Westmorland (; formerly also spelt Westmoreland; even older spellings are Westmerland and Westmereland) is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the whole county was administered by the new administrative county of Cumbria. In 2013, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties, including Westmorland.