Surrey have made a habit of lifting the County Championship trophy in recent seasons, but 2025 belonged to someone else entirely. Nottinghamshire ended a long wait to be crowned champions, and that result alone is a reminder of how unpredictable this competition still is after more than 130 years.
Whether you’re settling a pub argument about who’s won the most titles or just want the full record straight, Cricket Insider UK has put together the complete list below, along with the story behind it.
Full County Championship Winners List by Year
Here’s the search intent answered straight away. Nottinghamshire claimed their seventh title in 2025, edging out Surrey, who had won the previous three championships in a row.
| Year | Winner | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 1891 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 1892 | Surrey | Nottinghamshire |
| 1893 | Yorkshire | Lancashire |
| 1894 | Surrey | Yorkshire |
| 1895 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 1896 | Yorkshire | Lancashire |
| 1897 | Lancashire | Surrey |
| 1898 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1899 | Surrey | Middlesex |
| 1900 | Yorkshire | Lancashire |
| 1901 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1902 | Yorkshire | Sussex |
| 1903 | Middlesex | Sussex |
| 1904 | Lancashire | Yorkshire |
| 1905 | Yorkshire | Lancashire |
| 1906 | Kent | Yorkshire |
| 1907 | Nottinghamshire | Worcestershire, Yorkshire |
| 1908 | Yorkshire | Kent |
| 1909 | Kent | Lancashire |
| 1910 | Kent | Surrey |
| 1911 | Warwickshire | Kent |
| 1912 | Yorkshire | Northamptonshire |
| 1913 | Kent | Yorkshire |
| 1914 | Surrey | Middlesex |
| 1915–1918 | Not held (First World War) | |
| 1919 | Yorkshire | Kent |
| 1920 | Middlesex | Lancashire |
| 1921 | Middlesex | Surrey |
| 1922 | Yorkshire | Nottinghamshire |
| 1923 | Yorkshire | Nottinghamshire |
| 1924 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1925 | Yorkshire | Surrey |
| 1926 | Lancashire | Yorkshire |
| 1927 | Lancashire | Nottinghamshire |
| 1928 | Lancashire | Kent |
| 1929 | Nottinghamshire | Lancashire, Yorkshire |
| 1930 | Lancashire | Gloucestershire |
| 1931 | Yorkshire | Gloucestershire |
| 1932 | Yorkshire | Sussex |
| 1933 | Yorkshire | Sussex |
| 1934 | Lancashire | Sussex |
| 1935 | Yorkshire | Derbyshire |
| 1936 | Derbyshire | Middlesex |
| 1937 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1938 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1939 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1940–1945 | Not held (Second World War) | |
| 1946 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 1947 | Middlesex | Gloucestershire |
| 1948 | Glamorgan | Surrey |
| 1949 | Middlesex and Yorkshire (shared) | N/A |
| 1950 | Lancashire and Surrey (shared) | N/A |
| 1951 | Warwickshire | Yorkshire |
| 1952 | Surrey | Yorkshire |
| 1953 | Surrey | Sussex |
| 1954 | Surrey | Yorkshire |
| 1955 | Surrey | Yorkshire |
| 1956 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 1957 | Surrey | Northamptonshire |
| 1958 | Surrey | Hampshire |
| 1959 | Yorkshire | Gloucestershire |
| 1960 | Yorkshire | Lancashire |
| 1961 | Hampshire | Yorkshire |
| 1962 | Yorkshire | Worcestershire |
| 1963 | Yorkshire | Glamorgan |
| 1964 | Worcestershire | Warwickshire |
| 1965 | Worcestershire | Northamptonshire |
| 1966 | Yorkshire | Worcestershire |
| 1967 | Yorkshire | Kent |
| 1968 | Yorkshire | Kent |
| 1969 | Glamorgan | Gloucestershire |
| 1970 | Kent | Glamorgan |
| 1971 | Surrey | Warwickshire |
| 1972 | Warwickshire | Kent |
| 1973 | Hampshire | Surrey |
| 1974 | Worcestershire | Hampshire |
| 1975 | Leicestershire | Yorkshire |
| 1976 | Middlesex | Northamptonshire |
| 1977 | Kent and Middlesex (shared) | N/A |
| 1978 | Kent | Essex |
| 1979 | Essex | Worcestershire |
| 1980 | Middlesex | Surrey |
| 1981 | Nottinghamshire | Sussex |
| 1982 | Middlesex | Leicestershire |
| 1983 | Essex | Middlesex |
| 1984 | Essex | Nottinghamshire |
| 1985 | Middlesex | Hampshire |
| 1986 | Essex | Gloucestershire |
| 1987 | Nottinghamshire | Lancashire |
| 1988 | Worcestershire | Kent |
| 1989 | Worcestershire | Essex |
| 1990 | Middlesex | Essex |
| 1991 | Essex | Warwickshire |
| 1992 | Essex | Kent |
| 1993 | Middlesex | Worcestershire |
| 1994 | Warwickshire | Leicestershire |
| 1995 | Warwickshire | Middlesex |
| 1996 | Leicestershire | Derbyshire |
| 1997 | Glamorgan | Kent |
| 1998 | Leicestershire | Lancashire |
| 1999 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 2000 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 2001 | Yorkshire | Somerset |
| 2002 | Surrey | Warwickshire |
| 2003 | Sussex | Lancashire |
| 2004 | Warwickshire | Kent |
| 2005 | Nottinghamshire | Hampshire |
| 2006 | Sussex | Lancashire |
| 2007 | Sussex | Durham |
| 2008 | Durham | Nottinghamshire |
| 2009 | Durham | Nottinghamshire |
| 2010 | Nottinghamshire | Somerset |
| 2011 | Lancashire | Warwickshire |
| 2012 | Warwickshire | Somerset |
| 2013 | Durham | Yorkshire |
| 2014 | Yorkshire | Warwickshire |
| 2015 | Yorkshire | Middlesex |
| 2016 | Middlesex | Somerset |
| 2017 | Essex | Lancashire |
| 2018 | Surrey | Somerset |
| 2019 | Essex | Somerset |
| 2020 | Not held (COVID-19 pandemic) | |
| 2021 | Warwickshire | Lancashire |
| 2022 | Surrey | Lancashire |
| 2023 | Surrey | Essex |
| 2024 | Surrey | Hampshire |
| 2025 | Nottinghamshire | Surrey |
(Source: ECB)
That table tells you who won and when, but it doesn’t explain why certain counties keep turning up near the top. So let’s get into the story behind the numbers.
Yorkshire Sit Top of the County Championship All Time List
Nobody has come close to matching Yorkshire’s record in this competition, and it isn’t particularly close either.
- Yorkshire have won 33 titles outright, plus a shared title in 1949, giving them roughly a quarter of every championship ever awarded.
- Surrey sit second with 23 titles, including a shared crown in 1950.
- Middlesex complete the top three on 13, with two of those shared.
Most of Yorkshire’s dominance came in two distinct spells. They won 12 championships between the wars, then added another seven between 1959 and 1968. Since then, county cricket has spread its rewards far more evenly, and no side has managed anything close to that level of sustained control.
(Source: County Championship)
Most Successful Counties in the Championship’s History
Here’s how the honours board reads once you strip away the year-by-year detail and focus purely on totals.
| Club | Total Titles | Notable Winning Years |
|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire | 33 (1 shared) | 1893 to 2015 |
| Surrey | 23 (1 shared) | 1890 to 2024 |
| Middlesex | 13 (2 shared) | 1903 to 2016 |
| Lancashire | 9 (1 shared) | 1897 to 2011 |
| Essex | 8 | 1979 to 2019 |
| Warwickshire | 8 | 1911 to 2021 |
| Nottinghamshire | 7 | 1907 to 2025 |
| Kent | 7 (1 shared) | 1906 to 1978 |
| Worcestershire | 5 | 1964 to 1989 |
| Durham | 3 | 2008 to 2013 |
| Glamorgan | 3 | 1948 to 1997 |
| Leicestershire | 3 | 1975 to 1998 |
| Sussex | 3 | 2003 to 2007 |
| Hampshire | 2 | 1961 and 1973 |
| Derbyshire | 1 | 1936 |
Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Somerset are the three current first-class counties who are still chasing their first title, and Somerset in particular have come agonisingly close on several occasions in the last two decades.
(Source: County Championship)
Numbers like these only mean so much on their own, though. What’s actually changed the competition is how it’s been run.
(Source: ESPNcricinfo)
Also Read
Nottinghamshire End a Fifteen-Year Wait to Reclaim the County Championship
Yorkshire’s record of 33 titles still looks out of reach for any current side, and that’s unlikely to change soon given how competitive the modern championship has become. What 2025 proved is that the gap between the leading counties and the chasing pack is narrower than it’s been in years.
Surrey remain the team to beat, but Nottinghamshire have shown it can be done, and that sets up next season as one worth following closely.
