Historic counties of Wales
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The historic counties of Wales (Welsh: siroedd hynafol) were the thirteen sub-divisions used in Wales from either 1282 and 1535, up to their abolishment in 1974 for eight counties. They were used for various functions for several hundred years,[1] but for administrative purposes have been superseded by contemporary sub-national divisions,[2] some of which bear some limited similarity to the historic entities in name and extent. They are alternatively known as ancient counties.[3]
The counties
-
County Welsh name Population (most recent) Monmouthshire Sir Fynwy3 4 503,917 Glamorganshire Sir Forgannwg or Morgannwg1 1,288,309 Carmarthenshire Sir Gaerfyrddin or Sir Gâr2 187,568 Pembrokeshire Sir Benfro1 125,055 CardiganshireSir Aberteifi or Ceredigion2 72,992 Brecknockshire Sir Frycheiniog3 43,376 Radnorshire Sir Faesyfed3 25,821 Montgomeryshire Sir Drefaldwyn3 63,779 Denbighshire Sir Ddinbych3 174,151 Flintshire Sir y Fflint2 60,012 Merionethshire Sir Feirionnydd or Meirionnydd2 38,310 Caernarfonshire Sir Gaernarfon2 121,767 Anglesey Sir Fôn2 69,961
- 1 The earldom of Pembroke and lordship of Glamorgan pre-date the Edwardian conquest.
- 2 These counties originate in 1282, following King Edward I's conquest.
- 3 These counties originate in 1535, with the Laws in Wales Act, 1535, converting the remaining MarcherLordships into counties.
- 4 Despite being created at the same Act as the other counties, Monmouthshire was included with English counties for legal purposes until 1974. Between 1536 and 1974 the formulation "Wales and Monmouthshire" was frequently used.[4]
The 1535 Laws in Wales Act had the effect of abolishing the marcher lordships within and on the borders of Wales. In the border areas, several were incorporated in whole or in part into English counties. The lordships of Ludlow, Clun, Caus and part of Montgomery were incorporated into Shropshire; and Wigmore, Huntington, Clifford and most of Ewyas were included in Herefordshire.[5]
The historic counties established by 1535 were used as the geographical basis for the
Four circuits of Wales
In the 1536 acts of the Union, a
- Anglesey, Caernarfon & Merioneth
- Flint, Denbigh & Montgomery
- Cardigan, Carmarthen & Pembroke
- Radnor, Brecon & Glamorgan
Exclaves
The
The Herefordshire township of Litton and Cascob (in the parishes of Cascob and Presteigne), was transferred to Radnorshire.
The Denbighshire township of Carreghofa (in the parish of Llanymynech) was transferred to Montgomeryshire.
The exclaves of Flintshire, called English Maelor and Marford and Hoseley were left untouched.
Monmouthshire
The territory which became Monmouthshire was part of the Welsh kingdoms of
Local government
1889
The Local Government Act 1888 created a parallel system of administrative counties based on the historic counties in 1889. Additionally, certain boroughs were deemed to be county boroughs, outside the administrative counties (Cardiff and Swansea in 1889, Newport in 1891 and Merthyr Tydfil in 1908). As a result of 85 years of local government boundary changes, the boundaries of the administrative counties became increasingly different from the historic counties, until they were abandoned altogether for a different system of local government in 1974.
1974
The
" The new county boundaries are solely for the purpose of defining areas of...local government. They are administrative areas, and will not alter the traditional areas of Counties (the historic counties), nor is it intended that the loyalties of people living in them will change."
The eight new administrative counties were themselves replaced in 1996 by the current principal areas of Wales, but modified versions were retained for Lieutenancy as the preserved counties.
Vice counties
The
Index of Place Names
The historic counties of Wales are included in the Index of Place Names (IPN) published by the Office for National Statistics. Each "place" included in the IPN is related to the historic county it lies within, as well as to a set of administrative areas. The Historic Counties Trust has published demographic statistics for the historic counties of the UK from the 2011 United Kingdom census including a comparison of population and population density in the historic counties of England and Wales between the 1901 United Kingdom census and the 2011 United Kingdom census and a comparison of the number of Welsh speakers in the historic counties of Wales between the 1911 United Kingdom census and the 2011 United Kingdom census.[8]
References
- ^ Bryne, T., Local Government in Britain, (1994)
- ^ Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Aspects of Britain: Local Government, (1996)
- ^ Vision of Britain – Type details for ancient county. Retrieved 19 October 2006.
- ^ Statute Law database: "Wales and Monmouthshire" search results
- ISBN 0-14-028475-3
- ISBN 978-0-9955337-0-7.
- ISBN 0-14-028475-3
- ^ Historic Counties Trust The Demography of the Historic Counties Retrieved 15 June 2020