| Gwent | |
|---|---|
 Gwent shown within Wales as a preserved county | |
| Area | |
| • 2024[1] | 1,551 km² |
| Population | |
| • 2024[1] | 601,686 |
| History | |
| • Created | 1974 |
| • Abolished | 1996 |
| • Succeeded by | Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Monmouthshire Newport Torfaen Preserved county of Gwent |
| Status | Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) |
| Government | Gwent County Council (1974–1996) |
| • HQ | Shire Hall, Newport (1974–1978) County Hall, Cwmbran (1978–1996) |
Gwent is apreserved county and former local government county in southeastWales. A county of Gwent was formed on 1 April 1974, under theLocal Government Act 1972; it was named after the ancientKingdom of Gwent. The authority was a successor to both theadministrative county ofMonmouthshire (with minor boundary changes)[2] and thecounty borough ofNewport (both authorities which were legally part ofEngland until the Act came into force[3][4] althoughconsidered jointly with Wales for certain purposes).[5][6]
Under theLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994, the county of Gwent was abolished on 1 April 1996.[7] However, the name remains in use for one of thepreserved counties of Wales for the ceremonial purposes ofLieutenancy andHigh Shrievalty, and its name also survives in various titles, e.g.Gwent Police,Royal Gwent Hospital,Gwent Wildlife Trust andColeg Gwent. "Gwent" is often used as a synonym for thehistoric county of Monmouthshire – for example the Gwent Family History Society describes itself as "The key to roots in the historic county of Monmouthshire".[8]
The former administrative county was divided into several districts:Blaenau Gwent,Islwyn,Monmouth,Newport andTorfaen. The successorunitary authorities areBlaenau Gwent,Caerphilly (part of which came fromMid Glamorgan),Monmouthshire (which covers the eastern 60% of thehistoric county of the same name),Newport andTorfaen.
In 2003 the preserved county of Gwent expanded to include the whole ofCaerphilly County Borough;[9] the Gwent Police area had already been realigned to these boundaries in 1996. In 2007, the population of this enlarged area was estimated as 560,500,[10] making it the most populous of the preserved counties of Wales.
