| Montgomeryshire Sir Drefaldwyn (Welsh) | |
|---|---|
 Broad Street andMontgomery Town Hall (2001) | |
 Show location in Wales Show location in England and Wales Show location in the United Kingdom | |
| Area | |
| • 1831 | 483,323 acres (1,955.94 km2) |
| Population | |
| • 1831 | 66,482[1] |
| Density | |
| • 1831 | 0.1/acre |
| History | |
| • Succeeded by | Powys |
| Chapman code | MGY |
| Government | Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974) Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) |
| • HQ | Montgomery |
Montgomeryshire (Welsh:Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town") was one of the thirteenhistoric counties of Wales. It was named after itscounty town,Montgomery, which in turn was named after one ofWilliam the Conqueror's main counsellors,Roger de Montgomerie, who was the 1stEarl of Shrewsbury.
The area of what was Montgomeryshire, now constitutes the northern part of theprincipal area ofPowys. The current area was 2,174 square km (839 square miles).
The largest town wasNewtown, followed byWelshpool andLlanidloes.
TheTreaty of Montgomery was signed on 29 September 1267, in the town of Montgomery, which had recently been established as an English incursion on the Welsh side of the border, to control a strategic border crossing. The surrounding region (on the Welsh side of the border) otherwise comprised the mediaeval principality ofPowys Wenwynwyn, the southern of the two states into which theKingdom of Powys had been divided a century before.
Attacks byGwynedd on Powys Wenwynwyn led the latter to seek the assistance of the English. Ultimately this led them to convert their territory into amarcher lordship, viasurrender and regrant, as a way to strengthen their position; the ruling princes of Powys Wenwynwyn became theLords of Powys, feudally bound to the English king, and able to fully rely on English backing, but otherwise independent. The prince took an English-style surname - Owen de-la Pole - after his capital city, Pool (nowWelshpool).
With the introduction of theLaws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 the marcher lordships were converted into English counties. The Lordship of Powys – the former Powys Wenwynwyn – became Montgomeryshire; the county town being Montgomery, the strongest centre of English authority in the region, rather than centre of Welsh authority, Welshpool. Montgomeryshire was thus ultimately formed from thecantrefi of Powys Wenwynwyn:[2]
In addition, for practical reasons, Montgomeryshire gained the commote ofCeri, which had formed a northwards spur of the less organised regionBetween Wye and Severn; most of the rest of the latter region becameRadnorshire.
Montgomeryshire was bordered, to the north, byDenbighshire, to the east and south east byShropshire, to the south byRadnorshire, to the south west byCardiganshire, and to the west and north west byMerionethshire. When, in subsequent centuries, the concept ofWales was once again officially distinguished fromEngland, all of these counties were deemedWelsh, except for Shropshire.Montgomeryshire was the birthplace of Welsh Catholic martyrSaint Richard Gwyn (in 1537).
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Elected county councils were established in1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888 to take over the local government functions previously exercised by thequarter sessions. Although the county was named afterMontgomery, by 1889 the quarter sessions were instead held at bothNewtown andWelshpool, and the new county council chose to continue meeting in both towns in its early years.[3][4] Montgomeryshire County Council held its first formal meeting on 1 April 1889 at the Public Rooms (also known as the Flannel Exchange) in Newtown.[5][6]
In 1931 the county council opened a new headquarters building in Welshpool, called the Montgomeryshire County Offices orNeuadd Maldwyn. The county council remained based at Neuadd Maldwyn until its abolition in 1974.[7][8]
Until 1974, Montgomeryshire was divided intocivil parishes for the purpose of local government; these in large part equated toecclesiastical parishes (see the table below), most of which still exist as part of the Church in Wales.[9]
| Hundred | Parishes |
|---|---|
| Cawrse | Crugion/Criggion1 •Forden/Ffordun |
| Deythur | Llandrinio •Llandysilio •Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain |
| Llanfyllin | Hirnant •Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa •Llanfyllin •Llangynog •Llanwddyn2 •Meifod •Pennant-melangell |
| Llanidloes | Carno •Llandinam •Llangurig •Llanidloes •Llanwnnog •Penystrywaid/Penstrowed •Trefeglwys |
| Machynlleth | Cemais/Cemmaes • Darowen •Llanbrynmair •Llanwrin •Machynlleth •Penegoes |
| Mathrafal | Castell Caereinion/Castle Caereinion • Garthbeibio •Llanerfyl •Llanfair Caereinion •Llangadfan •Llangynyw |
| Montgomery | Ceri/Kerry •Churchstoke/Yr Ystog •Hyssington/Isatyn •Mochdre •Montgomery/Trefaldwyn •Snead |
| Newtown | Aberhafesb/Aberhafesp •Aberriw/Berriew •Betws Cedewain/Bettws Cedewain •Llandysul/Llandyssil • Llanllugan •Llanllwchaearn •Llanmerewig • Llanwyddelan •Manafon •Newtown/Y Drenewydd •Tregynon |
| Pool | Buttington/Tal-y-bont •Cegidfa/Guilsfield •Llanfechain •Y Trallwng/Welshpool |
1a chapelry toAlberbury in Shropshire2a chapelry toLlanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant in Denbighshire
Local government reforms in 1974 combined the administrative areas of Montgomeryshire,Radnorshire andBrecknockshire together to form a new administrative county calledPowys. A newdistrict of Montgomeryshire was established as a lower-tier district authority within Powys, with the district's area matching the former administrative county. The district council took over Neuadd Maldwyn in Welshpool to serve as its headquarters, and also retained the former offices of the abolishedNewtown and LlanllwchaiarnUrban District Council at Newtown Hall Park as an area office.[10]
Further local government reform in 1996 abolished district councils in Wales, making Powys aunitary authority. From 1996 until 2018Powys County Council had a Montgomeryshirearea committee covering the former Montgomeryshire district plus three communities formerly in theGlyndŵr district ofClwyd (historicallyDenbighshire) which were transferred to Powys in 1996.[11] The three area committees for the former counties were abolished in 2018.[12]
The area of what was Montogmeryshire was almost wholly mountainous, although there are some fertile valleys in the east. The highest point (county top) wasMoel Sych at 826.7 metres (2,712 ft), whose summit lies at the triple county boundary point of Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire and Merionethshire in theBerwyn Mountains. The county top of Denbighshire,Cadair Berwyn at 832 metres (2,730 ft), was less than a kilometre away. Its main rivers were theRiver Severn (which flows east into Shropshire) and theRiver Dyfi (which flows west into theIrish Sea).Lake Vyrnwy is a reservoir supplyingLiverpool.
The main towns wereMachynlleth,Llanidloes,Montgomery,Newtown andWelshpool. The main industries wereagriculture (mainly hill farming) andtourism, though there was also someforestry and lightmanufacturing. The population density was highest near theborder with England and along the Severn valley. The county was closely linked toShropshire, with many essential services for Montgomeryshire residents being located in the more densely populated town ofShrewsbury, such as acute health services at theRoyal Shrewsbury Hospital.
The county flower of Montgomeryshire remains theSpergula arvensis (also called "corn spurrey"). The shire forms avice-county for wildlife recording.
Montgomeryshire was crossed from East to West by theCambrian Line, a mainline passenger railway which runs betweenShrewsbury andAberystwyth as well asPwllheli with stations atWelshpool,Newtown,Caersws andMachynlleth.
TheWelshpool and Llanfair Light Railway links Welshpool toLlanfair Caereinion.
Montgomeryshire's name is used in the constituencies that represent the same area today:
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