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 and also served as their own judicial areas. 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
editScotland's counties (also called shires) were primarily areas for the administration of justice via a sheriff. They gradually also gained local government functions, notably following the creation of Commissioners of Supply for each county in 1667.[2] Local government functions transferred to elected county councils in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889.
At that time, there were 26 burghs which were excluded from county council control for the purposes of local government.[3][4] These remained part of their parent county for the purposes of administration of justice, with the exception of Edinburgh, which had been given the right to appoint its own sheriff in 1482. Edinburgh was therefore judicially independent from Midlothian, with the city being described as the "city and county of the city of Edinburgh".[5][6][7]
Following the creation of the county councils, there were calls to make some of the other large cities their own counties for judicial purposes as well as local government. Glasgow was subsequently designated as the next county of city in 1893, being named "the county of the city of Glasgow".[8][9]
Dundee was designated the following year, by the name "the county of the city of Dundee".[10][11]
Finally, Aberdeen was made a county of a city in 1899, by the name of "the county of the city of Aberdeen".[12][13][14]
Powers
editIn 1930, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, the county councils were given authority over all burghs except the four which were classed as counties of cities. The councils for each of the four cities therefore performed both burgh functions and county-level functions, including roads, education, police, public health, social services, planning and local taxation.[1]
References
edit- ^ 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) - ^ Brown, Keith. "Act of the convention of estates of the kingdom of Scotland etc. for a new and voluntary offer to his majesty of £72,000 monthly for the space of twelve months, 23 January 1667". Records of the Parliament of Scotland. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Guide to local government in parishes, counties and burghs. Edinburgh: Royal College of Physicians. 1892. pp. xxiii–xxx. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "Preparing for the elections in Scotland". The County Council Magazine. London: F. Warne and Company. 1890. p. 284. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ Chalmers, George (1889). "Edinburghshire: Of its establishment as a shire". Caledonia. Paisley: Alexander Gardner. p. 579. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The Parliamentary Register. London: J. Almon. 1776. p. 429. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "County of the City of Glasgow Act 1893 (c. 188)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Glasgow - A brief description". UK and Ireland Genealogy. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Dundee Corporation Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c.lxxiv)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Dundee City". Scotland's Places. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Aberdeen Corporation Act 1899 (c. 60)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "No. 11136". The Edinburgh Gazette. 13 October 1899. p. 958.
- ^ "Aberdeen City". Scotland's Places. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
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