SCOTLAND

When Scottish local government was reorganised in 1975, counties were completely removed from the system. For ceremonial (lieutenantcy) purposes the country was divided into "areas", which were based on the grouping of District councils into something resembling the old counties. Sherriffs in scotland are a sort of judge and their areas have nothing to do with the county system. The areas established in 1975 were:

1.. Berwickshire - Berwickshire DC
2.. Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale - Roxburgh DC, Ettrick and Lauderdale DC (Formerly Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire)
3.. Tweeddale - Tweeddale DC (Formerly Peeblesshire)
4.. Clackmannan - Clackmannan DC
5.. Stirling and Falkirk - Stirling DC, Falkirk DC (Formerly Stirlingshire but including much of Perthshire)
6.. Dumfries - Annandale & Eskdale DC, Nithsdale DC (Formerly Dumfriesshire)
7.. Wigtown - Wigtown DC
8.. Stewartry of Kirkcudbright - Stewartry DC (Formerly Kirkcudbrightshire)
9.. Fife - Fife Region
10.. Aberdeenshire - Gordon DC, Banff & Buchan DC (part), Kincardine & Deeside DC (part)
11.. Banffshire - Banff & Buchan DC (part), Moray DC (part)
12.. Kincardineshire - Kincardine and Deeside DC (part)
13.. Morayshire - Moray DC (part)
14.. Caithness - Caithness DC
15.. Inverness - Inverness DC, Badenoch & Strathspey DC, Lochaber DC
16.. Nairn - Nairn DC
17.. Ross and Cromarty - Ross & Cromarty DC
18.. Sutherland DC - Sutherland DC
19.. East Lothian - East Lothian DC
20.. Midlothian DC - Midlothian DC
21.. West Lothian - West Lothian DC
22.. Argyll & Bute - Argyll & Bute Dc
23.. Ayrshire & Arran - Cunninghame DC, Kilmarnock & Loudoun DC, Kyle & Carrick DC, Cumnock & Doon Valley DC
24.. Dumbartonshire - Dumbarton DC, Clydebank DC, Bearsden & Milngavie DC, Strathkelvin DC, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth DC
25.. Lanarkshire - Clydesdale (or Lanark) DC, Motherwell DC, Hamilton DC, East Kilbride DC, Monklands DC
26.. Renfrewshire - Renfrew DC, Inverclyde DC, Eastwood DC
27.. Angus - Angus DC
28.. Perth and Kinross - Perth & Kinross DC
29.. Orkney
30.. Shetland
31.. Western Isles

To Which should be added:
City of Aberdeen
City of Glasgow
City of Dundee
City of Edinburgh
These have been "Counties of Cities" for centuries, and the Lord Provost is the Lord Lieutenant ex officio.

The areas were altered somewhat in by Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 731 (S.83) The Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996

Name Area
Aberdeenshire The county of Aberdeen except those parts of that county which form part of the new local government area of Aberdeen City
Angus The new local government area of Angus
Argyll and Bute The district of Argyll and Bute
Ayrshire and Arran The district of Kilmarnock and Loudoun, the district of Cumnock and Doon Valley, the district of Cunninghame and the district of Kyle and Carrick
Banffshire The county of Banff
Berwickshire The district of Berwickshire
Caithness The district of Caithness
Clackmannan The district of Clackmannan
Dumfries The district of Nithsdale and the district of Annandale and Eskdale
Dunbartonshire The district of Dumbarton, the district of Clydebank, the district of Bearsden and Milngavie, the district of Strathkelvin, the district of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and the South Lenzie/Waterside district ward in electoral division 46 (Chryston) of Strathclyde region
East Lothian The district of East Lothian
Fife Fife region
Inverness The district of Lochaber, the district of Inverness and the district of Badenoch and Strathspey
Kincardineshire The county of Kincardine except the electoral division of Nigg
Lanarkshire The district of Monklands, the district of Motherwell, the district of Hamilton, the district of East Kilbride, the district of Clydesdale and the following electoral divisions of Strathclyde region, namely electoral division 46 (Chryston) (except South Lenzie/Waterside district ward), electoral division 37 (Rutherglen/Fernhill), electoral division 38 (Cambuslang/Halfway) and, in electoral division 35 (Kingspark/Toryglen), polling districts RU03, RU04, RU09 and RU18.
Midlothian The district of Midlothian
Moray The county of Moray except those parts of that county which, on the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, formed part of Highland Region
Nairn The district of Nairn
Orkney Orkney Islands area
Perth and Kinross The new local government area of Perth and Kinross
Renfrewshire The district of Eastwood, the district of Renfrew and the district of Inverclyde
Ross and Cromarty The district of Ross and Cromarty and the district of Skye and Lochalsh
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale The district of Roxburgh and the district of Ettrick and Lauderdale
Shetland Shetland Islands area
Stirling and Falkirk The district of Stirling and the district of Falkirk
Sutherland The district of Sutherland
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright The district of Stewartry
Tweeddale The district of Tweeddale
West Lothian The district of West Lothian
Western Isles Western Isles Islands area
Wigtown The district of Wigtown

Postal Counties
The Post Office continued to use the traditional counties for addressing until 1996. The Regions were never correct postally. The only differences between postal and traditional counties was that Ross and Cromarty was called Ross-shire, and that the various islands off the north and west coasts were postal counties such as "Isle of Skye" or "Isle of Ronaldsay". This meant that Buteshire, Orkney and Shetland, consisting entirely of islands did not appear as postal counties.

WALES

For Ceremonial purposes there are eight "preserved counties" for lieutenantcy and shrievality. These have the same names as the 1974 - 1996 Administrative Counties, but have had their boundaries shifted to align more closely to the unitary councils.

1.. Clwyd - Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham, part of Conwy
2.. Dyfed - Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion
3.. Gwent - Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Newport, part of Caerphilly
4.. Gwynedd - Anglesey, Gwynedd, part of Conwy
5.. Mid Glamorgan - Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff, part of Caerphilly
6.. Powys - Powys
7.. South Glamorgan - Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan
8.. West Glamorgan - Swansea, Neath Port Talbot

Just to confuse things, the Gwent Police cover a different area to either the old administrative or the new ceremonial county.

NORTHERN IRELAND

For Ceremonial Purposes the traditional six counties and two cities of Northern Ireland remain as they were before 1973. Lord Lieutenants and High Sherriffs are appointed for each county.

1.. County Antrim
2.. County Armagh
3.. County Down
4.. County Fermanagh
5.. County Londonderry
6.. County Tyrone
7.. City of Belfast
8.. City of Londonderry

These counties and cities are shown on road maps and Ordnance Survey Maps, and have never been in any way replaced in local usage.

Note that the Local Government City is officially called Derry, and many of the residents of the county, and everybody on the other side of the border calls it Derry.

The Post Office always used these counties too.

Name	Area
Aberdeenshire	The county of Aberdeen except those parts of that county which form part of the new local government area of Aberdeen City
Angus	The new local government area of Angus
Argyll and Bute	The district of Argyll and Bute
Ayrshire and Arran	The district of Kilmarnock and Loudoun, the district of Cumnock and Doon Valley, the district of Cunninghame and the district of Kyle and Carrick
Banffshire	The county of Banff
Berwickshire	The district of Berwickshire
Caithness	The district of Caithness
Clackmannan	The district of Clackmannan
Dumfries	The district of Nithsdale and the district of Annandale and Eskdale
Dunbartonshire	The district of Dumbarton, the district of Clydebank, the district of Bearsden and Milngavie, the district of Strathkelvin, the district of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and the South Lenzie/Waterside district ward in electoral division 46 (Chryston) of Strathclyde region
East Lothian	The district of East Lothian
Fife	Fife region
Inverness	The district of Lochaber, the district of Inverness and the district of Badenoch and Strathspey
Kincardineshire	The county of Kincardine except the electoral division of Nigg
Lanarkshire	The district of Monklands, the district of Motherwell, the district of Hamilton, the district of East Kilbride, the district of Clydesdale and the following electoral divisions of Strathclyde region, namely electoral division 46 (Chryston) (except South Lenzie/Waterside district ward), electoral division 37 (Rutherglen/Fernhill), electoral division 38 (Cambuslang/Halfway) and, in electoral division 35 (Kingspark/Toryglen), polling districts RU03, RU04, RU09 and RU18.
Midlothian	The district of Midlothian
Moray	The county of Moray except those parts of that county which, on the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, formed part of Highland Region
Nairn	The district of Nairn
Orkney	Orkney Islands area
Perth and Kinross	The new local government area of Perth and Kinross
Renfrewshire	The district of Eastwood, the district of Renfrew and the district of Inverclyde
Ross and Cromarty	The district of Ross and Cromarty and the district of Skye and Lochalsh
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale	The district of Roxburgh and the district of Ettrick and Lauderdale
Shetland	Shetland Islands area
Stirling and Falkirk	The district of Stirling and the district of Falkirk
Sutherland	The district of Sutherland
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright	The district of Stewartry
Tweeddale	The district of Tweeddale
West Lothian	The district of West Lothian
Western Isles	Western Isles Islands area
Wigtown	The district of Wigtown