List of cities in the United Kingdom

This is a list of official cities in the United Kingdom as of 2015. It lists those places that have been granted city status by letters patent or royal charter. There are currently a total of 69 such cities in the United Kingdom: 51 in England, seven in Scotland, six in Wales, and five in Northern Ireland. Of these, 23 in England, two in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland possess Lord Mayors and four in Scotland have Lord Provosts. In some cases, the area holding city status does not coincide with the built up area or conurbation of which it forms part. In Greater London, for example, the City of London and that of Westminster each hold city status separately but no other neighbourhood has been granted city status, nor has Greater London as a whole. In other cases, such as the Cities of Canterbury and Lancaster, the status extends over a number of towns and rural areas outside the main settlement proper.

The initial cities (Latin: civitas) of Britain were the fortified settlements organized by the Romans as the capitals of the Celtic tribes under Roman rule. The British clerics of the early Middle Ages later preserved a traditional list of the "28 Cities" (Old Welsh: cair) which was mentioned by Gildas and listed by Nennius.

...
Wikipedia