Gloucestershire

Ceremonial County in England

Region: South West

§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.

Overview ⁞ Gloucestershire lies at the northern edge of the South West and features a blend of countryside, historic towns, and areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Cotswolds and Forest of Dean. The county town is Gloucester, and Cheltenham is another major centre. The ceremonial county includes the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, while the rest is administered by Gloucestershire County Council and six district councils.

Is Gloucestershire a historic county? Yes—Gloucestershire is a historic county. Administratively, the ceremonial county includes Gloucestershire County Council (with six districts) and the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire has 7 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.

Number of local authority districts in Gloucestershire and other counties — Number of local authority districts in Gloucestershire, compared with other counties

This county page, Gloucestershire, is a sub-page this region page: South West. It zooms in to local authorities, administrative districts, and parliamentary constituencies in this county. We have this list page for easy browsing of all historic counties, ceremonial counties, and administrative counties: List of all counties in the UK.

Local Authorities in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire County Council (County Council) 🔗 gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cheltenham Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 cheltenham.gov.uk
Cotswold District Council (District Council) 🔗 cotswold.gov.uk
Forest of Dean District Council (District Council) 🔗 fdean.gov.uk
Gloucester City Council (District Council) 🔗 gloucester.gov.uk
Stroud District Council (District Council) 🔗 stroud.gov.uk
Tewkesbury Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 tewkesbury.gov.uk
South Gloucestershire Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 southglos.gov.uk

Gloucestershire, in England’s South West region, has a two-tier system of local government with Gloucestershire County Council overseeing county-wide services such as education, transport, and social care, supported by six district councils that handle local matters including planning, housing, and waste collection. These are Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud, and Tewkesbury. Separately, South Gloucestershire functions as a unitary authority, created in 1996 after the abolition of Avon, with its council responsible for all local services in its area, independent of the county structure. Together, these councils govern a county known for the cathedral city of Gloucester, the spa town of Cheltenham, the rolling Cotswolds, the historic Forest of Dean, and market towns such as Stroud and Tewkesbury, balancing strategic oversight with locally focused governance.

Districts in Gloucestershire

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Gloucestershire is within one of ITLs Level 2 area, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, that contains the following 4 ITLs Level 3 areas:

(ITL 1) South West
(ITL 2) ⇒ West of England
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire

(ITL 1) South West
(ITL 2) ⇒ Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Swindon ⁞ Wiltshire ⁞ Gloucestershire CC

Constituencies in Gloucestershire

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 10 of them are in Gloucestershire.

Local Authorities in Gloucestershire

Districts in Gloucestershire

Constituencies in Gloucestershire

Counties in South West