Vice-county

A vice-county (vice county or biological vice-county)^[1] is a geographical division of the British Isles used for the purposes of biological recording and other scientific data-gathering. It is sometimes called a Watsonian vice-county as vice-counties were introduced for Great Britain, its offshore islands, and the Isle of Man, by Hewett Cottrell Watson who first used them in the third volume of his Cybele Britannica published in 1852.^[2] Watson's vice-counties were based on the ancient counties of Britain, but often subdividing these boundaries to create smaller, more uniform units, and considering exclaves to be part of the surrounding vice-county.

Vice-counties of Great Britain and the Isle of Man (Orkney and Shetland not shown)

Map showing detailed differences between Derbyshire vice-county (VC57) and the modern administrative county of Derbyshire, England.

In 1901 Robert Lloyd Praeger introduced a similar system for Ireland and its off-shore islands.^[1][2]

Vice-counties are the "standard geographical area for county based [...] recording".^[3] They provide a stable basis for recording using similarly sized units, and, although National Grid-based reporting has grown in popularity, vice-counties remain a useful mapping boundary, employed in many regional surveys, especially county floras and national lists. This allows data collected over long periods of time to be compared easily. The vice-counties remain unchanged by subsequent local government reorganisations, allowing historical and modern data to be more accurately compared.^[4]

In 2002, to mark the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the Watsonian vice-county system, the NBN Trust commissioned the digitisation of the 112 vice-county boundaries for England, Scotland and Wales, based on 420 original one-inch to the mile maps annotated by Dandy in 1947, and held at the Natural History Museum, London. The resulting datafiles were much more detailed than anything readily available to recorders up to that point, and were made freely available (as a beta version). Intended for use with modern GIS and biological recording software, a final 'standard' version was released in 2008.^[5][6] Up until that point, county recorders only had general access to a set of two fold-out vice-county maps covering the entirety of Great Britain, published in 1969.^[7]

Vice-county systems

The vice-county system was first introduced by Hewett Cottrell Watson in the third volume of his Cybele Britannica published in 1852. He refined the system in later volumes. The geographical area that Watson called "Britain" consisted of the island of Great Britain with all of its offshore islands, plus the Isle of Man, but excluding the Channel Islands. This area was divided into 112 vice-counties with larger counties divided; for example, Devon into the vice-counties of North Devon and South Devon, and Yorkshire into five vice-counties. Each of these 112 vice-counties has a name and a number. Thus Vice-county 38, often abbreviated to "VC38", is called "Warwickshire".^[2]

In 1901, Robert Lloyd Praeger extended the system of vice-counties to Ireland and its off-shore islands, based on an earlier suggestion by C.C. Babington in 1859. The Irish vice-counties were based on the historic 32 counties of Ireland, with the six largest being sub-divided; for example, the county of Cork was divided into three vice-counties. This produced a total of 40 vice-counties for Ireland, which were numbered from H1 to H40 ("H" for "Hibernia"). As with the 112 vice-counties of Britain, each vice-county has a name as well as a number. Thus Vice-county (or VC) H3 is "West Cork".^[1][2]

Combining these two systems produces a 152 vice-county system. The exclusion of the Channel Islands from Watson's system for Britain has led to variations between different recording schemes. The geographical area covered by the 152 vice-counties may be described as the "British Isles", as in the 2008 Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles.^[8] Other recording schemes regard the "British Isles" as including the Channel Islands. As they are not part of the 152 vice-county system, the Channel Islands may be added as an extra vice-county, making 153 in total, being indicated by letter codes such as "C"^[3] or "CI".^[9] Less usually, each of the five separate islands may be treated as a vice-county, giving 157 vice-counties in total.^[10]

Alternative counts of vice-counties used in different recording schemes are shown in the table below.

Alternative counts of vice-counties

Count	Originator	Descriptions
112	Watson	(Great) Britain (including the Isle of Man)
40	Praeger	Ireland
0, 1 or 5		Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm)
152, 153 or 157		British Isles, (Great) Britain and Ireland

The vice-counties of Britain alone may be described as "Watsonian vice-counties",^[11] or this term may be used for the combined vice-counties of Britain and Ireland,^[3] which may also be described as "Watson-Praeger vice-counties".^[12] In all cases, the Channel Islands may be excluded,^[11] or included,^[12] so that the count of vice-counties varies, as noted in the table above.

List of vice-counties

England and Wales VC Vice county VC1 West Cornwall with Scilly VC2 East Cornwall VC3 South Devon VC4 North Devon VC5 South Somerset VC6 North Somerset VC7 North Wiltshire VC8 South Wiltshire VC9 Dorset VC10 Isle of Wight VC11 South Hampshire VC12 North Hampshire VC13 West Sussex VC14 East Sussex VC15 East Kent VC16 West Kent VC17 Surrey VC18 South Essex VC19 North Essex VC20 Hertfordshire VC21 Middlesex VC22 Berkshire VC23 Oxfordshire VC24 Buckinghamshire VC25 East Suffolk VC26 West Suffolk VC27 East Norfolk VC28 West Norfolk VC29 Cambridgeshire VC30 Bedfordshire VC31 Huntingdonshire VC32 Northamptonshire VC33 East Gloucestershire VC34 West Gloucestershire VC35 Monmouthshire VC36 Herefordshire VC37 Worcestershire VC38 Warwickshire VC39 Staffordshire VC40 Shropshire VC41 Glamorganshire VC42 Breconshire VC43 Radnorshire VC44 Carmarthenshire VC45 Pembrokeshire VC46 Cardiganshire VC47 Montgomeryshire VC48 Merionethshire VC49 Caernarvonshire VC50 Denbighshire VC51 Flintshire VC52 Anglesey VC53 South Lincolnshire VC54 North Lincolnshire VC55 Leicestershire with Rutland VC56 Nottinghamshire VC57 Derbyshire VC58 Cheshire VC59 South Lancashire VC60 West Lancashire VC61 South-east Yorkshire VC62 North-east Yorkshire VC63 South-west Yorkshire VC64 Mid-west Yorkshire VC65 North-west Yorkshire VC66 County Durham VC67 South Northumberland VC68 North Northumberland VC69 Westmorland with Furness VC70 Cumberland

Isle of Man VC Vice county VC71 Isle of Man

Scotland VC Vice county VC72 Dumfriesshire VC73 Kirkcudbrightshire VC74 Wigtownshire VC75 Ayrshire VC76 Renfrewshire VC77 Lanarkshire VC78 Peeblesshire VC79 Selkirkshire VC80 Roxburghshire VC81 Berwickshire VC82 East Lothian VC83 Midlothian VC84 West Lothian VC85 Fifeshire VC86 Stirlingshire VC87 West Perthshire VC88 Mid Perthshire VC89 East Perthshire VC90 Angus VC91 Kincardineshire VC92 South Aberdeenshire VC93 North Aberdeenshire VC94 Banffshire VC95 Moray VC96 East Inverness-shire VC97 West Inverness-shire VC98 Argyllshire VC99 Dunbartonshire VC100 Clyde Isles VC101 Kintyre VC102 South Ebudes VC103 Mid Ebudes VC104 North Ebudes VC105 West Ross & Cromarty VC106 East Ross & Cromarty VC107 East Sutherland VC108 West Sutherland VC109 Caithness VC110 Outer Hebrides VC111 Orkney VC112 Shetland

Ireland VC Vice county H1 South Kerry H2 North Kerry H3 West Cork H4 Mid-Cork H5 East Cork H6 Waterford H7 South Tipperary H8 Limerick H9 Clare H10 North Tipperary H11 Kilkenny H12 Wexford H13 Carlow H14 Laois H15 South-east Galway H16 West Galway H17 North-east Galway H18 Offaly H19 Kildare H20 Wicklow H21 Dublin H22 Meath H23 Westmeath H24 Longford H25 Roscommon H26 East Mayo H27 West Mayo H28 Sligo H29 Leitrim H30 Cavan H31 Louth H32 Monaghan H33 Fermanagh H34 East Donegal H35 West Donegal H36 Tyrone H37 Armagh H38 Down H39 Antrim H40 Londonderry

Vice-counties of Ireland listed by county, province and jurisdiction

Praeger's fieldwork mostly predates and ignores the county boundary changes made in 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Divergences from the pre-1899 boundaries are noted below.

 

Vice-counties of Ireland^[13]

VC	Vice county	County	Province	Jurisdiction
H1	South Kerry	Kerry	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H2	North Kerry	Kerry	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H3	West Cork	Cork	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H4	Mid-Cork	Cork	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H5	East Cork	Cork	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H6	Waterford	Waterford^[n 1]	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H7	South Tipperary^[n 2]	Tipperary	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H8	Limerick	Limerick^[n 3]	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H9	Clare	Clare^[n 3]^[n 4]^[n 5]	Munster^[n 4]^[n 5]	Republic of Ireland
H10	North Tipperary^[n 2]	Tipperary	Munster	Republic of Ireland
H11	Kilkenny	Kilkenny^[n 1]	Leinster^[n 1]	Republic of Ireland
H12	Wexford	Wexford	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H13	Carlow	Carlow	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H14	Queen's County	Laois	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H15	South-east Galway	Galway^[n 5]	Connacht^[n 5]	Republic of Ireland
H16	West Galway	Galway^[n 4]^[n 6]	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H17	North-east Galway	Galway	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H18	King's County	Offaly	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H19	Kildare	Kildare	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H20	Wicklow	Wicklow	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H21	Dublin	Dublin	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H22	Meath	Meath	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H23	Westmeath	Westmeath	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H24	Longford	Longford	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H25	Roscommon	Roscommon	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H26	East Mayo	Mayo	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H27	West Mayo	Mayo^[n 6]	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H28	Sligo	Sligo	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H29	Leitrim	Leitrim	Connacht	Republic of Ireland
H30	Cavan	Cavan	Ulster	Republic of Ireland
H31	Louth	Louth	Leinster	Republic of Ireland
H32	Monaghan	Monaghan	Ulster	Republic of Ireland
H33	Fermanagh	Fermanagh	Ulster	Northern Ireland
H34	East Donegal	Donegal^[n 7]	Ulster	Republic of Ireland^[n 7]
H35	West Donegal	Donegal	Ulster	Republic of Ireland
H36	Tyrone	Tyrone	Ulster	Northern Ireland
H37	Armagh	Armagh	Ulster	Northern Ireland
H38	Down	Down	Ulster	Northern Ireland
H39	Antrim	Antrim	Ulster	Northern Ireland
H40	Londonderry	Londonderry^[n 7]	Ulster	Northern Ireland

1. County Waterford (Munster) north of the River Suir (i.e. Kilculliheen) is in Kilkenny vice-county (Leinster)
2. The North and South Tipperary vice-counties are divided by the Dublin–Cork railway line and do not correspond to the county's North and South ridings.
3. County Limerick north-west of the River Shannon (i.e. the North Liberties) is in Clare vice-county
4. The Aran Islands (County Galway, Connacht) are in Clare vice-county (Munster)
5. The only 1899 transfer accepted by Praeger is the land east of Lough Derg transferred from Galway (Connacht) to Clare (Munster).
6. Praeger's 1933 map inconsistently includes in West Mayo an area transferred from Galway to Mayo under the 1898 act; his 1901 map has it in West Galway.
7. The area of County Londonderry (Northern Ireland) west of the River Foyle is in East Donegal vice-county (Republic of Ireland).

See also

• Subdivisions of England
• Subdivisions of Scotland
• Subdivisions of Wales
• Subdivisions of Northern Ireland
• Counties of Ireland

Notes

References

1. Webb, D.A. (1980), "The Biological Vice-Counties of Ireland", Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 80B: 179–196, JSTOR 20494359
2. Vincent, Peter J. (1990), "Recording species distributions", A Biogeography of the British Isles: an Introduction, Routledge, pp. 48–73, ISBN 978-0-415-03471-5
3. Vice-county map of Britain and Ireland, British Bryological Society, retrieved 31 May 2016
4. Stace, C.A.; Ellis, R.G.; Kent, D.H. & McCosh, D.J. (2003), Vice-county Census Catalogue of The Vascular Plants of Great Britain, London: Botanical Society of the British Isles, ISBN 0 901158 30 5
5. , National Biodiversity Network, archived from the original on 4 March 2016, retrieved 8 April 2021
6. "Watsonian vice county boundaries GIS layers". GitHub. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
7. Dandy, J.E. (1969), Watsonian vice-counties of Great Britain, vol. Publication no. 146, Ray Society, London
8. Duff, A.G., ed. (2008), Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles, retrieved 10 August 2011
9. Stace, Clive (2010), New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.), Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-70772-5, inside back cover
10. Baroni Urbani, C. & Collingwood, C.A. (1976), "A numerical analysis of the distribution of British Formicidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata)" (PDF), Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Basel, 85: 51–91
11. Browse Watsonian Vice County, National Biodiversity Network, 2011, retrieved 10 August 2011
12. Merritt, R.; Moore, N.W. & Eversham, B.C. (1996), Atlas of the dragonflies of Britain and Ireland : ITE research publication no. 9 (PDF), London: HMSO, ISBN 978-0-11-701561-6, retrieved 10 August 2011
13. Webb, D. A. (1980). "The Biological Vice-Counties of Ireland". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section B. 80B: 179–196. ISSN 0035-8983. JSTOR 20494359.

External links

• Vice-county map from the British Bryological Society
• OS grid reference to vice-county conversion utility
• Digital download page for Watsonian Vice-County Boundaries
• NBN Metadata on Watsonian Vice-county digitisation
• BSBI Vice-County Census Catalogue