County town

A county town is the most important town of any county in Britain and Ireland. In the United States the town is called the county seat. 

It can be the place where the headquarters of the county council is based, or the place where the courts are. It has usually been the county town for hundreds of years. It could also be the biggest or most important town in the county. There is often a university in or near the county town. Cities can also be county towns, such as Hereford, or Durham City.

Some examples of county towns today in England:

Aylesbury of Buckinghamshire
Ipswich of Suffolk
Bedford of Bedfordshire
Chelmsford of Essex
Chester of Cheshire
Exeter of Devon
Guildford of Surrey
Hereford of Herefordshire
Shrewsbury of Shropshire
Stafford of Staffordshire
Truro of Cornwall
Warwick of Warwickshire

Related pages
County seat