The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarch's representatives, in Scotland. The lord-lieutenants' titles chosen by the monarch and his legal advisers are mainly based on placenames of the traditional counties of Scotland. In 1794, permanent lieutenancies were established by Royal Warrant. By the Militia Act 1797 (37 Geo.3, C.103), the lieutenants appointed "for the Counties, Stewartries, Cities, and Places" were given powers to raise and command County Militia Units.
While in their lieutenancies, lord lieutenants are among the few individuals in Scotland officially permitted to fly a banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland, the "Lion Rampant" as it is more commonly known.
Lieutenancy areas are different from the current local government council areas and their committee areas. They also differ from other subdivisions of Scotland including sheriffdoms and former regions and districts.
The Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow also act ex officio as lord-lieutenants. This is a unique right in the United Kingdom: all other lord-lieutenants are appointed by the monarch, rather than being elected politicians.
Each Lord-Lieutenant of a county holding office immediately prior to the local government reorganisation of Scotland on 16 May 1975 was appointed to an area (usually the traditional county area or something very similar to it) within the regions and districts which were established on that date. The lieutenancy areas were not given names in the 1975 order transferring the lieutenancies. [1] When local government was reorganised again on 1 April 1996, the lieutenancy areas remained essentially the same, with minor border adjustments in some based on new council area boundaries. The order transferring the lieutenancies in 1996 gave each lieutenancy a name, usually taken from the names of the pre-1975 counties which roughly correspond to the lieutenancy areas. Some lieutenancy names differ though, with the pre-1975 county of Peeblesshire now corresponding to a lieutenancy of Tweeddale. [2]
| Pre-1975 lieutenancy (County) | Current Lieutenancy area | Former region | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | Aberdeenshire | Grampian | The County of Aberdeen as existing before 16 May 1975, except that part in the City of Aberdeen |
| Angus | Angus | Tayside | District of Angus |
| Argyll | Argyll and Bute | Strathclyde | District of Argyll and Bute |
| Ayr | Ayrshire and Arran | Strathclyde | Districts of Cunninghame, Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Kyle and Carrick and Cumnock and Doon Valley |
| Banffshire | Banffshire | Grampian | The county of Banffshire as existing before 16 May 1975 |
| Berwick | Berwickshire | Borders | District of Berwickshire |
| Caithness | Caithness | Highland | District of Caithness |
| Clackmannan | Clackmannanshire | Central | District of Clackmannan |
| Dumfries | Dumfries | Dumfries and Galloway | Districts of Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale |
| Dunbarton | Dunbartonshire [lower-alpha 1] | Strathclyde | Districts of Dumbarton, Clydebank, Bearsden and Milngavie, Strathkelvin and Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |
| East Lothian | East Lothian | Lothian | District of East Lothian |
| Fife | Fife | Fife | Entire region |
| Inverness | Inverness | Highland | Districts of Lochaber, Inverness and Badenoch and Strathspey |
| Kincardineshire | Kincardineshire | Grampian | The county of Kincardineshireas existing before 16 May 1975, except that part in the City of Aberdeen |
| Kinross (held jointly with Perth) | Perth and Kinross | Tayside | District of Perth and Kinross |
| Stewartry of Kirkcudbright | Stewartry of Kirkcudbright | Dumfries and Galloway | District of Stewartry |
| Lanark | Lanarkshire | Strathclyde | Districts of Monklands, Motherwell, Hamilton, East Kilbride and Lanark |
| Midlothian | Midlothian | Lothian | District of Midlothian |
| Moray or Elginshire | Moray or Morayshire | Grampian | The county of Morayshire as existing before 16 May 1975 |
| Nairn | Nairn | Highland | District of Nairn |
| Orkney | Orkney | Orkney Islands Area | Entire area |
| Peebles | Tweeddale | Borders | District of Tweeddale |
| Perth (held jointly with Kinross) | Perth and Kinross | Tayside | District of Perth and Kinross |
| Renfrew | Renfrewshire | Strathclyde | Districts of Eastwood, Renfrew and Inverclyde |
| Ross and Cromarty | Ross and Cromarty | Highland | Districts of Ross and Cromarty and Skye and Lochalsh |
| Roxburgh (held jointly with Selkirk) | Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale | Borders | District of Roxburgh |
| Selkirk (held jointly with Roxburgh) | Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale | Borders | District of Ettrick and Lauderdale |
| Stirling | Stirling and Falkirk | Central | Districts of Stirling and Falkirk |
| Sutherland | Sutherland | Highland | District of Sutherland |
| West Lothian | West Lothian | Lothian | District of West Lothian |
| – | Western Isles | Western Isles Islands Area | Entire area |
| Wigtown | Wigtown | Dumfries and Galloway | District of Wigtown |
| Zetland | Shetland | Shetland Islands Area | Entire area |
Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also known as the town council, from the granting of its first burgh charter in the 1170s until 1975. From 1975 until 1996 the city was governed by City of Glasgow District Council, a lower-tier authority within the Strathclyde region.
Falkirk is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central region created in 1975, which was abolished at that time. Prior to the 1975 reorganisation, the majority of the council area was part of the historic county of Stirlingshire, and a small part, namely Bo'ness and Blackness, was part of the former county of West Lothian.
A lord-lieutenant is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility over the local militia was removed. However, it was not until 1921 that they formally lost the right to call upon able-bodied men to fight when needed.
Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Perthshire to the north, Stirlingshire to the east, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire to the south, and Argyllshire to the west.
The counties of England are divisions of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are two main legal definitions of the counties in modern usage: the 84 counties for the purposes of local government, and the 48 counties for the purposes of lieutenancy, also termed the ceremonial counties.
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas", which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1997 of being known as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic name; only Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has chosen this option, whereas the Highland Council has adopted its Gaelic form alongside its English equivalent, informally.
Ceremonial counties, formally known as counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies, are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. They are one of the two main legal definitions of the counties of England in modern usage, the other being the counties for the purposes of local government legislation. A lord-lieutenant is the monarch's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have the same boundaries and serve a similar purpose, being the areas to which high sheriffs are appointed. High sheriffs are the monarch's judicial representative in an area.
Peeblesshire, the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire to the west.
Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. It derives its name from its county town, the royal burgh of Selkirk. The county was historically also known as Ettrick Forest.
Tweeddale is a committee area and lieutenancy area in the Scottish Borders council area in south-eastern Scotland. It had also been a province in the Middle Ages. From 1975 to 1996 it was a local government district. Its boundaries correspond to the historic county of Peeblesshire.
Ayrshire and Arran is a lieutenancy area of Scotland. It consists of the council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. The area of Ayrshire and Arran is also a brand for tourist attractions.
Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale is a lieutenancy area of Scotland. The lieutenancy area was created on 1 April 1996, when local government was reorganised across Scotland under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The lieutenancy area covers the combined area of the two abolished local government districts of Roxburgh and Ettrick and Lauderdale, which had been nominally separate lieutenancy areas prior to 1996, although both lieutenancies were held by John Scott, 9th Duke of Buccleuch. The lieutenancy area broadly corresponds to the historic counties of Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, plus small parts of Midlothian and Berwickshire.
Ettrick and Lauderdale was one of four local government districts in the Borders region of Scotland as well as a lieutenancy area from 1975 to 1996.
Annandale and Eskdale is a committee area in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It covers the areas of Annandale and Eskdale, the straths of the River Annan and the River Esk respectively. From 1975 until 1996 it was a local government district.
Nithsdale, also known as Strathnith, Stranith or Stranit, is the strath or dale of the River Nith in southern Scotland. Nithsdale was one of the medieval provinces of Scotland. The provinces gradually lost their administrative importance to the shires created from the twelfth century, with Nithsdale forming part of Dumfriesshire. A Nithsdale district covering a similar area to the medieval province was created in 1975, based in the area's main town of Dumfries. The district was abolished in 1996, since when the area has been directly administered by Dumfries and Galloway Council.
The Stewartry was a local government district from 1975 until 1996 within the Dumfries and Galloway region in south-west Scotland. Under the name The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright the area of the former district is still used as a lieutenancy area. Dumfries and Galloway Council has a Stewartry area committee which approximately covers the same area, subject to some adjustments where ward boundaries no longer follow the pre-1996 district boundary. The Stewartry covers the majority of the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, and derives its name from the county's alternative name of the "The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright".
Renfrew District was, between 1975 and 1996, one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.
The Lieutenancies Act 1997 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that defines areas that lord-lieutenants are appointed to in Great Britain. It came into force on 1 July 1997.
Wigtown is a lieutenancy area in south-west Scotland and a committee area of Dumfries and Galloway Council. From 1975 until 1996 it was also a local government district. It closely resembles the historic county of Wigtownshire, covering the whole area of that county but also including the two parishes of Kirkmabreck and Minnigaff from the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire.
A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act.
Media related to Maps of traditional counties of Scotland at Wikimedia Commons