§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.
Wells is an ancient cathedral city whose status was most recently confirmed by Letters Patent dated 1 April 1974, granting city status specifically to the civil parish. Rooted in an 8th-century ecclesiastical foundation and medieval marketplace, Wells later sat within Mendip District (1974–2023). On 1 April 2023 Somerset moved to a single unitary authority—Somerset Council—so the parish-level Wells City Council handles civic and community functions while principal services are delivered by the new unitary.
City Council Status
Wells City Council is the parish council with city status confirmed in 1974. Principal services are delivered by the unitary Somerset Council (since 2023).
In the UK, a handful of cities are organised at the civil parish tier—the lowest level of local government in England. There are eight such cases: Chichester, Ely, Hereford, Lichfield, Ripon, Salisbury, Truro, and Wells. In these places the city status is vested in the parish area and the parish council styles itself a City Council.
In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.
