The County Championship is an annual rugby union competition in England between teams representing English counties. After restructuring in 2007 the top tier of the Championship has been known as the Bill Beaumont Cup, after the trophy awarded to the competition winners was named in honour of Bill Beaumont, a former England and British & Irish Lions captain. In 2017 the competition was officially known as Bill Beaumont Division 1, with teams also competing in Division 2 and Division 3, which prior to 2017 were known as the Plate and Shield competitions.
The Championship has a long history, being first officially recognised by the Rugby Football Union in 1889. The 2018 Championship was the 118th competition. The most successful county, Lancashire, has won the competition 25 times, followed by Gloucestershire (17) and Yorkshire (15). Lancashire (34) & Gloucestershire (33) have made the most appearances in contested finals.
On four occasions the tournament final has been tied at full-time and a second leg rematch has been played. Two of these rematches were also tied and on these occasions (1907 and 1967) the finalists were declared joint winners. In 1991 the final match between Cornwall and Yorkshire was tied at full-time and extra time was played, with Cornwall winning 29–20. In 2001 the Championship did not take place due to the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak; instead Yorkshire and Cornwall were invited to play at Twickenham.
The 2015 final was contested by Lancashire and Cornwall, with the teams meeting in the final for the third consecutive year. Cornwall won the championship with an 18-13 victory, their fourth title overall and their first since 1999. Cornwall retained their title in 2016, this time beating Cheshire, 35–13. In 2017 Cornwall and Lancashire met in the final for the fourth time in five seasons. Lancashire won 19-8 and prevented Cornwall from completing a hat-trick of county titles.
Structure There was little formal structure to the first official years of the competition, with teams playing different numbers of matches and different opposition from across England. The winners were determined by a panel of judges from the RFU Committee. From 1891–1895, the four winners of four regional Championships (North East, North West, South East and South West) played a round-robin tournament to determine the overall winner of the County Championship.
A restructure in 1896, led to the creation of North and South regions only, the winners of these regional competitions playing a final for the County Championship. Another restructure in 1921 saw the formation of five regions and the knock-out stage of the championship extend to semi-finals and a final. The winners of the North East, North West and South East regions were entered into a semi-final draw along with the winners of a play-off between the winners of the South and South West regions.
From 2007 to 2016, the top eight counties were split into two regions of four teams, North and South, who played a round-robin tournament. The winners of each region competed for the English County Championship in the final. This format was repeated for the eight counties that competed for the County Championship Plate. The eleven counties which competed for the County Championship Shield were split into three pools from which the winners and the runner-up with the best record met in semi-final matches.
In 2017 the competition was given a new structure, with the top tier comprising twelve teams and the second and third tiers having eight teams each. Each tier has a final each year, but promotion and relegation between tiers is decided on a two-year basis.
Past winners
1889-1895
Year Winner Regional Winners 1889 Yorkshire 1890 Yorkshire 1891 Lancashire Gloucestershire, Surrey, Yorkshire 1892 Yorkshire Kent, Lancashire, Midland Counties 1893 Yorkshire Cumberland, Devon, Middlesex 1894 Yorkshire Lancashire, Midland Counties, Somerset 1895 Yorkshire Cumberland, Devon, Midland Counties
1896-1983
Year Winners Home team Score Away team Venue Attendance/Notes 1896 Yorkshire Surrey 4-16 Yorkshire Athletic Ground, Richmond 1897 Kent Cumberland 3-9 Kent Carlisle 1898 Northumberland Midland Counties 3-24 Northumberland Coventry 1899 Devon Northumberland 0-5 Devon Jesmond, Newcastle6,000 1900 Durham County Devon 3–11 Durham County Exeter 10,000-13,000 1901 Devon Durham County 3-14 Devon Victoria Park (Hartlepool) 1902 Durham County Gloucestershire 3-9 Durham County Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 6,000 1903 Durham County Durham County 4-3 Kent Victoria Park (Hartlepool) 1904 Kent Kent 8-6 Durham County Blackheath 1905 Durham County Durham County 9-8 Middlesex Victoria Park (Hartlepool) 1906 Devon Devon 16-3 Durham County Exeter 12,000 1907 Title shared after replay drawn Durham County 3-3 Devon Victoria Park (Hartlepool) Devon 0-0 Durham County Exeter Replay 1908 Cornwall Cornwall 17-3 Durham County Redruth 1909 Durham County Durham County 12-0 Cornwall Old Friarage, Hartlepool 1910 Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 23-0 Yorkshire Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 10,000 1911 Devon Yorkshire 3-12 Devon Clarence Cricket and Football Ground, Kirkstall 8,000 1912 Devon Devon 29-0 Northumberland Rectory Ground, Devonport 12,000 1913 Gloucestershire Cumberland 3-14 Gloucestershire Carlisle 10,000 1914 Midland Counties Midland Counties 22-5 Durham County Welford Road Stadium, Leicester 1915-19 Competition suspended for WWI 1920 Gloucestershire Yorkshire 3-27 Gloucestershire Lidget Green, Bradford 8,000 1921 Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 31-4 Leicestershire Kingsholm, Gloucester 10,701 1922 Gloucestershire North Midlands 0-19 Gloucestershire Villa Park, Birmingham 1923 Somerset Somerset 8-6 Leicestershire Bridgwater Albion ground 10,000 1924 Cumberland Cumberland 14-3 Kent Carlisle 1925 Leicestershire Gloucestershire 6-14 Leicestershire Memorial Ground, Bristol 1926 Yorkshire Yorkshire 15-14 Hampshire Bradford 1927 Kent Kent 22-12 Leicestershire Rectory Field, Blackheath 1928 Yorkshire Yorkshire 12–8 Cornwall Lidget Green, Bradford 1929 Middlesex Middlesex 8-8 Lancashire Twickenham 12,000 Lancashire 8-9 Middlesex St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 8,000 Replay match 1930 Gloucestershire Lancashire 7-13 Gloucestershire St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 10,000+ 1931 Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 10-9 Warwickshire Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 1932 Gloucestershire Durham County 3-9 Gloucestershire Blaydon-on-Tyne 12,000 1933 Hampshire Hampshire 18-7 Lancashire Dean Court, Boscombe 1934 East Midlands East Midlands 10-0 Gloucestershire Franklin's Gardens, Northampton 1935 Lancashire Somerset 0-14 Lancashire Recreation Ground (Bath) 1936 Hampshire Northumberland 6-13 Hampshire Gosforth 1937 Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 5-0 East Midlands Bristol 1938 Lancashire Lancashire 24-12 Surrey St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 1939 Warwickshire Somerset 3-8 Warwickshire Weston-super-Mare 1940-46 Competition suspended for World War II 1947 Lancashire Lancashire 8-8 Gloucestershire St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 5,000 Gloucestershire 3-14 Lancashire Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 20,000 Replay match 1948 Lancashire Eastern Counties 0-5 Lancashire University Ground, Cambridge 1949 Lancashire Lancashire 9-3 Gloucestershire St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 1950 Cheshire Cheshire 5-0 East Midlands Upper Park, Birkenhead Park 1951 East Midlands East Midlands 10-0 Middlesex Franklin's Gardens, Northampton 1952 Middlesex Middlesex 9-6 Lancashire Twickenham 1953 Yorkshire Yorkshire 11-3 East Midlands Bradford 1954 Middlesex Lancashire 6-24 Middlesex St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 12,000 1955 Lancashire Middlesex 8-14 Lancashire Twickenham 1956 Middlesex Middlesex 13-9 Devon Twickenham 1957 Devon Devon 12-3 Yorkshire Home Park, Plymouth 1958 Warwickshire Warwickshire 16-8 Cornwall Coundon Road, Coventry 1959 Warwickshire Gloucestershire 9-14 Warwickshire Memorial Ground, Bristol 1960 Warwickshire Warwickshire 9-6 Surrey Coundon Road, Coventry 1961 Cheshire Devon 0-0 Cheshire Home Park, Plymouth Cheshire 5-3 Devon Upper Park, Birkenhead Park Replay match 1962 Warwickshire Hampshire 6-11 Warwickshire Twickenham 1963 Warwickshire Warwickshire 13-10 Yorkshire Coundon Road, Coventry 1964 Warwickshire Warwickshire 8-6 Lancashire Coundon Road, Coventry 1965 Warwickshire Durham County 9-15 Warwickshire New Friarage, Hartlepool 1966 Middlesex Lancashire 0-6 Middlesex St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 1967 Title shared after replay drawn Surrey 14-14 Durham County Twickenham Durham County 0-0 Surrey Hartlepool 1968 Middlesex Middlesex 9-6 Warwickshire Twickenham 1969 Lancashire Cornwall 9-11 Lancashire Recreation Ground, Redruth 23-25,000 (estimated) 1970 Staffordshire Staffordshire 11-9 Gloucestershire Peel Croft, Burton-on-Trent 1971 Surrey Gloucestershire 3-14 Surrey Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 1972 Gloucestershire Warwickshire 6-11 Gloucestershire Coundon Road, Coventry 1973 Lancashire Gloucestershire 12-17 Lancashire Memorial Ground, Bristol 1974 Gloucestershire Lancashire 12-22 Gloucestershire St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 1975 Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 13-9 Eastern Counties Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 1976 Gloucestershire Middlesex 9-24 Gloucestershire Richmond Athletic Ground 1977 Lancashire Lancashire 17-6 Middlesex St Anthony's Road, Blundellsands 1978 North Midlands North Midlands 10-7 Gloucestershire The Reddings, Moseley 1979 Middlesex Middlesex 19-6 Northumberland Twickenham 1980 Lancashire Lancashire 21-15 Gloucestershire Powderhouse Lane, Vale of Lune 10,000 (estimated) 1981 Northumberland Gloucestershire 6-15 Northumberland Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 1982 Lancashire North Midlands 3-7 Lancashire The Reddings, Moseley 1983 Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 19-7 Yorkshire Memorial Ground, Bristol
1984-present
Since 1984 all Championship finals have been played at Twickenham .
Year Winners Score Runners up Attendance/Notes 1984 Gloucestershire 36-18 Somerset 1985 Middlesex 12-9 Notts, Lincs & Derby 1986 Warwickshire 16-6 Kent 1987 Yorkshire 22-11 Middlesex 10,000 1988 Lancashire 23-18 Warwickshire 2,000 1989 Durham County 13-9 Cornwall 27,500 1990 Lancashire 32-9 Middlesex 7,000 1991 Cornwall 29-20 Yorkshire AET, 56,000 1992 Lancashire 9-6 Cornwall 50,000 1993 Lancashire 9-6 Yorkshire 18,700 1994 Yorkshire 26-3 Durham County 16,000 1995 Warwickshire 15-9 Northumberland 6,000 1996 Gloucestershire 17-13 Warwickshire 7,750 1997 Cumbria 21-13 Somerset 8,150 1998 Cheshire 21-14 Cornwall 35,250 1999 Cornwall 25-15 Gloucestershire 25,000 2000 Yorkshire 16-9 Devon 4,000 2001 Yorkshire 47-19 Cornwall Challenge match, 4,000 2002 Gloucestershire 26-23 Cheshire 2003 Lancashire 24-18 Gloucestershire 1,000 2004 Devon 43-14 Gloucestershire 2005 Devon 22-16 Lancashire 2006 Lancashire 32-26 Devon 2007 Devon 27-6 Lancashire 2008 Yorkshire 33-13 Devon 2009 Lancashire 32-18 Gloucestershire 2010 Lancashire 36-6 Gloucestershire 2011 Lancashire 32-23 Hertfordshire 2012 Hertfordshire 38-20 Lancashire 2013 Lancashire 35-26 Cornwall 20,000 2014 Lancashire 36-26 Cornwall 4,000 2015 Cornwall 18-13 Lancashire 1,500 2016 Cornwall 35-13 Cheshire 3,000 2017 Lancashire 19-8 Cornwall 7,000 2018 Lancashire 31-16 Hertfordshire 2019 Cornwall 14-12 Cheshire 3,500 2020-2021 No Competition due to COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom2022 Cornwall37-24 Cheshire2023 Kent39-37 Lancashire2024 Kent31-30 Yorkshire2025 Kent39-32 Yorkshire
Championships by county Correct as of 2024