List of cities in the United Kingdom
Councillor Patrick (Pat) John Stannard, Lord Mayor of Oxford (2004) with chain of office
In the UK, city status is not automatically granted to a community meeting any particular criteria. It can only be obtained by receiving a Royal Charter. However some British cities which predate the historical monarchy have been regarded as cities since "time immemorial".
Until the 1880s, a town was usually granted city status if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits. As new dioceses were founded, city status was granted routinely. This process was changed to allow Birmingham and other large settlements that didn't have cathedrals to become cities.
These days, a town can apply for city status by submitting an application to the Lord Chancellor, who makes recomendations to the sovereign. These application competitions are usually held to mark special events, such as coronationss or royal jubilees.
Some cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the further distinction of having a Lord Mayor (as opposed to a Mayor). In Scotland the equivalent are Lord Provosts.
There are currently 66 cities (including thirty Lord Mayoralties or Lord Provostships) in the UK: 50 cities (23 Lord Mayoralties) in England, 5 cities (2 Lord Mayoralties) in Wales, 6 cities (4 Lord Provostships) in Scotland and 5 cities (1 Lord Mayoralty) in Northern Ireland. Those which have been cities since time immemorial have '-' in the since column.
Rochester had city status from 1211 to 1998, but lost this status as a result of an administrative error when Medway became a unitary authority. The City of Rochester Society has pleaded for this status to be reinstated.
Cities with Lord Mayors or Lord Provosts are shown below in bold.
| City | Since | Cathedral* | Gov. |
| English Cities | |||
| Bath | 1590 | Bath Abbey | 3 |
| Birmingham | 1889 | Birmingham Cathedral | 1 |
| Bradford, England>Bradford | 1897 | Bradford Cathedral | 1 |
| Brighton and Hove | 2000 | none | 1 |
| Bristol | 1542 | Bristol Cathedral | 1 |
| Cambridge | 1951 | none | 2 |
| Canterbury, England>Canterbury | - | Christchurch Cathedral | 2 |
| Carlisle | - | Carlisle Cathedral | 2 |
| Chester, England>Chester | - | Chester Cathedral | 2 |
| Chichester | - | Chichester Cathedral | 2 |
| Coventry | 1345 | Coventry Cathedral | 1 |
| Derby | 1977 | Derby Cathedral | 1 |
| Durham | - | Durham Cathedral | 2 |
| Ely | - | Ely Cathedral | 4 |
| Exeter | - | Exeter Cathedral | 2 |
| Gloucester | - | Gloucester Cathedral | 2 |
| Hereford | 1189 | Hereford Cathedral | 3 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 1299 | none | 1 |
| Lancaster | 1937 | none | 2 |
| Leeds | 1893 | none | 1 |
| Leicester | 1919 | Leicester Cathedral | 1 |
| Lichfield | 1553 | Lichfield Cathedral | 2 |
| Lincoln | - | Lincoln Cathedral | 2 |
| Liverpool | 1880 | Liverpool Cathedral | 1 |
| City of London>London | - | St Paul's Cathedral | 1 |
| Manchester | 1853 | Manchester Cathedral | 1 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 1882 | Newcastle Cathedral | 1 |
| Norwich, England>Norwich | 1195 | Norwich Cathedral | 2 |
| Nottingham | 1897 | none | 1 |
| Oxford | 1542 | Christ Church Cathedral | 2 |
| Peterborough | 1541 | Peterborough Cathedral | 1 |
| Plymouth | 1928 | none | 1 |
| Portsmouth, England>Portsmouth | 1926 | Portsmouth Cathedral | 1 |
| Preston | 2002 | none | 2 |
| Ripon | 1836 | Ripon Cathedral | 4 |
| Salford | 1926 | none | 1 |
| Salisbury | - | Salisbury Cathedral | 2 |
| Sheffield | 1893 | Sheffield Cathedral | 1 |
| Southampton | 1964 | none | 1 |
| St Albans | 1877 | St Albans Cathedral | 2 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 1925 | none | 1 |
| Sunderland | 1992 | none | 1 |
| Truro | 1877 | Truro Cathedral | 4 |
| Wakefield | 1888 | Wakefield Cathedral | 1 |
| Wells | 1205 | Wells Cathedral | 4 |
| City of Westminster>Westminster | 1540 | Westminster Abbey | 1 |
| Winchester | - | Winchester Cathedral | 2 |
| Wolverhampton | 2000 | none | 1 |
| Worcester | 1189 | Worcester Cathedral | 2 |
| City of York>York | - | York Minster | 1 |
| Welsh Cities | |||
| Bangor | - | Bangor Cathedral | 3 |
| Cardiff | 1905 | Llandaff Cathedral | 1 |
| Newport | 2002 | St. Woolos Cathedral | 1 |
| St. David's | 1994 | St. David's Cathedral | 3 |
| Swansea | 1969 | none | 1 |
| Scottish Cities | |||
| Aberdeen, Scotland>Aberdeen | 1891 | Aberdeen Cathedral | 1 |
| Dundee, Scotland>Dundee | 1889 | none | 1 |
| Edinburgh | 1329 | Edinburgh Cathedral | 1 |
| Glasgow | 1492 | Glasgow Cathedral | 1 |
| Inverness | 2000 | none | 3 |
| Stirling | 2002 | none | 3 |
| Northern Irish Cities | |||
| Armagh | 1994 | Saint Patrick's Cathedral | 1 |
| Belfast | 1888 | Cathedral Church of Saint Anne | 1 |
| Londonderry | 1613 | Saint Columb's Cathedral | 1 |
| Lisburn | 2002 | none | 1 |
| Newry | 2002 | none | 1 |
| 1 - City is a unitary authority 2 - City is a district within an administrative county 3 - City is within a unitary authority and has no city council 4 - City is within a district and has no city council *Cathedral or Episcopal Seat of the Estabished Church | |||
City councils have four main types - unitary authorities like Leicester, London boroughs like Westminster, district councils, like Lancaster, and parish councils, like Hereford. All these are styled 'City Council'. In the table above 'city council' excludes parish councils of cities.
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City applications
For the 2000 city applications, held to celebrate the millennium, the following towns requested city status to be granted. The three winners are listed in boldface.
- England: Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Brighton and 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, Warrington, Wolverhampton.
- Wales: Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Newport, Newtown, St Asaph, Wrexham.
- Scotland: Ayr, Inverness, Paisley, Stirling.
- Northern Ireland: Ballymena, Lisburn.
Exeter was awarded Lord Mayoralty status in a separate application.