County of city (or county of a city) was a term used for certain local government areas in Scotland between 1890 and 1975 which performed the functions of both a county council and the town council of a burgh. There were four such areas, covering the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Each area was governed by a city corporation (also known as a town council) and was administered independently of the surrounding county. The counties of cities were abolished by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and were replaced by regions and districts in 1975.[1]

Formation

When county councils were established under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, the city of Edinburgh was already deemed to be a county of itself, having been given the right to appoint its own sheriff in 1482 making it independent from Midlothian, with the city being described as the "city and county of the city of Edinburgh".[2][3][4]

Glasgow was subsequently designated as the next county of city in 1893, being named "the county of the city of Glasgow".[5][6]

Dundee was designated the following year, by the name "the county of the city of Dundee".[7][8]

Finally, Aberdeen was made a county of a city in 1900, by the name of "the county of the city of Aberdeen".[9][10]

Powers

Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, the counties of cities had powers over various matters including roads, education, police, public health, social services, planning and local taxation.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Local Government in Scotland before 1973" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ Chalmers, George (1889). "Edinburghshire: Of its establishment as a shire". Caledonia. Paisley: Alexander Gardner. p. 579. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ^ Marwick, J. D., ed. (1869). "Appendix: Abstracts of charters and other documents". Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1403–1528. Edinburgh: Scottish Burgh Records Society. pp. 314–339. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  4. ^ The Parliamentary Register. London: J. Almon. 1776. p. 429. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. ^ "County of the City of Glasgow Act 1893 (c. 188)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Glasgow - A brief description". UK and Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Dundee Corporation Act 1894 (c. 74)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Dundee City". Scotland's Places. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Aberdeen Corporation Act 1899 (c. 60)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Aberdeen City". Scotland's Places. Retrieved 14 January 2021.


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