE at the Old Town Hall in Somerton; the Somerset Day Pilgrimage Walk across the Levels in the footsteps of King Alfred; Somerset Cycle 2026 honouring the county’s natural beauty and resilience by riding its rolling hills, quiet lanes and sweeping views; Party in the Park at Blenheim Gardens; and the Grand Opening of Maidenbrook Country Park featuring live music and finishing with the lighting of the beacon and fireworks.
Middlesex Day Fair in Ashford – Sat 16th May 2026
Our friends at Middlesex Heritage are busy preparing for Middlesex Day on Saturday 16th May. We are delighted to report that this year Ashford Revive are to hold their first ever Middlesex Day County Fair on May 16th from 11am-4pm, 3rd Ashford Scouts Hall. It promises to be a fun event. Get along if you are in the area.
The Great Glamorgan Way
The Great Glamorgan Way is a new network of 26 connected cycleways and bridleways that cover over 260 miles across the western and central parts of Glamorgan. The Great Glamorgan Way is a joint project between Vale of Glamorgan Council, Cardiff Council, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, Merthyr Tydfil Council and Bridgend Council and funded by the UK Government. Existing routes have been restored, new routes created and consistent Great Glamorgan Way signing installed.
Despite some unfortunate county confusion on the project website, ABC is delighted to see this project promoting the name and identity of Glamorgan. We would love to see this project extended to the eastern part of Glamorgan and to see a similar project for the county’s footpaths. And, of course, to see similar initiatives in other counties. Marking our counties on footpaths, cycleways, bridleways and canal banks is just as important as marking them on highways – and considerably cheaper and less bureaucratic.
More Lancashire village signs to include the red rose
Bolton Council is to be applauded for agreeing to include the red rose on two further village signs in its area, for Egerton and Bromley Cross. The signs are similar to those recently installed on roads into Horwich, Farnworth and Kearsley – featuring the town crest and the Lancastrian rose. More on this story from the Bolton News. The marking of place-name signs with an appropriate county symbol or county flag is a terrific idea that could be used on any village or town sign.
County Days in April 2026
County days start coming thick and fast as we get into spring and summer. This year Huntingdonshire Day, Warwickshire Day and Staffordshire Day were far bigger celebrations than previously. Warwickshire Day, in particular, seems to be benefiting from the ever increasing celebration of St George’s Day.
Coming Soon … County Border Signs in Teesdale
We are pleased to announce that the manufacture of road signs marking the Yorkshire / County Durham border along the River Tees in Upper Teesdale is in progress. These will be installed over the summer. This is a joint project between the Yorkshire Ridings Society and the Historic Counties Trust, with especial thanks due to Durham County Council. The signs are part of a wider project to see all Yorkshire and riding borders properly marked. An unveiling ceremony is planned for the sign in Barnard Castle. What this space….
The Wall Map of the Historic Counties of the United Kingdom featured in the article banner is available from Stanfords for £9.99 + P&P.