Registration county
Encyclopedia
A registration county was, in Great Britain
and Ireland
, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census
information. In Scotland
registration counties are used for land registration purposes.
s. The districts were not innovations, however, but were identical to the poor law union
s already in existence. Unions had been formed by the grouping parishes surrounding towns in which a workhouse
was situated without reference to geographical county boundaries. Many PLUs included areas in two or more civil counties.
Registration counties (also known as poor law counties) were formed by the aggregation of registration districts by reference to which county the workhouse was situated in. Accordingly, the boundaries of registration counties rarely coincided with those of the civil county. Attempts to establish a single set of county boundaries
in the 1880s were unsuccessful.
The registration counties were used in the compilation of census results from 1851 to 1911.
33 counties are used in Scotland
for land registration purposes.
Land registration by county was introduced by the Land Registers (Scotland) Act 1868. The Act provided that in future all writ
s relating to lands and heritages in Scotland should be recorded in "presentment books", with a different series for each county. For the purposes of the Act the Barony and Regality of Glasgow and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright were to be treated as counties. There are two paired counties that were under a single sheriff
in 1868: Ross & Cromarty and Orkney & Zetland.
The 1868 legislation was replaced by the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. The 1979 Act allowed for the date and areas of operation to be fixed by statutory instrument
. It was brought into operation on a phased basis using the 1868 counties, starting with the County of Renfrew
on 6 April 1981. The implementation was completed on 1 April 2003 when the final tranche of registration counties were operational.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
information. In Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
registration counties are used for land registration purposes.
England and Wales
The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836 divided England and Wales into registration districtRegistration district
A registration district in the United Kingdom is a type of administrative region which exists for the purpose of civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths and civil partnerships...
s. The districts were not innovations, however, but were identical to the poor law union
Poor Law Union
A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...
s already in existence. Unions had been formed by the grouping parishes surrounding towns in which a workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
was situated without reference to geographical county boundaries. Many PLUs included areas in two or more civil counties.
Registration counties (also known as poor law counties) were formed by the aggregation of registration districts by reference to which county the workhouse was situated in. Accordingly, the boundaries of registration counties rarely coincided with those of the civil county. Attempts to establish a single set of county boundaries
Local Government (Boundaries) Act 1887
The Local Government Act 1887 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act established boundary commissioners to reform the areas of administrative bodies in England and Wales in preparation for the creation of elected councils by the Local Government Act 1888...
in the 1880s were unsuccessful.
The registration counties were used in the compilation of census results from 1851 to 1911.
Ireland
Civil registration was introduced to Ireland in 1864, based upon the English model. Registration counties were formed for statistical purposes in a similar manner by the grouping of poor law unions. Population data for the 1871 and 1881 censuses of Ireland was published for the registration counties.Scotland
In Scotland registration districts were introduced in 1855, and registration counties were used in subsequent censuses.33 counties are used in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
for land registration purposes.
Land registration by county was introduced by the Land Registers (Scotland) Act 1868. The Act provided that in future all writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
s relating to lands and heritages in Scotland should be recorded in "presentment books", with a different series for each county. For the purposes of the Act the Barony and Regality of Glasgow and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright were to be treated as counties. There are two paired counties that were under a single sheriff
Sheriffdom
A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland.Since 1 January 1975 there have been six sheriffdoms. Previously sheriffdoms were composed of groupings of counties...
in 1868: Ross & Cromarty and Orkney & Zetland.
The 1868 legislation was replaced by the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. The 1979 Act allowed for the date and areas of operation to be fixed by statutory instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
. It was brought into operation on a phased basis using the 1868 counties, starting with the County of Renfrew
Renfrewshire (historic)
Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a registration county, the Lieutenancy area of the Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, and one of the counties of Scotland used for local government until 1975. Renfrewshire is located in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland, south of the River Clyde,...
on 6 April 1981. The implementation was completed on 1 April 2003 when the final tranche of registration counties were operational.
| Registration county | Operational from |
|---|---|
| County of Renfrew Renfrewshire (historic) Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a registration county, the Lieutenancy area of the Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire, and one of the counties of Scotland used for local government until 1975. Renfrewshire is located in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland, south of the River Clyde,... |
6 April 1981 |
| County of Dumbarton Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Until 1975 it was a county used as a primary unit of local government with its county town and administrative centre at the town... |
4 October 1982 |
| County of Lanark Lanarkshire Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland... |
3 January 1984 |
| County of the Barony and Regality of Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
30 September 1985 |
| County of Clackmannan Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'.... |
1 October 1992 |
| County of Stirling Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county... |
1 April 1993 |
| County of West Lothian West Lothian West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire.... |
1 October 1993 |
| County of Fife Fife Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire... |
1 April 1995 |
| County of Aberdeen Aberdeenshire (historic) Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a registration county of Scotland. This area is also a lieutenancy area.Until 1975 Aberdeenshire was one of the counties of Scotland, governed by a county council from 1890... |
1 April 1996 |
| County of Kincardine Kincardineshire The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland... |
1 April 1996 |
| County of Ayr Ayrshire Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the... |
1 April 1997 |
| County of Dumfries Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries... |
1 April 1997 |
| County of Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbrightshire The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire.... |
1 April 1997 |
| County of Wigtown Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway... |
1 April 1997 |
| County of Angus Angus Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City... |
1 April 1999 |
| County of Kinross Kinross-shire Kinross-shire or the County of Kinross is a registration county, electoral ward and historic county in the Perth and Kinross council area in the east central Lowlands of Scotland... |
1 April 1999 |
| County of Perth Perthshire Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south... |
1 April 1999 |
| County of Berwick Berwickshire Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482... |
1 October 1999 |
| County of East Lothian East Lothian East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh.... |
1 October 1999 |
| County of Peebles Peeblesshire Peeblesshire , the County of Peebles or Tweeddale was a county of Scotland. Its main town was Peebles, and it bordered Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire to the west.After the local government reorganisation of 1975 the use of the name... |
1 October 1999 |
| County of Roxburgh Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh... |
1 October 1999 |
| County of Selkirk Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Berwickshire to the north-east, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south... |
1 October 1999 |
| County of Argyll Argyll Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath... |
1 April 2000 |
| County of Bute County of Bute The County of Bute is one of the registration counties of Scotland. In 2001 its usually resident population was 13,720.-Local government county:... |
1 April 2000 |
| County of Midlothian Midlothian Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas.... |
1 April 2001 |
| County of Inverness Inverness-shire The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland... |
1 April 2002 |
| County of Nairn | 1 April 2002 |
| County of Banff Banffshire The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest... |
1 April 2003 |
| County of Caithness Caithness Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is... |
1 April 2003 |
| County of Moray County of Moray Moray is one of the registration counties of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east... |
1 April 2003 |
| Counties of Orkney and Zetland | 1 April 2003 |
| County of Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use... |
1 April 2003 |
| County of Sutherland Sutherland Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh... |
1 April 2003 |
External links
- http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/type_page.jsp?unit_type=PR_CNTY
- Map of Registration counties of Scotland