Welsh "Historic" Counties maps

Question

I prefer, for reasons of vanity, to have been born in one of the Traditional counties of Wales rather than an Historic county as they are generally called. I am old, but not historically old!!

Anyway, for the benefit of the many people who understandably find the Welsh geographical arrangements mystifying, we now have maps at the top of all the Welsh county pages, and indeed of Wales itself.

I really hope that this will help people. Wales is currently on its third (or is that fourth?) reorganisation of Local Government boundaries in less than 50 years. The previous boundaries worked for nearly four and a half centuries. We have taken the view that as things were mostly stable from 1535 to 1974, and that most people are researching their ancestors, we will stick with these traditional boundaries.

This is made doubly confusing, because the name of one of the ancient petty Kingdoms of Wales, Powys, has been brought back as one of the current Administrative areas.

You couldn't ask for a bigger mess-up if you tried.

We are trying our best to make life easier for those of you who have Welsh ancestors, many of whom travelled to America, and many were transported to Australia. One boy of 14 was transported for 7 years to Tasmania for stealing half a crown. That is £0.125, less than a couple of dimes.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Wales https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Brecknockshire

Comments

This is great Steve, thank you!

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Good idea. You wouldn't believe the difficulties I have had with 300 years of ancestors all living within 10 miles of the borders of Shropshire, Flintshire and Denbighshire. Some villages even changing administrative country and diocese with the passage of time. At least I was born there and grew up with the history.

Worth mentioning that Monmouthshire was only brought into Welsh administration quite recently by the Local Government Act of 1972. Up until that time it was considered by legal opinion to be part of England but could be 'linked to Wales for administrative purposes'.

Monmouthshire was not included in the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act of 1881 for example and returned 2 MPs to parliament unlike the rest of Wales which returned 1 MP.

At the moment there is a useful summary (in english) on a BBC Cymru website here

Answer 1

I have a book titled "The Williams Family" John Williams of Neath Glamorganshire, Wales.

John Williams was born in the early 1600's and was a farmer and feltmaker. He participated in Oliver Cromwell in the war with Ireland. John served in the military and also helped financially in the war effort.

He was later given land in Northern Ireland in Monaghan County. John had descendants named John including son, grandson, and great grandson. My line descends from Ann Williams born 1747 who with her husband, William Bell and their children left Ireland and settled in Western PA in 1792.

Comments

Thanks for that, Frank; you raise a good point.

Our custom in the UK is now to refer to a county with the suffix -shire onlt if there is a town/city of that name.

Thus Devon is no longer called Devonshire, because there is no town/city called Devon. Anglesey is not called Angleseyshire for the same reason, Sussex and Glamorgan likewise.

However in some older documents you will find Devonshire, Glamorganshire and others.

Neath, in the traditional county of Glamorgan (no -shire nowadays) can be found here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Neath%2C_Glamorgan. Please add the category to the Profile.

Many thanks again

But Yorkshire

Answer 2

I recommend http://www.jlb2011.co.uk/wales/maps/walesgeog.htm  and the rest of John Ball's 'Images of Wales' site