View source for Historic counties of Wales

{{short description|Historical sub-divisions of Wales}}
{{distinguish|Preserved counties of Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

[[File:Wales Historical Counties.png|thumb|alt=A map of the thirteen historic counties of Wales, .|The thirteen historic counties of Wales, including the [[Maelor Saesneg]] as an exclave of [[Flintshire]].]]
{{Politics of Wales}}

The '''historic counties of Wales''' ({{langx|cy|siroedd hynafol}}) were the thirteen [[Subdivisions of Wales|sub-divisions]] used in [[Wales]] from 1535 up to their abolition in 1974 when they were replaced by [[Preserved counties of Wales|eight larger administrative counties]] (which in turn were replaced with the current [[Principal areas of Wales|twenty-two]]). They were used for various functions for several hundred years,<ref name=bryne>Bryne, T., ''Local Government in Britain'', (1994)</ref> with some dating to 1282, but for administrative purposes have been superseded by contemporary [[Principal areas of Wales|sub-national divisions]],<ref name=aspects>Her Majesty's Stationery Office, ''Aspects of Britain: Local Government'', (1996)</ref> some of which bear some limited similarity to the historic entities in name and extent. They are alternatively known as ''ancient counties''.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/type_page.jsp?unit_type=ANC_CNTY Vision of Britain] – Type details for ancient county. Retrieved 19 October 2006.</ref>

==The counties==

{| class="wikitable sortable" id="list"
! County
! Welsh name
! Population (most recent){{when|date=October 2025}}
! Notes
|-
|{{flag|Monmouthshire}}
|''Sir Fynwy''
|503,917
|<ref group=C name="laws in wales"/>
|-
|{{flag|Glamorgan}}shire
|''Sir Forgannwg'' or ''Morgannwg''
|1,288,309
|<ref group=C name="ancient"/>
|-
|[[Carmarthenshire]]
|''Sir Gaerfyrddin'' or ''Sir Gâr''
|187,568
|<ref group=C name="edward"/>
|-
|{{flag|Pembrokeshire}}
|''Sir Benfro''
|125,055
|<ref group=C name="ancient"/>
|-
|{{flag|Cardiganshire}}
|''Sir Aberteifi'' or ''Ceredigion''
|72,992
|<ref group=C name="edward"/>
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Brecknockshire.svg}} [[Brecknockshire]]
|''Sir Frycheiniog''
|43,376
|<ref group=C name="laws in wales"/>
|-
|[[Radnorshire]]
|''Sir Faesyfed''
|25,821
|<ref group=C name="laws in wales"/>
|-
|[[Montgomeryshire]]
|''Sir Drefaldwyn''
|63,779
|<ref group=C name="laws in wales"/>
|-
|[[Denbighshire (historic)|Denbighshire]]
|''Sir Ddinbych''
|174,151
|<ref group=C name="laws in wales"/>
|-
|{{flag|Flintshire}}
|''Sir y Fflint''
|60,012
|<ref group=C name="edward"/>
|-
|{{flag|Merionethshire}}
|''Sir Feirionnydd'' or ''Meirionnydd''
|38,310
|<ref group=C name="edward"/>
|-
|{{flag|Caernarfonshire}}
|''Sir Gaernarfon''
|121,767
|<ref group=C name="edward"/>
|-
|{{flag|Anglesey}}
|''Sir Fôn''
|69,961
|<ref group=C name="edward"/>
|-
|}
{{reflist|group=C|refs=
<ref group=C name="ancient">County predates the [[Edwardian conquest]].</ref>
<ref group=C name="edward">County originates in 1282, following [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]'s conquest.</ref>
<ref group=C name="laws in wales">County originates in 1535, with the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542|Laws in Wales Act, 1535]], converting the remaining [[Welsh Marches|Marcher]] Lordships into counties.</ref>
}}

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.<ref>[http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/searchResults.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&searchDay=1&searchMonth=1&searchYear=1991&searchEnacted=1&text=%26quot%3bWales+and+Monmouthshire%26quot%3b&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&extent=E%2bW%2bS%2bN.I. Statute Law database: "Wales and Monmouthshire" search results]</ref>

The 1535 Laws in Wales Act abolished the [[marcher lord]]ships 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 Castle|Caus]] and part of [[Montgomery, Powys|Montgomery]] were incorporated into Shropshire; and [[Wigmore, Herefordshire|Wigmore]], [[Huntington, Kington|Huntington]], [[Clifford, Herefordshire|Clifford]] and most of [[Ewyas]] were included in Herefordshire.<ref name=davies>John Davies, ''A History of Wales'', Penguin, 1993, {{ISBN|0-14-028475-3}}</ref>

The historic counties established by 1535 were used as the geographical basis for the [[administrative counties of Wales|administrative counties]], governed by [[county council]]s, which existed from 1889 to 1974. The historian William Rees said, in his "Historical Atlas of Wales": (published 1959)
''"... the boundaries of the modern shires have largely been determined by the ancient divisions of the country. The survival of these ancient local divisions within the pattern of historical change constitutes a vital element in the framework of the national life and helps to preserve its continuity."''

==Four circuits of Wales==
In the 1536 acts of the Union, a [[Court of Great Sessions in Wales]] was created in Wales for four separate circuits. The circuits each had 3 counties involved. Some of the original territorial [[Marcher lordships]] were split into regional circuits and others were created from regions of the former [[Principality of Wales]]:<ref>{{ cite book| last=Williams| first=Philip Nanney| url=http://nannauhistory.com/ | title=Nannau - A Rich Tapestry of Welsh History| year=2016| isbn=978-0-9955337-0-7|page=64| publisher=Llwyn Estates Publications}}</ref>

*Anglesey, Caernarfon & Merioneth
*Flint, Denbigh & Montgomery
*Cardigan, Carmarthen & Pembroke
*Radnor, Brecon & Glamorgan

==Exclaves==
The [[Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844]] abolished several [[enclave]]s. One of these, [[Welsh Bicknor]] (Llangystennin) was an exclave of [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] between [[Gloucestershire]] and [[Herefordshire]] and was transferred to [[Herefordshire]]. Two townships of the ancient parish of [[Cwmyoy]] were also exclaves of Herefordshire. Bwlch Trewyn was transferred to Monmouthshire, whereas the other, Ffwddog (identified using the English variant Fothock on older maps), was not.

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 (historic)|Flintshire]], called [[English Maelor]] and [[Marford|Marford and Hoseley]] were left untouched.

==Monmouthshire==
{{See also|Monmouthshire (historic)#Ambiguity over Welsh status|l1=Monmouthshire (historic)}}
The territory which became Monmouthshire was part of the Welsh kingdoms of [[kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]] and [[Glywysing]] and later, after the Norman conquest of southern Wales, of the [[Welsh Marches]].  Although the original [[Laws in Wales Act 1535]] specifically stated the lands making up Monmouthshire were from the 'Country or Dominion of Wales', the [[Laws in Wales Act 1542]] added Monmouthshire to the Oxford circuit of the English [[assizes]] rather than falling under the [[Court of Great Sessions in Wales]].  According to historian [[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]], this arrangement was the cause of the erroneous belief that the county had been annexed by England rather than remaining part of Wales.<ref>[[John Davies (historian)|John Davies]], ''A History of Wales'', 1993, {{ISBN|0-14-028475-3}}</ref>  In later centuries, some English historians, map-makers, landowners and politicians took the view that Monmouthshire was an English rather than a Welsh county, and references were often made in legislation to "[[Wales and Monmouthshire]]".  The position was finally resolved by the Local Government Act 1972, which confirmed Monmouthshire's place within Wales.

==Local government==

===1889===
The [[Local Government Act 1888]] created a parallel system of [[administrative county|administrative counties]] based on the historic counties in 1889. Additionally, certain boroughs were deemed to be [[county borough]]s, outside the administrative counties ([[Cardiff]] and [[Swansea]] in 1889, [[Newport, Wales|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 [[Local Government Act 1972]] replaced the administrative counties created in 1889 with [[preserved counties of Wales|eight new administrative counties]] in 1974. The existing [[Lord Lieutenant|Lieutenancy]] areas were also redefined to use the newly created local government areas, defined by the act as "counties". Furthermore, use of the historic counties as [[Postal counties of the United Kingdom|postal counties]] was stopped by the [[Royal Mail]] in 1975 and those historic counties were no longer shown on maps. However, in spite of widespread misunderstanding, the Local Government Act 1972 never abolished the historic counties. Indeed, the Department of the Environment made this very clear in a statement it issued on 1 April 1974:{{blockquote|"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 [[Local government in Wales|principal areas of Wales]], but modified versions were retained for Lieutenancy as the [[preserved counties of Wales|preserved counties]].

==Vice counties==
The [[Watsonian vice-counties|vice counties]], used for biological recording throughout Great Britain and Ireland since 1852, are largely based on historic county boundaries. They ignore all exclaves and are modified by subdividing large counties and merging smaller areas into neighbouring counties. The static boundaries make [[longitudinal study]] of biodiversity easier.

==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]].<ref>Historic Counties Trust [http://historiccountiestrust.co.uk/The_Demography_of_the_Historic_Counties.pdf The Demography of the Historic Counties] Retrieved 15 June 2020</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.historiccountiestrust.co.uk/ The Historic Counties Trust]
*[http://realcounties.org.uk/ Campaign for Historic Counties]
*[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/ Family history links to historic counties of Wales]

{{Historic Counties of Wales}}
{{Administrative geography of the United Kingdom}}
{{Geography of Wales}}
{{Culture of Wales}}

[[Category:Historic counties of Wales| ]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Europe|Wales]]
[[Category:Vernacular geography|Counties Wales]]
[[Category:Lists of counties of Wales]]