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Many counties are named after their principal town, and the expected form here would be Durhamshire, however this form has never been in common use. The ceremonial county is officially named Durham, however the county has long been commonly known as County Durham and as such is the only English county name to be prefixed with “County” in common usage — a practice more common in Ireland. Its unusual naming (for an English county) is explained to some extent by the relationship with the Bishops of Durham, who for centuries governed Durham as a county palatine, outwith the usual structure of county administration in England.