Monmouthshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monmouthshire (Welsh: Sir Fynwy) is a historic county and principal area in south-east Wales. The eastern and southern boundaries of the two are the same, but the western two-fifths of the historic county are covered by other unitary authorities.
[edit] Historic county
- Main article Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire was formed from the Welsh Marches by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. The county borders Gloucestershire to the east, Herefordshire to the northeast, Brecknockshire to the north, and Glamorgan to the west. It was previously considered to be a county of England, but latterly is considered part of south-east Wales. A number of organisations, including the English Democrats, a minor political party, dispute this.
The administrative county of Monmouthshire, and associated Lieutenancy were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The area largely became part of the new local government and ceremonial county of Gwent.
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| Geography | |
| Area - Total - % Water |
Ranked 7th 850 km² ? % |
|---|---|
| Admin HQ | Cwmbran |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-MON |
| ONS code | 00PP |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 18th 87,700 Ranked 15th 103 / km² |
| Ethnicity | 97.5% White |
| Welsh language - Any skills |
Ranked 22nd 12.9% |
[edit] The principal area
- Main article: Monmouthshire Council
The current unitary authority was created on April 1, 1996 as a successor to the district of Monmouth along with the Llanelly community from Blaenau Gwent, both of which were districts of Gwent.
The use of the name 'Monmouthshire' rather than 'Monmouth' for the area was mildly controversial, being supported by the MP for Monmouth, Roger Evans, but being opposed by Paul Murphy, MP for Torfaen (inside the historic county of Monmouthshire but being reconstituted as a separate unitary authority). [1] By area it covers some 60% of the historic county, but only 20% of the population.
In comparison to the pre-1974 areas it covers:
- the former boroughs of Abergavenny and Monmouth
- the former urban districts of Chepstow and Usk
- the former rural districts of Abergavenney, Chepstow and Monmouth
- the former rural district of Pontypool, except the community of Llanfrechfa Lower
- the parish of Llanelly from the former Crickhowell Rural District in Brecknockshire
- see List of places in Monmouthshire for a list of settlements in the principal area
[edit] References
| Principal areas of Wales |  |
|---|---|
| Subdivisions created by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 Anglesey | Blaenau Gwent | Bridgend | Caerphilly | Cardiff | Carmarthenshire | Ceredigion | Conwy | Denbighshire | Flintshire | Gwynedd | Merthyr Tydfil | Monmouthshire | Neath Port Talbot | Newport | Pembrokeshire | Powys | Rhondda Cynon Taff | Swansea | Torfaen | Vale of Glamorgan | Wrexham |
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