UK Towns to Counties Index

Most people think of locations in terms of counties, rather than towns. This index lets you look up a town and find its county. Because of a lack of definitive lists linking towns, counties and Administrative Areas, the accuracy of this index can’t be guaranteed.

County Names and Administrative Areas

The name of the appropriate county is often included in an address. However, this isn’t compulsory, as long as you specify the correct town and post code.

The re-organisation of local government introduced new Administrative Areas to England, Scotland and Wales. For example, the English counties of Avon, Cleveland, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, North and South Humberside, Tyne and Wear, and West Midlands were abolished, Herefordshire and Worcestershire were again separated and the small county of Rutland was re-established. Similarly, Scotland’s Strathclyde area was replaced, whilst South Wales was massively re-organised. Meanwhile, many larger towns have been made into Unitary Authorities that operate independently of the surrounding county.

Unfortunately, many Administrative Areas aren’t recognised by Royal Mail. In addition, county names, as used in postal addresses, don’t always correspond with Administrative Areas. For example, Middlesex is used in postal addresses although it isn’t an Area.