Historic Dunbartonshire

Dunbartonshire Lieutenancy

Dunbartonshire is one of the Traditional counties of Scotland, in that part of the country formerly called Lennox (which was a title of nobility ). Dumbarton is the County Town. Dumbartonshire County Council was set up in 1889/90, and at the beginning of the 20th century, some influential councillors had spelling of the County name changed from Dumbartonshire to Dunbartonshire. The justification was that that Dumbarton derives from the Gaelic Dunbritton, but the town stuck with the name Dumbarton, and some people continued to refer to the county as Dumbartonshire.

The County disappeared as a political entity in 1974/5 when local government in Scotland was reorganised. The Council area was then divided into Dumbarton District Council, Bearsden and Milngavie District Council, Clydebank District Council and Strathkelvin District Council, the latter also containing a small part of the former Lanarkshire. For some major functions such as education, police, etc., the old County Council of Dunbarton was absorbed at the same time into the much larger Strathclyde Regional Council.

The Regional identity was retained for some major functions such as fire service and police at the next reorganisation of local government in 1996, but for most purposes the old County then found itself served by three new Councils: Argyll and Bute Council (Argyll being a more western part of Scotland that now took over the Rosneath, Helensburgh, Arrochar, Luss and Cardross parts of Dumbarton District), West Dunbartonshire Council and East Dunbartonshire Council . This is the state of affairs in 2003.

The name Dunbartonshire is retained as a Lieutenancy Area.