Correct nomenclature for Counties (!)

[acorngen]

YOu shift the shire from Yorkshire and you will have us yorkshiremen on your back.  York is a city in its own right and therefore you should add the shire when commenting about it.  Devon and Cornwall is the full title of that county not really devonshire but again you will probably have people telling you that Devon and Cornwall are two seperate entities also.  It is a complicated subject and not one I could put together on here very easily

Rob

[Berlin-Bob]

Hi Paul,

A shire is an administrative area of Great Britain and Australia. The first shires were created by the Anglo-Saxons in what is now central and southern England. Shires were controlled by a royal official known as a "shire reeve" or sheriff. Historically shires were sub-divided into hundreds or wapentakes although other less common sub-divisions existed. In modern English usage shires are sub-divided into districts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shire

Doesn't really answer your question, but an interesting article 
For background knowledge, this article is also interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_counties_of_the_British_Isles
with itself has more links to interesting related subjects.

The full name of (all / most ?) counties is with -shire tacked on. It is common to leave off the -shire, especially for those counties which don't have a city or town with the same name.

Devon and Dorset don't, so you are safe there (to leave the -shire off ), but York is also a city in the county of York, and Gloucester is also a city in the county of Gloucester, so it makes sense here to be explicit and say Yorkshire or Gloucestershire for the county.

Whether there is a rule ...  ??

Don't know, anybody else know ??

Bob

[stonechat]

Don't forget Cheshire and Lancashire

The old usage of the County of Chester and the County of Lancaster sound odd as modern usage is always Cheshire and Lancashire

[Ruskie]

Some counties are abbreviated too eg: Cambs for Cambridgeshire, Lincs for Lincolnshire, Lancs for Lancashire, Bucks for Buckinghamshire.
(I'm in Australia too but I think I'm correct with these).
At least these days a simple google search can help clear up these placename queries ... well, usually ...

[SooCatt]

The full name of (all / most ?) counties is with -shire tacked on. It is common to leave off the -shire, especially for those counties which don't have a city or town with the same name.

Devon and Dorset don't, so you are safe there (to leave the -shire off ), but York is also a city in the county of York, and Gloucester is also a city in the county of Gloucester, so it makes sense here to be explicit and say Yorkshire or Gloucestershire for the county.

Bob

Then of course there is County Durham which has never been Durhamshire!!

Sorry Paul.  All of this is probably adding to your confusion
Try this site

http://www.jimella.nildram.co.uk/counties.htm

It gives common county abbreviations and also explains what 'hundreds' and 'wapentakes' are.

Susan

[Elliebob]

And Cornwall doesn't fit any of these categories.  City is Truro and definitely not a shire anywhere!

Ellen

[Berlin-Bob]

That is a great link that SooCatt gave, http://www.jimella.nildram.co.uk/counties.htm

it's a lot clearer then the wikepedia links and also has a big plus for non-brits, that names of areas are also given.  These can occur anywhere and are confusing if you don't know what they refer to:
e.g.
The Black Country
The Dales
East Anglia
East Midlands
Fenland
The Home Counties
The Lake District
The Peak District
The Weald
Welsh Marches
West Country and WESSEX
West Midlands
Wirral
etc.

Bob

[stonechat]

Don't forget Berkshire either
Not a town, and 'shire' is never left off, though Berks is a normal abbreviation

In fact there are many such abbreviations

Bob

[SooCatt]

So glad you liked it Berlin Bob.

It's always nice to start the day feeling useful 

Susan