The counties of England are divisions of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are two main legal definitions of the counties in modern usage: the 84 counties for the purposes of local government, and the 48 counties for the purposes of lieutenancy, also termed the ceremonial counties.
Many counties had a central courthouse from which they were administered, which often became the first meeting place for the county councils created in 1889, such as Shire Hall, Stafford.
County flags at Parliament Square, opposite the United Kingdom Parliament in Westminster, London
Greater London is the administrative area of London, England, which is coterminous with the London region. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a ceremonial county also called Greater London, and the City of London. The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic local government across the region, and regular local government is the responsibility of the borough councils and the City of London Corporation. Greater London is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Hertfordshire to the north, Essex to the north-east, Kent to the south-east, Surrey to the south, and Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west.
Image: City of London, seen from Tower Bridge
Image: Siemens Crystal Building, London
Image: Hampstead Heath (35220827152)
University College London, a founding constituent of the University of London
