Towns of the United Kingdom - Definition and Overview

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a town is any settlement which has received a charter of incorporation, more commonly known as a town charter, approved by the monarch. In Scotland, the equivalent is known as a burgh, pronounced burra. There are two types of burgh: royal burghs and burghs of barony.

In more modern times it is considered that a town becomes a city (or a village becomes a town) as soon as it reaches a certain population. The charter system is still the official way of recognising town status in the United Kingdom however and it is not an unusal event for towns acros the UK to celebrate their charter in an annual Charter Day (normally a fair or medieval market). The population system of recognising towns has no official standing yet in the United Kingdom.

The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not part of the United Kingdom, but are included here for convenience.

Lists of towns in the UK

List of towns in England

List of burghs in Scotland

List of towns in Wales

List of towns in Northern Ireland

Towns of the Isle of Man

Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey

Towns of the Channel Islands

St Helier, St Peter Port

See also

List of towns in the Republic of Ireland

City status in the United Kingdom

List of places in the United Kingdom

UK topics