County corporate in the context of "High Sheriff of County Cork"

Middlesex (/ˈmɪdəlsɛks/ ; abbreviation: Middx) was one of the counties of England until it was abolished in 1965. The county boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west, with a line of hills forming its northern boundary with Hertfordshire. The former area of Middlesex now lies almost entirely in the ceremonial county of Greater London, with smaller parts in the counties of Hertfordshire and Surrey. The county was the second smallest of the historic counties of England, after Rutland.

The name of the county derives from its origin as a homeland for the Middle Saxons in the early Middle Ages, with the county subsequently part of that territory in the ninth or tenth century. The City of London, formerly part of the county, became a self governing county corporate in the twelfth century; the City was still able to exert influence as the sheriffs of London maintained their jurisdiction in Middlesex, though the county otherwise remained separate. To the east of the City, the Tower Division (or Tower Hamlets) had considerable autonomy under its own Lord Lieutenant. To the west, precincts around Westminster and Charing Cross became built up.

Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle (/njuːˈkæsəl/ new-KASS-əl, RP: /ˈnjuːkɑːsəl/ NEW-kah-səl), is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost city and metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England. The metropolitan borough had an estimated population of 320,605 in 2024.

Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius. The settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle was historically part of the county of Northumberland, but governed as a county corporate after 1400. In 1974, Newcastle became part of the newly created metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. The local authority is Newcastle City Council, which is a constituent member of the North East Combined Authority.

The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. The older term, shire is historically equivalent to county. By the Middle Ages, county had become established as the unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century, all of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland had been separated into counties. In Scotland, shire was the only term used until after the Act of Union 1707. The four countries of the UK does not follow a uniform system of administrative division, and this making its administrative geography intricate, layered and inconsistent.

Since the early 19th century, counties have been adapted to meet new administrative and political requirements, and the word county (often with a qualifier) has been used in different senses for different purposes. In some areas of England and Wales, counties still perform the functions of modern local government. In other parts of the United Kingdom, especially within large metropolitan areas, they have been replaced with alternative unitary authorities, which are considered 'county level' authorities. Today, these have largely replaced the historic county corporate entities granted self-governance with county government powers. Today, in addition to local government counties, every part of the United Kingdom lies within the historic counties which have formed geographic and cultural units since the Middle Ages.