If someone asks you in a pub quiz or a geography debate, “How many shire counties?” – say , and you’ll be correct in the most widely accepted modern definition. But if you want to impress them, add: “But that depends if you count Cornwall, and whether you mean administrative or historic.” Key Takeaway: England’s shire counties are a palimpsest – layers of Roman, Saxon, Norman, and modern government written over one another. The number changes depending on the century you’re standing in. Today, 29 is the magic number – but don’t be surprised if it changes again after the next local government review.

Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk. East Midlands: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire. South East: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex. South West: Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire. West Midlands: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire. Yorkshire and the Humber: East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire (but often South and West are excluded as metropolitan).

Today, if you ask “How many shire counties still exist as functioning, two-tier local governments (with a county council and district councils)?” the answer is only .