County Current ceremonial 1974 + Postal 1974 -- 1996 1889 -- 1974 Before 1889 Metropolitan Non-metropolitan County Administrative Avon 1974 -- 1996 Bedfordshire 1974 -- 2009 Berkshire ♠ City of Bristol Special post town County borough County corporate Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire 1889 -- 1965 1889 -- 1965 Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely 1965 -- 1974 1965 -- 1974 Cheshire 1974 -- 2009 Cleveland 1974 -- 1996 Cornwall Cumberland Cumbria Derbyshire ♠ Devon Dorset Durham (County Durham) ♠ East Suffolk ♠ Division East Sussex Division Essex Gloucestershire Greater London County 1965 -- 1974 Greater Manchester Hampshire Hereford and Worcester ♠ 1974 -- 1998 Herefordshire ♠ UA 1998 + Hertfordshire ♠ Humberside 1974 -- 1996 Huntingdon and Peterborough 1965 -- 1974 1965 -- 1974 Huntingdonshire 1889 -- 1965 1889 -- 1965 Isle of Ely 1889 -- 1965 Division Isle of Wight 1890 -- 1974 Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Lincolnshire, Parts of Holland Division Lincolnshire, Parts of Kesteven Division Lincolnshire, Parts of Lindsey Division London ♠ Special post town The Metropolis City of London ♠ County corporate Merseyside Middlesex Norfolk ♠ Northamptonshire Northumberland North Humberside North Yorkshire Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Soke of Peterborough 1889 -- 1965 Liberty Rutland UA 1997 + 2008 + Shropshire Somerset South Humberside South Yorkshire Staffordshire Suffolk ♠ Surrey Sussex Tyne and Wear Warwickshire West Midlands Westmorland West Suffolk ♠ Division West Sussex Division West Yorkshire Wiltshire Worcestershire ♠ 1998 + Yorkshire Yorkshire, East Riding UA 1996 + Division Yorkshire, North Riding Division Yorkshire, West Riding Division
similarly if you listed the current counties of england in alphabetical order which would come first
Avon