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Thehistoric counties of Wales (Welsh:siroedd hynafol) were the thirteensub-divisions used inWales from 1535 up to their abolition in 1974 when they were replaced byeight larger administrative counties (which in turn were replaced with the currenttwenty-two). They were used for various functions for several hundred years,[1] with some dating to 1282, but for administrative purposes have been superseded by contemporarysub-national divisions,[2] some of which bear some limited similarity to the historic entities in name and extent. They are alternatively known asancient counties.[3]
| County | Welsh name | Population (most recent)[when?] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Monmouthshire | Sir Fynwy | 503,917 | [C 1] |
 Glamorganshire | Sir Forgannwg orMorgannwg | 1,288,309 | [C 2] |
| Carmarthenshire | Sir Gaerfyrddin orSir Gâr | 187,568 | [C 3] |
 Pembrokeshire | Sir Benfro | 125,055 | [C 2] |
 Cardiganshire | Sir Aberteifi orCeredigion | 72,992 | [C 3] |
 Brecknockshire | Sir Frycheiniog | 43,376 | [C 1] |
| Radnorshire | Sir Faesyfed | 25,821 | [C 1] |
| Montgomeryshire | Sir Drefaldwyn | 63,779 | [C 1] |
| Denbighshire | Sir Ddinbych | 174,151 | [C 1] |
 Flintshire | Sir y Fflint | 60,012 | [C 3] |
 Merionethshire | Sir Feirionnydd orMeirionnydd | 38,310 | [C 3] |
 Caernarfonshire | Sir Gaernarfon | 121,767 | [C 3] |
 Anglesey | Sir Fôn | 69,961 | [C 3] |
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 abolished themarcher 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 ofLudlow,Clun,Caus and part ofMontgomery were incorporated into Shropshire; andWigmore,Huntington,Clifford and most ofEwyas were included in Herefordshire.[5]
The historic counties established by 1535 were used as the geographical basis for theadministrative counties, governed bycounty councils, 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."
In the 1536 acts of the Union, aCourt of Great Sessions in Wales was created in Wales for four separate circuits. The circuits each had 3 counties involved. Some of the original territorialMarcher lordships were split into regional circuits and others were created from regions of the formerPrincipality of Wales:[6]
TheCounties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 abolished severalenclaves. One of these,Welsh Bicknor (Llangystennin) was an exclave ofMonmouthshire betweenGloucestershire andHerefordshire and was transferred toHerefordshire. Two townships of the ancient parish ofCwmyoy 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 ofCarreghofa (in the parish ofLlanymynech) was transferred to Montgomeryshire.
The exclaves ofFlintshire, calledEnglish Maelor andMarford and Hoseley were left untouched.
The territory which became Monmouthshire was part of the Welsh kingdoms ofGwent andGlywysing and later, after the Norman conquest of southern Wales, of theWelsh Marches. Although the originalLaws in Wales Act 1535 specifically stated the lands making up Monmouthshire were from the 'Country or Dominion of Wales', theLaws in Wales Act 1542 added Monmouthshire to the Oxford circuit of the Englishassizes rather than falling under theCourt of Great Sessions in Wales. According to historianJohn Davies, this arrangement was the cause of the erroneous belief that the county had been annexed by England rather than remaining part of Wales.[7] 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.
TheLocal Government Act 1888 created a parallel system ofadministrative counties based on the historic counties in 1889. Additionally, certain boroughs were deemed to becounty boroughs, outside the administrative counties (Cardiff andSwansea in 1889,Newport in 1891 andMerthyr 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.
TheLocal Government Act 1972 replaced the administrative counties created in 1889 witheight new administrative counties in 1974. The existingLieutenancy areas were also redefined to use the newly created local government areas, defined by the act as "counties". Furthermore, use of the historic counties aspostal counties was stopped by theRoyal 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:
"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 currentprincipal areas of Wales, but modified versions were retained for Lieutenancy as thepreserved counties.
Thevice 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 makelongitudinal study of biodiversity easier.
The historic counties of Wales are included in theIndex of Place Names (IPN) published by theOffice 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 the2011 United Kingdom census including a comparison of population and population density in the historic counties of England and Wales between the1901 United Kingdom census and the2011 United Kingdom census and a comparison of the number of Welsh speakers in the historic counties of Wales between the1911 United Kingdom census and the2011 United Kingdom census.[8]
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