Powys | |
|---|---|
  .jpg)
| |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: | |
 Powys shown withinWales | |
| Coordinates:52°18′N3°25′W / 52.300°N 3.417°W /52.300; -3.417 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Wales |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | County Hall, Llandrindod Wells |
| Government | |
| • Type | Principal council |
| • Body | Powys County Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | 2 MPs |
| • MSs | 2 MSs |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,000 sq mi (5,181 km2) |
| • Rank | 1st |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 135,059 |
| • Rank | 12th |
| • Density | 67/sq mi (26/km2) |
| Welsh language(2021) | |
| • Speakers | 16.4% |
| • Rank | 7th |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-POW |
| GSS code | W06000023 |
| Website | www |
Powys (/ˈpoʊɪs,ˈpaʊɪs/POH-iss,POW-iss,[4]Welsh:[ˈpou̯ɪs]) is acounty andpreserved county inWales.[a] It bordersGwynedd,Denbighshire andWrexham to the north; the Englishceremonial counties ofShropshire andHerefordshire to the east;Monmouthshire,Blaenau Gwent,Merthyr Tydfil,Caerphilly,Rhondda Cynon Taf andNeath Port Talbot to the south; andCarmarthenshire andCeredigion to the west. The largest settlement isNewtown, and the administrative centre isLlandrindod Wells.
Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km2 (2,000 sq mi) and a population of 135,059 in 2024.[2] While largely rural, its towns includeWelshpool in the north-east, Newtown in the north-centre, Llandrindod Wells in the south-centre,Brecon in the south,Ystradgynlais in the far south-west, andMachynlleth in the far west. TheWelsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of the population.[5] The boundaries of Powys largely follow those of thehistoric counties ofMontgomeryshire,Radnorshire, andBrecknockshire.
The county is predominantly hilly and mountainous. To the west lie theCambrian Mountains, where theRiver Severn andRiver Wye both have their source on the Powys side of thePlynlimon massif; together with their tributaries they drain most of the county. The southern quarter of Powys contains, from east to west, part of theBlack Mountains, theBrecon Beacons,Fforest Fawr, and part of theBlack Mountains, all of which are part ofBrecon Beacons National Park. Further north are two more upland areas,Mynydd Epynt andRadnor Forest. The only extensive area of flat land in Powys is the region northeast of Welshpool.
The county is named after theKingdom of Powys, which was a Welshsuccessor state,petty kingdom andprincipality that emerged during the Middle Ages following theend of Roman rule in Britain.
Powys covers the historic counties ofMontgomeryshire andRadnorshire, most ofBrecknockshire, and part ofhistoric Denbighshire. With an area of about 2,000 square miles (5,200 km2), it is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area (Dyfed was until 1996 before severalformer counties created by theLocal Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north byGwynedd,Denbighshire andWrexham County Borough; to the west byCeredigion andCarmarthenshire; to the east byShropshire andHerefordshire; and to the south byRhondda Cynon Taf,Merthyr Tydfil County Borough,Caerphilly County Borough,Blaenau Gwent,Monmouthshire andNeath Port Talbot.
The largest towns areNewtown,Ystradgynlais,Brecon,Welshpool,Llandrindod Wells andKnighton. Powys has the lowestpopulation density of all the principal areas of Wales. Most of Powys is mountainous, and most roads and railways are relatively slow.
Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and aroundMachynlleth,Llanfyllin andLlanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (whereWilliam Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire, and the industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the southwest of Brecknockshire. In Radnorshire, the language survived into the 20th century west of Rhayader with a few native speakers from Nantmel parish surviving into the 20th century too. The2021 census recorded that 16.4% of the population were able to speak the Welsh language, a decline from 18.6% in2011 and 21% in2001.[6][7]
The county is named after the ancient WelshKingdom of Powys, which in the sixth century AD included the northern two-thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied byLlywelyn ap Gruffudd ofGwynedd during the 1260s.
The uplands retain evidence of occupation from long before the Kingdom of Powys, and before the Romans, who built roads and forts across the area. There are 1130 identifiedburial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000 BC to 1000 BC, most of them belonging to theBronze Age.[8] Of these, 339 arescheduled monuments.Standing stones, most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county, of which 92 are scheduled. From theIron Age, the county has 90 scheduledhillforts and a further 54 enclosures and settlement sites.
Powys is served by theCambrian Line andHeart of Wales line which offer connections to major towns and cities such asSwansea,Wrexham,Shrewsbury,Birmingham,Wolverhampton,Manchester,Cardiff,Aberystwyth,London andTelford. The county used to be served by key railways such as theMid-Wales Railway,Oswestry and Newtown Railway,Tanat Valley Light Railway,Llanfyllin Branch,Leominster and Kington Railway,Swansea Vale Railway and theHereford, Hay and Brecon Railway, all of which offered connections toSouth Wales,Hereford,Oswestry,North Wales andWest Wales but have all since closed.[citation needed]
The gold in the county council's coat of arms symbolises the wealth of the area. Black is for both mining and theBlack Mountains. Thefountain is amedievalheraldiccharge displayed as aroundelbarry wavy argent and azure. It represents water and refers to both thewater catchment area and the rivers and lakes. Thus, the arms contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry.The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to amural crown, which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises ared kite, a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain but thriving in Powys. The bird is a "semé of blacklozenges" for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in the county.[citation needed]
The county motto is:Powys – the paradise of Wales (Welsh:Powys Paradwys Cymru).
On 1 April 1974, Powys was created under the Local Government Act 1972. At first, the former administrative counties ofMontgomery,Radnor, andBrecknock were districts within it. On 1 April 1996, the districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as aunitary authority. There was a minor border adjustment in the northeast—specifically, the addition of the communities ofLlansilin andLlangedwyn fromGlyndŵr district inClwyd—and with moving the border, so that rather than half of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, all is included.
The firstLord Lieutenant of Powys was previously theLord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. TheLord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire andLord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as lieutenants. The presentlord lieutenant isShân Legge-Bourke ofCrickhowell.
From 2024, Powys would be in the UK parliament constituencies ofBrecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe andMontgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, both of which extend out of the county.[9]
In December 2007, Powys was awardedFair Trade County status byThe Fairtrade Foundation.[12]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
