Cities in the United Kingdom

London Bridge

Cities in the United Kingdom

City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to some communities.  Becoming a city is not automatic, but many people think that any town that has a cathedral is a city. This is because Henry VIII built cathedrals in six English towns and also granted made them cities by letters patent. A city council does not have any more powers than a borough or district council. – Definition Source: Wikipedia

Please note that not all cities have no dates in the City Status, this is because the status predates any known historical records.

City  Year city status granted
English Cities
Bath 1590
Birmingham 1889
Bradford 1897
Brighton & Hove 2000
Bristol 1542
Cambridge 1951
Canterbury
Carlisle TI
Chelmsford 2012
Chester 1541
Chichester TI
Coventry 1345
Derby 1977
Durham TI
Ely TI
Exeter TI
Gloucester 1541
Hereford 1189
Kingston upon Hull 1897
Lancaster 1937
Leeds 1893
Leicester 1919
Lichfield 1553
Lincoln TI
Liverpool 1880
City of London TI
Manchester 1853
Newcastle upon Tyne 1882
Norwich 1195
Nottingham 1897
Oxford 1542
Peterborough 1541
Plymouth 1928
Portsmouth 1926
Preston 2002
Ripon 1836
Salford 1926
Salisbury TI
Sheffield 1893
Southampton 1964
St Albans 1877
Stoke-on-Trent 1925
Sunderland 1992
Truro 1877
Wakefield 1888
Wells 1205
Westminster 1540
Winchester TI
Wolverhampton 2000
Worcester 1189
York TI
Scottish cities
City City Status
Aberdeen 1891 (royal burgh: 1179)
Dundee 1889 (royal burgh: 1191)
Edinburgh 1889
Glasgow 1492 (royal burgh;
city status has never
been formally granted)
Inverness 2000
Perth 2012
Stirling 2002
Welsh cities
City City Status
Bangor TI
Cardiff 1905
Newport 2002
St Asaph 2012
St David’s 1994
Swansea 1969
Northern Irish cities
City City Status
Armagh 1994
Belfast 1888
Londonderry 1613
Lisburn 2002
Newry 2002