County Precedence

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Following the sanctioning by the Government of the formation of Volunteer Corps, on 12 May 1859, there was an immediate rush of volunteering. The date on which the first company in a county was formed determined County precedence. Following is the acknowledged order of seniority:

  1. Devonshire
  2. Middlesex
  3. Lancashire
  4. Surrey
  5. Pembrokeshire
  6. Derbyshire
  7. Oxfordshire
  8. Cheshire
  9. Wiltshire
  10. Sussex
  11. Edinburgh (City)
  12. Essex
  13. Northumberland
  14. Renfrewshire
  15. Northamptonshire
  16. Dorsetshire
  17. Norfolk
  18. Staffordshire
  19. Berkshire
  20. Gloucestershire
  21. Brecknokshire
  22. Suffolk
  23. Stirlingshire
  24. Bucks
  25. Lanarkshire
  26. Kent
  27. Glamorgan
  28. Nottinghamshire
  29. Merionethshire
  30. Yorkshire (W.Rid.)
  31. Leicestshire
  32. Mid-Lothian
  1. Aberdeenshire
  2. Roxburgh
  3. Cinque Ports
  4. Monmouthshire
  5. Cornwall
  6. Ross-shire
  7. Worcestershire
  8. Inverness-shire
  9. Warwickshire
  10. Lincolnshire
  11. Denbighshire
  12. Hampshire
  13. Somersetshire
  14. Forfar
  15. Cambridgeshire
  16. Shropshire
  17. London
  18. Yorkshire (E.Rid.)
  19. Hertforshire
  20. Perthshire
  21. Berwickshire
  22. Sutherland
  23. Kincardineshire
  24. Haverfordwest
  25. Haddington
  26. Isle of Wight
  27. Ayrshire
  28. Dumfries
  29. Elgin
  30. Argyll
  31. Cardigan
  32. Durham
  1. Wigtown
  2. Buteshire
  3. Yorkshire (N.Rid.)
  4. Cumberland
  5. Herefordshire
  6. Dumbartonshire
  7. Huntingdon
  8. Carnarvonshire
  9. Montgomeryshire
  10. Orkney
  11. Carmarthen
  12. Caithness
  13. Kirkcudbright
  14. Westmorland
  15. Fifeshire
  16. Bedfordshire
  17. Newcastle-on-Tweed
  18. Linlithgowshire
  19. Selkirkshire
  20. Banffshire
  21. Radnorshire
  22. Flintshire
  23. Berwick-on-Tweed
  24. Clackmannan
  25. Tower Hamlets
  26. Nairn
  27. Peeblesshire
  28. Isle of Man
  29. Kinross-shire
  30. Anglesey
  31. Shetland

Following is an alphabetic list of counties with their respective ranking in the acknowledged order of seniority (see above table):

Aberdeenshire (33)
Anglesey (94)
Argyll (62)
Ayrshire (59)
Banffshire (84)
Bedfordshire (80)
Berkshire (19)
Berwick-on-Tweed (87)
Berwickshire (53)
Brecknokshire (21)
Bucks (24)
Buteshire (66)
Caithness (76)
Cambridgeshire (47)
Cardigan (63)
Carmarthen (75)
Carnarvonshire (72)
Cheshire (8)
Cinque Ports (35)
Clackmannan (88)
Cornwall (37)
Cumberland (68)
Denbighshire (43)
Derbyshire (6)
Devonshire (1)
Dorsetshire (16)
Dumbartonshire (70)
Dumfries (60)
Durham (64)
Edinburgh (City) (11)
Elgin (61)
Essex (12)

Fifeshire (79)
Flintshire (86)
Forfar (46)
Glamorgan (27)
Gloucestershire (20)
Haddington (57)
Hampshire (44)
Haverfordwest (56)
Herefordshire (69)
Hertforshire (51)
Huntingdon (71)
Inverness-shire (40)
Isle of Man (92)
Isle of Wight (58)
Kent (26)
Kincardineshire (55)
Kinross-shire (93)
Kirkcudbright (77)
Lanarkshire (25)
Lancashire (3)
Leicestshire (31)
Lincolnshire (42)
Linlithgowshire (82)
London (49)
Merionethshire (29)
Middlesex (2)
Mid-Lothian (32)
Monmouthshire (36)
Montgomeryshire (73)
Nairn (90)
Newcastle-on-Tweed (81)
Norfolk (17)

Northamptonshire (15)
Northumberland (13)
Nottinghamshire (28)
Orkney (74)
Oxfordshire (7)
Peeblesshire (91)
Pembrokeshire (5)
Perthshire (52)
Radnorshire (85)
Renfrewshire (14)
Ross-shire (38)
Roxburgh (34)
Selkirkshire (83)
Shetland (95)
Shropshire (48)
Somersetshire (45)
Staffordshire (18)
Stirlingshire (23)
Suffolk (22)
Surrey (4)
Sussex (10)
Sutherland (54)
Tower Hamlets (89)
Warwickshire (41)
Westmorland (78)
Wigtown (65)
Wiltshire (9)
Worcestershire (39)
Yorkshire (E.Rid.) (50)
Yorkshire (N.Rid.) (67)
Yorkshire (W.Rid.) (30)

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