Wikipedia

County corporate

Acounty corporateorcorporate countywas a type of subnational division used for the administration of justice in certain towns and cities inEngland,Wales,andIreland.They arose when the monarch gave aborough corporationthe right to appoint its ownsheriffs,separating that borough from the jurisdiction of the sheriff of thecountyin which it lay.

They were legally described as forming separate counties, but in both contemporary usage whilst they existed and in discussion by modern historians the counties corporate are generally distinguished from the wider counties. From Tudor times onwardslord lieutenantswere appointed to oversee themilitiafor each county; with the exceptions ofLondonandHaverfordwest,each county corporate was covered by the lieutenant of an adjoining county. Provisions were also made allowing court cases arising from counties corporate to be heard at theassizesfor the adjoining county.

"County corporate" was not a statutory name, but was a commonly used description for such towns and cities. Other terms used includedcounty of itselforcity and county.They were similar to anindependent cityorconsolidated city-countyin other countries. The equivalent term inScotlandwas acounty of a city.

In England and Wales,county boroughswere created from 1889 onwards, which were similar in that they were places that were independent from their surrounding counties for local government functions. There was some overlap between the places that were counties corporate for judicial purposes and the places that were county boroughs for local government purposes. Sheriffs retained some judicial functions until 1972 when the courts system was reformed. The counties corporate were abolished in England and Wales in 1974, although some of the former counties corporate still retain the right to appoint a ceremonial sheriff.

History

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England and Wales

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Counties were originally areas used for the administration of justice. Each had a sheriff, who was usually appointed by the monarch. Separately,boroughswere certain towns or cities which had a degree of self-government. The rights and functions belonging to each borough varied, depending on what had been included in the borough'scharter.The inhabitants of a borough were deemed in law to be capable of acting as a singlecorporate person,allowing the borough to enter into contracts and litigation. The ruling body of a borough was commonly called its corporation, although the terms 'town council' and 'city council' were also used. Many boroughs had rights under their charters to hold certain types of court cases.[1]

Around 1132, theCorporation of Londonwas given the right to appoint two sheriffs to jointly serve the city and the county ofMiddlesexin which it was located, instead of the monarch appointing aSheriff of Middlesexwith jurisdiction over London as had previously been the case.[2]Other boroughs later campaigned for the right to appoint their own sheriffs too, which would allow them to hold all types of court case. In 1373,Bristolwas the next borough to be given the right to appoint its own sheriff. Bristol's elevation to being its own county was partly on the basis of its growing size and importance, and partly because the borough straddled the counties ofGloucestershireandSomerset(both of which held their courts some distance from Bristol) which had caused problems with the administration of the borough.[3][4]

Other large boroughs later followed suit. The charters giving boroughs the rights to appoint their own sheriff generally did not use the term 'county corporate', instead using wording which made the borough into a new county and directed that the sheriff for that new county should be chosen by the borough corporation, rather than the monarch as was the case for other counties. One exception was the charter awarded toCoventryin 1451, which did explicitly use the term 'county corporate'.[5]Although not a statutory term, 'county corporate' came to be used to describe these places which were legally counties, but where the right to appoint a sheriff rested with the borough corporation rather than with the monarch.[6][7]

Moot Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne:Served as main courthouse forNorthumberland,and so was made an exclave of that county surrounded by the county corporate ofNewcastle upon Tyne

Some of the counties corporate were also thecounty townof the wider county in which they lay. In nine such cases (Carmarthen,Chester,Exeter,Gloucester,Lincoln,Newcastle upon Tyne,Norwich,Nottingham,andYork) the area around the courthouse for the wider county was excluded from the county corporate, making such courthousesexclavesof the wider county.[8]As well as larger towns and cities, some counties corporate were created to deal with specific local problems, such as border conflict (in the case ofBerwick-upon-Tweed) andpiracy(in the cases ofPooleandHaverfordwest).[9]

Most of the counties corporate only covered the borough, but in three cases they extended beyond the borough boundaries to include adjoining areas. York was made a county corporate in 1396, and its jurisdiction was extended in 1449 to cover an area to the west of the city known as theAinsty.[10][11]Kingston upon Hullwas made a county corporate in 1440, and its jurisdiction was extended in 1447 to cover an adjoining area to the west, which became known asHullshire.[12][13]When Coventry was made a county corporate in 1451 its jurisdiction covered several surrounding villages known as theCounty of the City of Coventry.[14]York and Hull lost their jurisdiction over the rural areas when both were reduced to just cover the borough boundaries under theMunicipal Corporation (Boundaries) Act 1836.[15]There were disputes about the effect of the 1836 Act on Coventry, which were resolved in 1842 when the county corporate of Coventry was abolished completely and the city and surrounding villages were placed back under the authority of theSheriff of Warwickshire.[16]

TheSheriff of the City of Londonalso had a jurisdiction that extended beyond the city boundary, covering the whole of the county of Middlesex. In 1889 the sheriff's jurisdiction was reduced to just cover the city itself, on the creation of the separate positions ofSheriff of the County of London,covering the rest of the newCounty of Londonas lay outside the city itself, andSheriff of Middlesex,covering the reduced area of Middlesex that was left outside the County of London.[17]

Lord-lieutenants began to be appointed in each county from Tudor times onwards. Although counties corporate were legally described as counties, they were not given their own lieutenants, with the exceptions of London and Haverfordwest. Instead, lieutenants were appointed to what was termed the 'county at large', including counties corporate with the adjoining county from which they had been separated.[18]The practice of not appointing separate lieutenants for counties corporate was an informal convention at first, but was subsequently made statutory under the Militia Act 1882.[19]

Poole Guildhall,built 1761: Served both as meeting place of the borough council and as the courthouse for the county corporate ofPoole

From the 18th century onwards, court cases arising from counties corporate were allowed to be held jointly with the assizes for the neighbouring county.[20]

In 1836 all the counties corporate except London were reformed to becomemunicipal boroughsunder theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835.[21]Elected county councils were established in 1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888.Certain boroughs were considered large enough for their existing corporations to provide county-level local government functions, and so they were given a new status ofcounty borough.The new local government arrangements in 1889 did not directly affect the counties corporate, which were judicial in nature rather than providing local government functions. However, most of the counties corporate also qualified to be made county boroughs. There were only five counties corporate which did not become county boroughs, beingBerwick upon Tweed,Lichfield,Poole,Carmarthenand Haverfordwest. Those five became part of theadministrative countyin which they were situated for local government purposes, but retained their separate judicial functions and right to appoint their own sheriffs. The City of London retained (and as of 2024 still retains) its previous status, including most responsibilities associated with a borough and some normally associated with a county, for example having its own police force and its own education authority.

Theassizes,quarter sessionsand other courts which had been under the responsibility of a sheriff were all abolished in 1972 under theCourts Act 1971,thus ending the judicial powers associated with being a county corporate. The counties corporate were not explicitly abolished by the 1971 Act, and they retained the right to appoint a sheriff, albeit no longer holding any powers. With the exception of the City of London, the other counties corporate, being a type ofmunicipal borough,were abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972which abolished all municipal boroughs. Some of the new bodies created in 1974, including town councils forcivil parishesandnon-metropolitan districtcouncils, were given the right to continue to appoint a ceremonial sheriff if that town or city had been a county corporate prior to 1974.[22]

Ireland

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In Ireland, eight counties corporate were extant by 1610. Each had its owngrand jury,assizesand county gaol, separate from those of the adjoining "county-at-large", even though the relevant city or town might be thecounty townof the county-at-large, in which case the latter's courthouse and gaol would be considered exclaves of the county-at-large.[23]An act of 1788 allowed the same courthouse or gaol to be shared by county corporate and county-at-large.[24](Dublin cityandCounty Dublin,like theCity of LondonandMiddlesex,were outside the assize system but similarly separate jurisdictions.) Where anact of Parliamentreferred to "any county" it was doubtful that this included counties corporate, the latter intent being expressed as "any county, county of a city, or county of a town". Acts of 1542 and 1765 were extended to counties corporate in 1807.[25]Each county corporate contained rural "liberties" outside the city or town'smunicipalboundary; in six cases these were transferred to the adjacent county-at-large in 1840–2; the exceptions wereGalwayandCarrickfergus,where the municipal corporation was abolished instead.[26]The extantbaroniesofCorkandDublinare coterminous with the territories transferred from the respective cities in 1840, while theNorth Libertiesbarony is part of the former county of the city ofLimerick,whose south liberties were absorbed by pre-existing baronies. The 1842 report of the Select Committee on Grand Jury Presentments of Ireland found none of the counties corporate exceptDroghedaderived any advantage from their status, and recommended they be absorbed as baronies of the adjoining county-at-large.[27]The counties corporate were explicitly abolished in 1899 under the terms of theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898.Cork,Dublin, Limerick andWaterfordbecame county boroughs. Carrickfergus, Drogheda, Galway andKilkennybecame parts of administrative counties.[28]The baronies ofCarrickfergusandGalwayare coterminous with the former corporate counties.

List of counties corporate

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The counties corporate (listed with date of creation where known) were:[29]

England

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  1. ^The City of Bristol regained its separate shrievalty and lieutenancy in 1996.
  2. ^The City of London retains its separateshrievaltyandlieutenancy.

Wales

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Ireland

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice Potter (1906).English local government, from the Revolution to the Municipal Corporations Act.London: Longmans, Green. p. 287.Retrieved17 March2024.
  2. ^Tatlock, J. S. P. (October 1936)."The Date of Henry I's Charter to London".Speculum.11(4): 461–469.doi:10.2307/2848538.JSTOR2848538.Retrieved17 March2024.
  3. ^Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 2.1835. pp. 1151–1152.Retrieved22 May2024.
  4. ^Ralph, Elizabeth (1973).Government of Bristol, 1373–1973.Bristol: Corporation of Bristol. pp. 5–6.Retrieved23 May2024.
  5. ^Camden, William (1610).Britain.p. 568.Retrieved11 November2024.
  6. ^The General Shop Book: or the Tradesman's Universal Directory.1753. p. 3.Retrieved11 November2024.
  7. ^Herbert, N. M.; Jenkin, A. F. (1888).The Councillors' Handbook.London: Haddin, Best & Co. p. 23.Retrieved14 November2024.
  8. ^Dickinson, William; Talfourd, Sarjeant (1838).A Practical Guide to the Quarter Sessions(4th ed.). London: S. Sweet, W. T. Clarke, V. & R. Stevens, A. Maxwell, H. Butterworth, and Richards & Co. p. 134.Retrieved14 November2024.
  9. ^Arnold-Baker, Charles (2015).The Companion to British History.Taylor & Francis. p. 368.ISBN9781317400400.Retrieved13 November2024.
  10. ^A History of the County of York.London: Victoria County History. 1961. pp. 69–75.Retrieved18 February2024.
  11. ^A History of the County of York.London: Victoria County History. 1961. pp. 75–79.Retrieved18 February2024.
  12. ^Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Municipal Corporations of England and Wales: Appendix 3.1835. p. 1545.Retrieved8 July2024.
  13. ^Taylor, Martin (2017).Charters: The Making of Hull(PDF).Hull History Centre. p. 12.Retrieved8 July2024.
  14. ^"The City of Coventry: Local government and public services, Local government to 1451".A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8.London: Victoria County History. 1969. pp. 256–263.Retrieved15 February2024.
  15. ^Pratt, John Tidd (1836). "An Act to make temporary provision for the boundaries of certain boroughs (6 & 7 Will 4 c 103)".A collection of the public general statutes passed in the last session (6 & 7 W IV).p. 191.Retrieved18 February2024.
  16. ^"An Act to annex the County of the City of Coventry to Warwickshire, and to define the Boundary of the City of Coventry".legislation.gov.uk.The National Archives.Retrieved15 February2024.
  17. ^Stephen, Henry; Miller, Horace E. (1888).The County Council Compendium.London: Waterlow & Sons. p. 101.Retrieved13 November2024.
  18. ^Webb, Sidney; Webb, Beatrice Potter (1906).English local government, from the Revolution to the Municipal Corporations Act.p. 284.Retrieved11 November2024.
  19. ^Militia Act.Sweet & Maxwell. 1882. p. 21.Retrieved18 February2024.
  20. ^Power, David (1866).Roscoe's Digest of the Law of Evidence in Criminal Cases.Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson & Co. pp. 229–230.Retrieved11 November2024.
  21. ^"Section 61".Municpal Corporations Act.1835. p. 414.Retrieved13 November2024.
  22. ^"National Association of City and Town Sheriffs of England and Wales".Retrieved11 November2024.
  23. ^3 Geo.3 c.34 (Ir) s.88
  24. ^Courthouses and Gaols Act 1788(28 Geo.3 c.38 (Ir.))
  25. ^47 Geo. 3 Sess. 1 c. 43andCounty Infirmaries (Ireland) Act 1807(47 Geo. 3 Sess. 2 c. 50)
  26. ^Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840(3 & 4 Vict. c.108); Counties and Boroughs (Ireland) Act 1840 (3 & 4 Vict. c.109); Dublin Baronies Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c.82)
  27. ^House of Commons Select Committee on Grand Jury Presentments of Ireland (1842).Report, minutes of evidence and appendix.Command papers.Vol. 42 Sub-vol.1 No.386. HMSO. p. xliv.[permanent dead link‍]
  28. ^A Handbook of Local Government in Ireland(1899) p.51
  29. ^F. A. Youngs,Guide to Local Administrative Units of England,2 volumes, London, 1979 and 1991
  30. ^Reports from Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 4.1835. p. 2616.Retrieved14 January2024.
  31. ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Newcastle-upon-Tyne".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 472–474.
  32. ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Norwich".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 819–820.
  33. ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Worcester".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 821–822.
  34. ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."York".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 927–929.
  35. ^Commissioners on Municipal Corporations in Ireland, Great Britain (1835)."Town of Carrickfergus".Appendix I (South-Eastern and part of the North-Eastern Circuit).Reports from Commissioners. Vol. 8: Municipal Corporations (Ireland). p. 743.;Robinson, Philip."Carrickfergus"(PDF).Irish Historic Towns Atlas Online.Royal Irish Academy.pp. 2, 3, 9.Retrieved17 February2018.
  36. ^"Charters".Cork City Council.Retrieved15 December2010.
  37. ^Johnston, L. C. (1826).History of Drogheda: from the earliest period to the present time.Drogheda. p. 37.
  38. ^Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Commissioners (1835)."II: Charters; 21: Edward VI".Appendix to the Report of the Commissioners: Report on the City of Dublin; Part I.House of Lords Sessional Papers. Vol. 9, Pt 1. London: HMSO. p. 5.
  39. ^Hardiman, James (1820).The history of the town and county of the town of Galway.Dublin. p.99.
  40. ^House of Commons, Great Britain. Parliament (1835)."Kilkenny, County of the City of".Appendix I (South-Eastern and part of the North-Eastern Circuit).Reports from Commissioners. Vol. 8: Municipal Corporations (Ireland). p. 535.
  41. ^Fitzgerald, Patrick; John James McGregor (1827)."Political and Military History".The history, topography and antiquities, of the county and city of Limerick: with a preliminary view of the history and antiquities of Ireland.Vol. II. Limerick: George McKern. p. 221.
  42. ^Smith, Charles (1774)."Natural and Civil History".The ancient and present state of the county and city of Waterford(2nd ed.). Dublin. p. 134.
  43. ^abcCommissioners appointed to inquire into the municipal corporations in Ireland (1836)."Londonderry".Appendix: Part III: Conclusion of the North-Western Circuit.Command papers.Vol. XXIV. HMSO. p. 1117, §§9,10.Retrieved1 June2013.
  44. ^Harris, F. W. (1980). "The Commission of 1609: Legal Aspects".Studia Hibernica(20). St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra: 31–55: 35, 47, 55.doi:10.3828/sh.1980.20.2.JSTOR20496159.S2CID241980327.
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