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 the United Kingdom kind. Perth (reinstated 2012) has an Episcopal cathedral dating from 1860, but no pre-Reformation establishment. In Northern Ireland, as noted above, possession of a diocesan cathedral has never (except in the anomalous case of Armagh) been sufficient to attain this status. In spite of this, the 1911 "Encyclopædia Britannica" refers to Armagh (Armagh had lost city status in 1840) and Lisburn as cities. Armagh subsequently regained city status formally in 1994 and Lisburn achieved city status in 2002. There are four towns in Northern Ireland with Church of Ireland cathedrals that do not have city status—Clogher, Downpatrick, Dromore and Enniskillen.