The Complicated History of Counties in England

Comedians Jay Foreman and Mark Cooper-Jones of Map Men provided an amusing history of the complicated manner in which counties were formed in England. This was rather an onerous undertaking because different maps reflect different understandings of what a county actually is. Among these distinctions include categories of historical, administrative, and postal, amongst many others.

The definition of ‘county’ in Britain is a minefield of anomalies, asterisks, confusions, vague areas and contradictory Wikipedia articles. The more you look for answers about what a county really is the more questions you come across. Which is perhaps why no one’s attempted to do a video about them before.

The Confusing History of Counties in England

Foreman actually attempted to sing a song about English counties, but Cooper-Jones did his best Pete Townsend impression with Foreman’s pink ukulele.

The Confusing History of Counties in England

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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