County council in the context of "Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)"

In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in England in 1889, the headquarters of the new councils were usually established in the county town of each county; however, the concept of a county town pre-dates these councils.

The concept of a county town is ill-defined and unofficial. Some counties in Great Britain have their administrative bodies housed elsewhere. For example, Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, but the county council is in Preston. Owing to the creation of unitary authorities, some county towns in Great Britain are administratively separate from the county. For example, Nottingham is separated from the rest of Nottinghamshire, and Brighton and Hove is separate from East Sussex. On a ceremonial level, both are in their own respective counties geographically.

Gateshead (/ˈɡeɪts(h)ɛd/) is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. At the 2021 census, the population was 196,151.

Historically part of County Durham, under the Local Government Act 1888 the town was made a county borough, meaning it was administered independently of the county council.

The Isles of Scilly (/ˈsɪli/ SIL-ee; Cornish: Syllan) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over four miles (six kilometres) further south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point, and has the southernmost inhabited settlement in Cornwall, Troy Town.

The total population of the islands at the 2021 United Kingdom census was 2,100 (rounded to the nearest 100). A majority live on one island, St Mary's, and close to half live in Hugh Town; the remainder live on four inhabited "off-islands". Scilly forms part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall, and some services are combined with those of Cornwall. However, since 1890, the islands have had a separate local authority. Since the passing of the Isles of Scilly Order 1930, this authority has held the status of county council, and today it is known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly.

The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and district councils, the electoral ward is the unit used by Welsh principal councils, while the electoral division is the unit used by English county councils and some unitary authorities. Each ward/division has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward population counts can vary substantially. As of 2021 there are 8,694 electoral wards/divisions in the UK. An average area of wards or electoral divisions in the United Kingdom is 28.109 km (10.853 sq mi).

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent term used in Scotland was a county of city. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland they remain in existence but have been renamed cities under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2001. The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 re-introduced the term for certain "principal areas" in Wales. Scotland did not have county boroughs but instead had counties of cities. These were abolished on 16 May 1975. All four Scottish cities of the time—Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow—were included in this category. There was an additional category of large burgh in the Scottish system (similar to a municipal borough in England and Wales), which were responsible for all services apart from police, education and fire.

A head gardener is an individual who manages all horticultural aspects of a property or garden, including staff and volunteers. The properties they manage include historic gardens and private estates, as well as amenity horticulture teams, with a county council.

The responsibilities and required experience of a head gardener varies between roles and properties, but head gardeners are normally expected to be educated to an exceptionally high level within their field and have many years of experience to support their education. In the UK, establishments such as Kew Gardens, Capel Manor College and The Royal Horticultural Society offer training courses for professional gardeners. Some courses also offer a degree, such as Master of Horticulture.

Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. The council is based at Devon County Hall in the city of Exeter.

The area administered by the county council is termed the non-metropolitan county, which is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Plymouth and Torbay. The population of the non-metropolitan county was estimated at 795,286 in 2018, making it the most populous local authority in South West England.

The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect on 1 April 1889, except for the County of London, which came into existence on 21 March at the request of the London County Council.

Hampshire County Council (HCC) is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hampshire in England. The council was created in 1889. The county council provides county-level services to eleven of the thirteen districts geographically located within the ceremonial county of Hampshire. The county council acts as the upper tier of local government to approximately 1.4 million people. It is one of 21 county councils in England.

Whilst they form part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire, the two cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are unitary authorities, independent from Hampshire County Council. The county council comprises 78 elected councillors, who meet in the city of Winchester, which is the county town.