List of towns in the United Kingdom facts for kids
A town in the United Kingdom is a special kind of place where people live and work. For a long time, a place was called a town if it had a special document called a charter. This charter gave the people permission to hold a market or a fair. Because of this, many towns used to be called "market towns."
In Scotland, these special places are called burghs. There are two main types of burghs: royal burghs and burghs of barony.
Today, the idea of what makes a town is a bit different. Sometimes, people think a town becomes a city (or a village becomes a town) when it reaches a certain number of people. But there isn't one official rule about how many people it takes!
Even though things have changed, the old charters are still important. Many towns across the UK celebrate their history with an annual Charter Day. This is often a fun event like a fair or a medieval market.
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How Places Become Towns Today
In England and Wales, there's a law called the Local Government Act 1972. This law allows some local areas, called civil parishes, to decide they want to be known as Town Councils. When they do this, the person in charge of the council gets the title of 'town mayor'. Many places that used to be important local areas, like old urban districts, have become Town Councils this way.
Lists of Towns in the UK
If you want to explore more about towns in different parts of the UK, here are some helpful lists:
- List of towns in England
- Lists of towns and cities in England by population
- List of burghs in Scotland
- List of towns in Wales
- List of towns in Northern Ireland
Major Towns in British Overseas Territories
The UK also has special territories around the world. Here are some of the biggest towns and cities in these places, listed by how many people live there:
- George Town, Cayman Islands (35,600 people)
- Gibraltar (29,431 people)
- Hamilton, Bermuda (13,500 people)
- West Bay, Cayman Islands (11,436 people)
- Bodden Town, Cayman Islands (10,341 people)
- Road Town, British Virgin Islands (9,400 people)
- Cockburn Town, Turks and Caicos Islands (3,700 people)
- Stanley, Falkland Islands (2,115 people)
- St. George's Town, Bermuda (1,648 people)
- Somerset Village, Bermuda (1,000 people)
- The Valley, Anguilla (1,169 people)
- Brades, Montserrat (about 1,000 people)
See also
- List of cities in the United Kingdom
- City status in the United Kingdom
- List of places in the United Kingdom
- List of urban areas in the United Kingdom
fr:Villes du Royaume-Uni
