List of cities in the United Kingdom

In the UK, city status is not automatically granted to a community meeting any particular criteria. It can only be obtained by receiving a Royal Charter. However some British cities which predate the historical monarchy have been regarded as cities since "time immemorial".

Until the 1880s, a town was usually granted city status if and only if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits. Nowdays the government holds competitions for city status, with towns submitting applications to the Lord Chancellor, who makes recomendations to the sovereign. These are usually held to mark special events, such as coronations or royal jubilees.

Some cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the further distinction of having a Lord Mayor (as opposed to a Mayor). In Scotland the equivalent are Lord Provosts.

There are currently 66 cities (including thirty Lord Mayoralties or Lord Provostships) in the UK: 50 cities (23 Lord Mayoralties) in England, 5 cities (2 Lord Mayoralties) in Wales, 6 cities (4 Lord Provostships) in Scotland and 5 cities (1 Lord Mayoralty) in Northern Ireland. Cities with Lord Mayors or Lord Provosts are shown in bold.

City Status since Cathedral* Gov.

English Cities

Bath 1590 Bath Abbey 3

Birmingham 1889 Birmingham Cathedral 1

Bradford 1897 Bradford Cathedral 1

Brighton & Hove 2000 none 1

Bristol 1542 Bristol Cathedral 1

Cambridge 1951 none 2

Canterbury Time Immemorial Christchurch Cathedral 2

Carlisle Time Immemorial Carlisle Cathedral 2

Chester Time Immemorial Chester Cathedral 2

Chichester Time Immemorial Chichester Cathedral 2

Coventry 1345 Coventry Cathedral 1

Derby 1977 Derby Cathedral 1

Durham Time Immemorial Durham Cathedral 2

Ely Time Immemorial Ely Cathedral 4

Exeter Time Immemorial Exeter Cathedral 2

Gloucester Time Immemorial Gloucester Cathedral 2

Hereford 1189 Hereford Cathedral 3

Kingston upon Hull 1299 none 1

Lancaster 1937 none 2

Leeds 1893 Leeds Cathedral 1

Leicester 1919 Leicester Cathedral 1

Lichfield 1553 Lichfield Cathedral 2

Lincoln Time Immemorial Lincoln Cathedral 2

Liverpool 1880 Liverpool Cathedral 1

London Time Immemorial St Paul's Cathedral 1

Manchester 1853 Manchester Cathedral 1

Newcastle upon Tyne 1882 Newcastle Cathedral 1

Norwich 1195 Norwich Cathedral 2

Nottingham 1897 none 1

Oxford 1542 Christ Church Cathedral 2

Peterborough 1541 Peterborough Cathedral 1

Plymouth 1928 none 1

Portsmouth 1926 Portsmouth Cathedral 1

Preston 2002 none 2

Ripon 1836 Ripon Cathedral 4

Rochester 1211 Rochester Cathedral 4

Salford 1926 none 1

Salisbury Time Immemorial Salisbury Cathedral 2

Sheffield 1893 Sheffield Cathedral 1

Southampton 1964 none 1

St Albans 1877 St Albans Cathedral 2

Stoke-on-Trent 1925 none 1

Sunderland 1992 none 1

Truro 1877 Truro Cathedral 4

Wakefield 1888 Wakefield Cathedral 1

Wells 1205 Wells Cathedral 4

Westminster 1540 Westminster Abbey 1

Winchester Time Immemorial Winchester Cathedral 2

Wolverhampton 2000 none 1

Worcester 1189 Worcester Cathedral 2

York Time Immemorial York Minster 1

Welsh Cities

Bangor Time Immemorial Bangor Cathedral 3

Cardiff 1905 Llandaf Cathedral 1

Newport 2002 St. Woolos Cathedral 1

St. David's 1994 St. David's Cathedral 3

Swansea 1969 none 1

Scottish Cities

Aberdeen 1891 Aberdeen Cathedral 1

Dundee 1889 none 1

Edinburgh 1329 Edinburgh Cathedral 1

Glasgow 1492 Glasgow Cathedral 1

Inverness 2000 none 3

Stirling 2002 none 1

Northern Irish Cities

Armagh 1994 Saint Patrick's Cathedral 1

Belfast 1888 Cathedral Church of Saint Anne 1

Londonderry 1613 Saint Columb's Cathedral 1

Lisburn 2002 none 1

Newry 2002 none 1

1 - City is a unitary authority
2 - City is a district within an administrative county
3 - City is within a unitary authority and has no city council
4 - City is within a district and has no city council
*Cathedral or Episcopal Seat of the Estabished Church

Encyclopedia Home Page

List of cities in the United Kingdom

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