City status in the United Kingdom This policy, which was not at the time made public, had the effect of stemming the number of city creations. The 1907 policy contained three criteria: However, well into the 20th century it was often assumed that the presence of a cathedral was sufficient to elevate a town to city status, and that for cathedral cities the city charters were recognising its city status rather than granting it. On this basis, the 1911 "Encyclopædia Britannica" said that Southwell and St Asaph were cities. The policy laid down by Edward VII was continued by his successor, George V, who ascended the
City status in Ireland originally to the jurisdiction of a capital town, typically the territory of a single conquered tribe. Later it came to mean the capital town itself. When Christianity was organised in Gaul, each diocese was the territory of a tribe, and each bishop resided in the "civitas". Thus "civitas" came to mean the site of a cathedral. This usage carried over generally to Anglo-Norman "cité" and English "city" in England. William Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England" of 1765 cites Edward Coke's "Institutes of the Lawes of England" of 1634: A city is a town incorporated, which is or hath