What is the oldest English county?

It's the one that's been there longer than any of the others and my guess is that it is one of the Home Counties and my next guess is that it is Middlesex.

Tis Wiltshire, with the prehistoric Stonehenge, and the centre of the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex.

Malmesbury being the oldest borough in the country.

Hampshire lays claim to being the oldest.

Kent lays claim to being the oldest according to http://www.heritagebritain.com/historic/Kent,%20England%92s%20oldest%20county.html

Cornwall lays claim to being the oldest according to [spirit-of-adventure.com/high_hopes/cornwall.html] Link no longer exists

I think I shall stop looking now.

Perhaps the proper counties are the 'shires' so that excludes Kent and Middlesex and Cornwall.

Yay - or nay?

I will mention shires just once more - Triggshire was once part of north east Cornwall.

IT IS GWENT

Someone has asked me this in the pub and I am trying to collate enough evidence to come down on one answer. Annoyingly, all SM's sites include a grand claim to be the oldest without anything to back it up.

Kent has quite a good claim as it was part of the Saxon heptarchy of 7 kingdoms formed in the 7th century AD (as were Sussex and Essex - but not Middlesex) and has a name dating back at least to the 1st century BC.
While Wiltshire may contain Stonehenge and the oldest borough, I'm not sure it has been "Wiltshire" for that long.
I must say that my own county of Shropshire must be one of the least altered since the Norman conquest.

Anyway, did the title county originally mean an area ruled by a count or earl, in which case the oldest will surely be linked to the first such title? Or is it something to do with counting.
I need more convincing before I hand out a "yay" on this one.

From Encarta:

The conquest of the Danelaw was completed by Alfred’s son, Edward the Elder (ruled 899-924), and by his grandson Athelstan, who won a great victory at Brunanburh in 937.

The conquest of the Danelaw meant the creation of a unified government for all England and the evolution of the territorial state, which was replacing the kinship structure of earlier times. The king ruled with the assistance of the witenagemot, a council of advisers who participated in the issuing of dooms and oversaw the selection of kings. About 40 shires (counties) were created out of former kingdoms or from significant military or administrative units. Each had a shiremoot, or court etc...

http://referaty.aktuality.sk/england-everything-about-england/referat-16336

Any use?

There seems to be no definitive answer, as a number of counties (including Essex, as stated in this article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cornwall-is-celebrating-after-being-granted-minority-status-but-what-of-other-english-counties-9284240.html) claim to be the oldest.