(Redirected from Cathedral city)
Historically, city status in England and Wales was associated with the presence of a
cathedral, such as
York Minster.
'City status in the
United Kingdom' is granted by the
British monarch to a select group of communities. The status does not apply automatically on the basis of any particular criteria, although in
England and Wales it was traditionally given to towns with
diocesan cathedrals. This association between having a cathedral and being called a city was established in the early 1540s when
Henry VIII founded dioceses (and therefore cathedrals) in six English towns and also granted them all city status by issuing
letters patent.
History
Until the 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a
diocesan cathedral within its limits. This means some cities today are very small, because they were unaffected by population growth during the
industrial revolution — notably
Wells (population about 10,000) and
St David's (population about 2,000) (see
Smallest cities in the United Kingdom). After the sixteenth century, no new dioceses (and no new cities) were created until the nineteenth century, but the practice was revived with the creation of the diocese of
Ripon in 1836. A string of new dioceses and cities followed. This process was changed in 1888 to allow
Birmingham and other large settlements that did not have cathedrals to become cities (Birmingham's parish church later became a cathedral).
The presence of a cathedral in a
Scottish town before the
Reformation led often, but not universally, to its recognition as a city.
Dornoch, for instance, has never generally been called a city despite having had a pre-Reformation cathedral. The status of
royal burgh was, in terms of privileges, more relevant in Scotland than the status of city. After the Reformation, city status crystallized and no changes were made until the nineteenth century.
City status in Ireland tended historically to be granted by royal charter. There are many towns in Ireland with
Church of Ireland cathedrals which have never been called cities. In spite of this, the seat of the
Primate of All Ireland,
Armagh, was considered a city (despite its never having been granted a charter) until this status was lost in a local government reorganization in the nineteenth century. The only historic city with a charter in present-day Northern Ireland is
Derry, which was renamed "Londonderry" by its city charter.
City status conferment
City status is conferred by
letters patent and not by a royal charter (except historically in Ireland) but there are some cities in England and Wales that predate the historical monarchy, and have been regarded as cities since "
time immemorial".
The holding of city status brings no especial benefits other than the right to be called a city. All cities have to be re-issued with letters patent reconfirming city status following local government re-organisation where the original city has been abolished. This process was followed by a number of cities since 1974, and
York and
Hereford's status was confirmed in both 1974 and again in the 1990s. Failure to do so leads to the loss of city status as happened at
Rochester in 1998 (see below), and also previously in
St. David's and
Armagh, although both of these latter have regained city status since losing it. All three of these had been cities since time immemorial before the loss of city status.
Charters originated as
charters of incorporation, allowing a town to become an incorporated
borough, or to hold
markets. Some of these charters recognised officially that the town involved was a city. Apart from that recognition, it became accepted that such a charter could make a town into a city. The earliest examples of these are
Hereford and
Worcester, both of which date their city status to 1189.
The formal definition of a city has been disputed, in particular by inhabitants of towns that have been regarded as cities in the past but are not generally considered cities today. Additionally, although the Crown clearly has the right to bestow 'official' city status, some have doubted the right of the Crown to define the word "city" in the United Kingdom. In informal usage, "city" can be used for large towns or conurbations that are not formally cities. The best-known example of this is
London, which contains two cities (the '
City of London', and the '
City of Westminster') but is not itself a city.
Officially-designated cities
There are currently 66 officially-designated cities in the UK, of which eight have been created since 2000 in competitions to celebrate the new
millennium and Queen
Elizabeth II's
Golden Jubilee. The designation is highly sought after, with over 40 communities submitting bids at recent competitions.
Modern practice of granting city status
Towns that became seats of bishoprics in the twentieth century, such as
Chelmsford,
Guildford, and
Blackburn, were not automatically granted city status. However, well into the twentieth century it was often assumed that the presence of a cathedral was sufficient to elevate a town to city status, and that for cathedral cities the city charters were recognising its city status rather than granting it. On this basis, the
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica said that
Southwell (diocese established 1884) and
St Asaph (an historic diocese) are cities. These towns were never granted letters patent recognising this by the Crown, and so when the letters patent became the important criterion they were no longer generally considered cities.
In 1911 an application for city status by
Portsmouth was refused. Explaining the
Home Secretary's reason for not recommending the King to approve the petition, the
Lord Advocate stated:
..during the reign of his late Majesty it was found necessary, in order to maintain the value of the distinction, to lay down a rule as to the minimum population which should ordinarily, in connexion with other considerations, be regarded as qualifying a borough for that higher status.[1]
In 1927 a
Royal Commission on Local Government was examining local authority areas and functions in England and Wales. The question arose as to which towns were entitled to be called cities, and the chairman, the
Earl of Onslow, wrote to the
Home Office to seek clarification. The Home Office replied with a memorandum which read:
The title of a city which is borne by certain boroughs is a purely titular distinction. It has no connexion with the status of the borough in respect of local government and confers no powers or privileges. At the present time and for several centuries past the title has been obtained only by an express grant from the Sovereign effected by letters patent; but a certain number of cities possess the title by very ancient prescriptive right. There is no necessary connexion between the title of a city and the seat of a bishopric, and the creation of a new see neither constitutes the town concerned a city nor gives it any claim to the grant of letters patent creating it a city.
If a town wishes to obtain the title of a city the proper method of procedure is to address a petition to the King through the Home Office. It is the duty of the Home Secretary to submit such petitions to his Majesty and to advise his Majesty to the reply to be returned. It is a well-established principle that the grant of the title is only recommended in the case of towns of the first rank in population, size and importance, and having a distinctive character and identity of their own. At the present day, therefore, it is only rarely and in exceptional circumstances that the title is given.[2]
A town can now apply for city status by submitting an application to the
Lord Chancellor, who makes recommendations to the sovereign. Such competitions are usually held to mark special events, such as
coronations, royal jubilees or the
Millennium.
Lord Mayors
Only 28 cities have ceremonial
Lord Mayors. Patrick John Stannard (Lord Mayor of
Oxford) wears the chain of that office, 2004
Some cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the further distinction of having a
Lord Mayor rather than a simple
Mayor - in Scotland, the equivalent is the
Lord Provost. Lord Mayors have the right to be
styled "The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor". The Lord Mayors and Provosts of
Belfast,
Cardiff,
Edinburgh,
Glasgow,
City of London, and
York all have the further right to be styled "
The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor" (or Provost), though they are not members of the
Privy Council as this style usually indicates. The style is associated with the office, not the person holding it, so "The Right Worshipful Joe Bloggs" would be incorrect.
There are currently 66 recognised cities (including 30 Lord Mayoralties or Lord Provostships) in the UK: 50 cities (23 Lord Mayoralties) in
England, five cities (two Lord Mayoralties) in
Wales, six cities (four Lord Provostships) in
Scotland and five cities (one Lord Mayoralty) in
Northern Ireland.
In
Ireland, as a historical result of English rule, the head of local government of
Dublin is also the
Lord Mayor of Dublin. Whilst previously retaining the formal title of
Right Honourable, this was repealed in 2001. In addition, there is also a
Lord Mayor of Cork.
The Former City of Rochester
Rochester was recognised as a city from 1211 to 1998. On
April 1 1974 the city was abolished, becoming part of the
Borough of Medway, a
local government district in the county of
Kent. However, under
letters patent the area of the former city was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said city".
[3] The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979 the Borough of Medway was renamed as
Rochester-upon-Medway, and in 1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough.
[4] On
April 1,
1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and
Gillingham were abolished and became the new
unitary authority of
Medway. Since it was the local government district that officially held city status under the 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. The other local government districts with city status that were abolished around this time (
Bath and
Hereford) had decided to appoint
Charter Trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty. However, Rochester upon Medway City Council had decided not to. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, they discovered that Rochester was not on the
Lord Chancellor's Office's list of cities.
[5][6]
Pretenders
★ After its unsuccessful attempt to gain city status, the
town of
Reading, Berkshire started using the phrase "City Centre" on its buses and car park signs. Reading's immediate urban area has in excess of 230,000 inhabitants, making it one of the 20 largest settlements in the UK and larger than many sizeable cities including
Southampton,
Portsmouth,
Derby.
★ In its planning, the government of the day intended
Milton Keynes to be a "new city" in scale, it was referred to as such in contemporary supporting papers, but was
gazetted in 1967 as a
New Town. It has used the term "City Centre" on its buses and road signs for many years, mainly to avoid confusion with the centres of its pre-existing constituent towns.
★
Chelmsford's
cathedral dates only from 1914 (although the building is much older) and does not have city status: nevertheless its local football team calls itself
Chelmsford City F.C..
★
Dunfermline styles itself "A Twinned City" on the signs welcoming visitors to the town: see note 10.
★
Ballymena in
Northern Ireland has been known informally as "The City of the Seven Towers" since the nineteenth century.
[7]
List of officially-designated cities
The following are the officially-designated cities in the United Kingdom, as at 2004. Cities which have held such status since
time immemorial are indicated with "TI" in the column headed "Year granted city status". The column headed "(Diocesan) cathedral" shows the applicable diocesan cathedrals that were the grounds for the granting of city status, ie cathedrals of the
Church of England or the formerly established
Church in Wales, or pre-Reformation cathedrals in the
Church of Scotland, in the case of cities recognised prior to 1888. Certain cities also have
Roman Catholic cathedrals, but these are not listed. As from 1888, the presence of a cathedral ceased to be a relevant factor in granting city status and all entries after this date are, therefore, marked ''not applicable''. Cities which have acquired cathedrals since 1888 are
Birmingham,
Bradford,
Derby,
Leicester,
Newport,
Portsmouth and
Sheffield, while
Llandaff Cathedral was included within the boundaries of the city of Cardiff in 1922.
City Status confirmed by
Letters Patent issued under the
Great Seal dated
April 1,
1974.
[8]
City Status confirmed by
Letters Patent issued under the
Great Seal dated
June 25,
1974.
[9]
City Status confirmed by
Letters Patent issued under the
Great Seal dated
May 28,
1974.
[10]
Bath Abbey and
Westminster Abbey are no longer cathedrals.
Coventry has had three cathedrals: the first, St Mary's from 1043 to 1539; the second, St Michael's, from 1918 to 1940, when it was destroyed by German bombardment; and its replacement, also St Michael's, built alongside the old cathedral, consecrated in 1962.
Note that the
City of London covers only the "square mile", and is usually just referred to as "the City". The larger conurbation of
Greater London has no city charter, and consists of the City of London, the
City of Westminster and 31 other
London boroughs. This can be compared to the
City of Brussels, within
Brussels.
City status was confirmed by
Letters Patent dated
July 9,
1974.
[11] The city status extends to the entire district, although the district council calls itself "St Albans District Council" or "St Albans City and District".
Letters Patent under the
Great Seal conferring City Status were issued to the unitary authority of York on
1 April,
1996, confirming the right of the Lord Mayor to be styled "Right Honourable", in continuation to those granted to the previous City Council abolished
March 31,
1996.
[12]
Letters Patent under the
Great Seal were issued on
March 29,
1996 ordaining that the counties of Swansea and Cardiff should have the status of cities from
April 1,
1996. The counties replaced the previous district councils which had enjoyed city status.
According to the ''Municipal Year Book, 1972'' the
royal burghs of Perth and Elgin officially enjoyed city status. The royal burghs of
Brechin,
Dunfermline and
Kirkwall had also been officially described as "cities". As all burghs were abolished in 1975, these areas are now often called "former cities". Although Brechin does not have city status, the
community council formed for the area uses the title "City of Brechin and District".
The Provost of Inverness is the Area Convenor of the Inverness Area Committee of
Highland Council.
The Provost of Stirling is the civic head of the entire Stirling council area, although city status only extends to the town of Stirling.
Armagh had previously enjoyed city status, with
St Patrick's Cathedral the site of the metropolitan primate of all
Ireland. The city status was lost in 1840 when the city corporation was abolished. However, the successor
urban district council and district council frequently used the title of city without official sanction prior to 1994.
City Status confirmed by
Letters Patent issued under the
Great Seal dated
March 18,
1975.
[13]
City status granted by
Letters Patent dated
June 7,
1977.
[14]
City status granted to the "Town of Newport in the County Borough of Newport" and the "Town of Preston" by
Letters Patent dated
May 15,
2002.
[15]
Letters Patent dated
January 31,
2001 ordained that "the Towns of Brighton and Hove shall have the status of a City".
[16]
Letters Patent dated
January 31,
2001 ordained that "the Town of Wolverhampton shall have the status of a City".
dated
November 4,
1980 ordained that the "Town of Lichfield shall have the status of a City". A town council had been constituted in 1980 leading to the dissolution of the
Charter Trustees of the City of Lichfield.
[17][18]
City status granted by
Letters Patent dated
March 23,
1992.
[19]
City status was conferred on Hereford Town Council
October 11,
2000.
[20] The status had previously been confirmed to the district council formed in 1974. When that council was abolished in 1996
charter trustees were formed for the City of Hereford. On the formation of a town council for Hereford in April 2000 the charter trustees were dissolved, and the city status temporarily lapsed.
St. David's historically had city status because of the presence of
St David's Cathedral. This status was lost in the 19th. century after local government reorganization.
Letters Patent dated
September 16,
1994 ordained that the "Town of St. David's shall have the status of a City".
[21]
The title of City was used "by courtesy" after 1550 when Westminster ceased to be the see of a bishop. By
Letters Patent dated
October 27 1900 city status was conferred on the newly created
Metropolitan Borough of Westminster from
November 1.
[22] This status was continued on the creation of the
City of Westminster as a
london borough in 1965.
A letter from the
Home Secretary to the
Mayor of Leicester confirming that the city status would be bestowed, noted that this was a "restoration to your ancient town of its former status of a city."
[23][24]
Letters Patent dated
December 10,
1969.
[25]
Letters Patent dated
April 21,
1926.
[26]
Letters Patent dated
March 21,
1951.
[27]
Letters Patent dated
May 14,
1937.
[28]
Letters Patent dated
October 18,
1928.
[29]
Letters Patent dated
June 5,
1925.
[30]
Letters Patent dated
October 28,
1905, which also granted the title of Lord Mayor.
[31]
Letters Patent dated
March 22,
1982.
[32]
Letters Patent dated
July 13,
1988.
[33]
Letters Patent dated
March 10,
1992.
[34]
Letters Patent dated
June 6,
1953.
[35]
Letters Patent dated
May 1,
2002.
[36]
Declaration that the Chief Magistrate and Officer of the City to bear the style and title of Lord Mayor due to ''the city's high position in the roll of ports of [the] kingdom''
June 26,
1914[37][38]
Declaration that the Chief Magistrate to bear the honorary title of Lord Mayor
July 11,
1906.
[39]
Declaration that the Chief Magistrate of the City to bear the style and title of Lord Mayor
July 10,
1928 ''in consideration of its antiquity and importance''
[40][41]
Letters Patent dated
October 23,
1962.
[42]
Letters Patent dated
May 10,
1935, ''in commemoration of his Majesty's silver jubilee''
[43][44]
Letters Patent dated
March 11,
1966.
[45]
Style of "Right Honourable" conferred on Lord Mayor by Letters Patent dated
October 26,
1956. The city was designated the
capital of Wales at that date.
[46]
The first Lord Mayor was appointed
June 3,
1896.
[47]
Letters Patent dated
September 16,
1907.
[48]
The Lord Mayoralty of Bristol was granted as part of the Birthday Honours in 1899
[49][50]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1897
[51]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1928
[52]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1892
[53]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1892
[54]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1910 ''in view of the position occupied by that city as the chief city of East Anglia and of its close association with his Majesty''
[55]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted in 1927
[56]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted
July 12,
1897.
[57]
The Lord Mayoralty was granted
July 10,
1928.
[58]
Warrant issued 28 January 1889 that Letters Patent be issued under the Seal appointed by the treaty of union to be used in place of the Great Seal of Scotland, ordaining and declaring that the Burgh of Dundee shall be a City, and shall be called and styled "The City of Dundee"
[59]
Burghs of Old Aberdeen and Woodside and the district of Torry incorporated as the City and Royal Burgh of Aberdeen by the Aberdeen Corporation Act 1891 (1891 c.cxxiv)
The present council areas are designated "cities" by virtue of the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which also reserves the post of
Lord Provost for the convener of the four councils. The previous local government districts and district councils created by the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 enjoyed the same privileges.
Letters Patent dated January 14, 1889
[60]
City councils
The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and consequently, competitions for the status are hard fought.
Most cities have "city councils", which have varying powers depending upon the type of settlement. There are
unitary authorities (including
metropolitan and
London boroughs) that are responsible for all local government services within their area. (The only
London borough having city status is the
City of Westminster). Many cities have ordinary
district councils, which share power with
county councils. At the bottom end of the scale, some cities have
civil parish councils, with no more power than a
village.
Some cities have no council at all. Where they used to have a city council but it has been abolished they may have
Charter Trustees, drawn from the local district council, who appoint the mayor and look after the city's traditions.
Most "cities" are not, in fact,
cities in the traditional sense of the word (that is, a large urban area) but are
local government districts which have city status and which often encompass large rural areas. Examples are the
City of Canterbury and
City of Wakefield. The largest "city" district in terms of area is the
City of Carlisle, which covers some 400 square miles (1040 km²) of mostly rural landscape in the north of England, and is larger than smaller counties such as
Merseyside or
Rutland. The
City of Sheffield contains part of the
Peak District National Park. This is however merely a curiosity and has had no impact on the general usage of the word "city" in the UK, which has unambiguously retained its urban meaning in
British English. Residents of the rural parts of the "City of Carlisle" and the like might be aware of the name of their local council, but would not consider themselves to be inhabitants of a city with a small "c".
Equally, there are some cities where the local government district is in fact smaller than the historical or natural boundaries of the city. Four examples of this are
Manchester (where the traditional area associated includes areas of the neighbouring authorities of Trafford, Tameside, Oldham, Bury and the City of Salford),
Glasgow (where suburban areas of the city are located in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire),
Wolverhampton (areas of the neighbouring authorities of Walsall, Dudley and South Staffordshire) and most obviously,
London (Greater London outside the City of London).
This contrasts with the situation in the United States, where the primary meaning of the word "city" is any area contained within
city limits, completely disregarding whether or not that area is recognisable as a traditional "city".
Due to the widespread interest in information about towns and cities, and for comparisons between urban populations and with those living outside towns, the Government at each census produces a report
Key Statistics for Urban Areas that separates the population of the actual town or city from the population of the area controlled by the council bearing its name.
Applications for city status
City status grants have been used to mark special royal and other occasions.
Swansea was granted city status in 1969 to mark the investiture of
Charles, Duke of Cornwall as
Prince of Wales. At the
Queen's
Silver Jubilee in
1977,
Derby was granted the honour. The use of formal competitions for city status is a recent practice. The first competition was held in 1992, to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Queen's reign.
Sunderland was the winner. In 1994 two historic seats of Bishoprics —
St David's and
Armagh — were granted city status. They had been considered cities historically, but this status had lapsed. For the city applications in 2000, held to celebrate the
millennium, the following towns and boroughs requested city status:
★ ''England'':
Blackburn,
Blackpool,
Bolton,
Brighton & Hove,
Chelmsford,
Colchester,
Croydon,
Doncaster,
Dover,
Guildford,
Ipswich,
Luton,
Maidstone,
Medway,
Middlesbrough,
Milton Keynes,
Northampton,
Preston,
Reading,
Shrewsbury and Atcham,
Southend-on-Sea,
Southwark,
Stockport,
Swindon,
Telford and Wrekin,
Warrington,
Wolverhampton.
★ ''Scotland'':
Ayr,
Inverness,
Paisley,
Stirling.
★ ''Wales'':
Aberystwyth,
Machynlleth,
Newport,
Newtown,
St Asaph,
Wrexham.
★ ''Northern Ireland'':
Ballymena,
Lisburn.
The three winners were
Brighton & Hove,
Wolverhampton, and
Inverness, which were subsequently dubbed "Millennium Cities".
For the 2002 applications, held to celebrate the Queen's
Golden Jubilee, the entrants included all of the above towns except
Southwark, together with
Greenwich and
Wirral in England,
Dumfries in Scotland and
Carrickfergus,
Coleraine,
Craigavon and
Newry in Northern Ireland. There was controversy in the rest of the UK — especially in
Wales — over the fact that two of the three winners of the 2000 competition were
English towns, so 2002 was run as four separate competitions. The winners in Great Britain were
Preston in England,
Newport in Wales, and
Stirling in Scotland. In
Northern Ireland it was decided to award city status to two entrants:
Lisburn (predominantly unionist) and
Newry (predominantly nationalist) so that offence would not be caused to either community.
Exeter was awarded Lord Mayoralty status in a separate application.
Cathedral towns
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
In relation to the fact that being the seat of a
Church of England diocese is no longer sufficient or necessary to gain city status, a number of cathedral towns exist. In Ireland, as noted above, possession of a diocesan cathedral has never (except in the anomalous case of Armagh) been sufficient to attain this status. Towns with cathedrals may nevertheless be referred to as "cities" by their inhabitants — particularly in the case of St Asaph and Rochester.
Additionally
Llandaff, which is now part of the
City of Cardiff local government district, is home to
Llandaff Cathedral.
The
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica refers to Llandaff, Southwell and St Asaph as cities, along with
Armagh and
Lisburn in
Northern Ireland. (The latter two achieved city status formally in 1994 and 2002 respectively.)
There are four towns in Northern Ireland with Church of Ireland Cathedrals that do not have city status —
Clogher,
Downpatrick,
Dromore and
Enniskillen.
In total there are
17 English, Welsh and Northern Ireland towns that have city status but do not have Anglican cathedrals within their borders -
Bath (a former cathedral),
Brighton & Hove,
Cambridge,
Hull,
Lancaster,
Leeds,
Newry,
Nottingham,
Plymouth,
Preston,
Salford,
Southampton,
Stoke-on-Trent,
Sunderland,
Swansea,
Westminster (but Westminster Abbey was a cathedral briefly during the reign of Henry VIII) and
Wolverhampton.
Scotland
The
national church of
Scotland, the
Church of Scotland, is
presbyterian in governance with no
bishops or
dioceses, and thus has
high kirks rather than
cathedrals. However the pre-
Reformation dioceses do have extant cathedrals.
Perth is often called a city, the ''fair city of Perth''. Additionally,
St. Andrews,
Brechin and
Elgin are often referred to as cities, as they have (ruined) pre-Reformation cathedrals. In the past Elgin, Brechin and Perth were all cities.
Stirling, which was awarded city status in 2002, has never had a cathedral.
Large towns
As noted above, in ordinary discourse, "city" can refer to any large settlement, with no fixed limit.
There are certain towns which have large urban areas, which could qualify for city status on the grounds of their population size. Some have applied for city status and had the application turned down. Northampton is one of the most populous urban districts not to be a London Borough, metropolitan borough or city; on this basis the council claims that it is the largest town in England.
At every census the government produces the report
Key Statistics for Urban Areas which shows that the following are the largest ten urban sub-areas outside London not a part of a city or having a city as a component:
★
Reading — 232,662
★
Dudley — 194,919
★
Northampton — 189,474
★
Luton — 185,543
★
Milton Keynes (urban area) — 184,506
★
Walsall — 174,994
★
Bournemouth — 167,527
★
Southend-on-Sea — 160,257
★
Swindon — 155,432
★
Huddersfield - 146,234
See
List of English cities by population for further such examples in England.
It should be noted that city status is usually not granted to urban areas, but to local government areas such as civil parishes and boroughs, the boundaries, and hence populations, of which are not necessarily the same. The
City of Stirling and the
City of Inverness provide counterexamples here.
Stirling Council's application for city status was specifically for the urban area of the (now former)
Royal Burgh of Stirling - proposed city boundaries were included, and so not all of the
council area has city status.
This leads to the oddity whereby city status can be granted to areas that are not generally regarded as towns. Historical or "federal cities" of this type would be
Stoke-on-Trent,
Sunderland and
Brighton & Hove - in all these cases the borough was formed and then city status granted to it afterwards.
The largest local authorities to have applied for city status in the recent competitions are
★
London Borough of Croydon — 330,587
★
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral — 312,293
★
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster — 286,866
★
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport — 284,528
★
Metropolitan Borough of Bolton — 261,037
★
Borough of Medway — 249,488
★
London Borough of Southwark — 244,866
★
London Borough of Greenwich — 214,403
★
Borough of Milton Keynes — 207,057
★
Borough of Northampton — 194,458
★
Borough of Warrington — 191,084
★
Borough of Luton — 184,371
★
Borough of Swindon — 180,051
★
Borough of Telford & Wrekin - 161,600
★
Borough of Southend-on-Sea — 159,600
See also
★
★
Towns of the United Kingdom
★
List of UK place names with royal patronage
★
List of English cities by population
★
Smallest cities in the United Kingdom
★
List of conurbations in the United Kingdom
★
UK topics
City status elsewhere
★
Cities in Ireland
★
City rights in the Low Countries
References
1. ''House of Commons - Status of Portsmouth'', The Times, June 21, 1911
2. ''Functions of local authorities. Memorandum from Health Ministry'', The Times, 17 June, 1927
3. Letters Patent dated March 18, 1974, text retrieved from Medway Council archives website
4. Letters Patent dated January 25, 1982, text retrieved from Medway Council archives website
5. BBC News - Thursday, 16 May, 2002 - Error costs Rochester city status
6. Medway Council - REGENERATION AND COMMUNITY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - DATE 4 MARCH 2003 - TITLE OF REPORT ROCHESTER CITY STATUS
7. Ballymena Borough Council Timeline
8. London Gazette, issue no. 46255, April 4, 1974
9. London Gazette, issue no. 46303, June 28, 1974
10. London Gazette, issue no. 46334, May 31, 1974
11. London Gazette, issue no. 46352, September 24, 1974
12. London Gazette, issue no. 54363, April 4, 1996
13. London Gazette, issue no. 46522, March 20, 1975
14. London Gazette, issue no. 47246, June 14, 1977
15. London Gazette, issue no. 56573, May 21, 2002
16. London Gazette, issue no.56109, May 2, 2001
17. London Gazette, issue no. 48364, November 7 1980
18. Lichfield City Council website
19. London Gazette, issue no.52874, March 26, 1992
20. Charters of Hereford City Council
21. London Gazette, issue no. 53798, September 23, 1994
22. London Gazette issue no. 27242, October 30 1900
23. The Times: Leicester, a City: Sequel to the Recent Royal Visit
24. ''Leicester: The Dignity of a City 655–1926, Leicester's city status, its loss and its regaining over thirteen centuries'' by Daniel Williams
25. London Gazette, issue no.44986, December 12, 1969
26. London Gazette, issue no.33154, April 23, 1926
27. London Gazette, issue no.39201, April 13, 1951
28. London Gazette, issue no.34400, May 21, 1937
29. London Gazette, issue no.33433, October 26, 1928
30. London Gazettte, issue no.33063, July 3, 1925
31. London Gazette, issue no.27849, October 31, 1905
32. London Gazette, issue no.48932, March 25, 1982
33. London Gazette, issue no.51416, July 20, 1988
34. London Gazette, issue no.52861, March 13, 1992
35. London Gazette, issue no.39983, June 6, 1953
36. London Gazette, issue no.56556, May 1, 2002
37. London Gazette, issue no.28845, June 30, 1914
38. ''The King's Honour to Hull'', The Times, June 27, 1914
39. London Gazette, issue no.52861, July 27, 1906
40. London Gazette, issue no.33405, June 20, 1928
41. The Times, July 11, 1928
42. London Gazette, issue no.42815, October 23, 1962
43. London Gazette, issue no.34160, May 10, 1935
44. ''Lord Mayor of Plymouth'', The Times, May 7, 1935
45. London Gazette, issue no.43921, March 11, 1966
46. London Gazette, issue no.40911, October 26, 1956
47. History of Mayoralty of Birmingham from Birmingham City Council website
48. London Gazette, issue no.28065, October 1, 1907
49. ''Birthday Honours'', The Times, June 3, 1899
50. History of The Lord Mayor of Bristol from Bristol City Council website
51. Lord Mayor of Leeds from Leeds City Council website
52. Lord Mayors of Leicester from Leicester City Council website
53. List of Lord Mayors of Liverpool from Liverpool City Council website
54. List of Lord Mayors from Manchester City Council website
55. ''The King and Norwich'', The Times, February 7, 1910
56. Lord Mayors of Portsmouth from Portsmouth City Council website
57. History of the Lord Mayor from Sheffield City Council website
58. Stoke-on-Trent City Council website
59. London Gazette, January 29, 1889
60. ''From the London Gazette, January 18, 1889'', The Times, January 19, 1889
External links
★
Government list of UK cities
★
BBC News: Rochester loses city status
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