County borough facts for kids

A county borough was a type of local government district in England until abolished in 1974.

Local government powers were divided between county councils and urban or rural districts.

For example: rural districts may not be able to maintain footpaths or street lighting because of their size. Urban districts were based in a town and were able handle these jobs. Schools were the responsibility of county councils because districts were too small to run all types of schools themselves.

A county borough was a town big enough to run all its own local government, so the local county council had no power inside the county borough.

Images for kids

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  Street nameplate on Rutland Road, Smethwick in April 2007, showing painted out "County Borough" lettering.

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  Map of County Boroughs Prior to Abolition in 1974