Gwent (county)

Coordinates: 51°47′20″N 3°01′05″W / 51.789°N 3.018°W / 51.789; -3.018

Gwent as a preserved county since 2003.

Gwent is a preserved county and a former local government county in south-east Wales. It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was named after the ancient Kingdom of Gwent.

It consisted of most of the former administrative county of Monmouthshire and the county borough of Newport, along with Brynmawr and Llanelly from Brecknockshire in Wales. Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, Gwent was abolished on 1 April 1996.^[1]

The name however remains as one of the preserved counties of Wales used for certain ceremonial purposes (such as lieutenancy), and it also survives in various titles, e.g., Gwent Police, Royal Gwent Hospital, Gwent Wildlife Trust, Coleg Gwent college and the Newport Gwent Dragons rugby team. Given the similarity in area, it is sometimes used as a synonym for the historic county of Monmouthshire — for example the Gwent Family History Society describes itself as "The key to roots in the historic county of Monmouthshire".^[2]

When it existed, the administrative area was divided into several districts: Blaenau Gwent, Islwyn, Monmouth, Newport and Torfaen.

The successor unitary authorities are:

• City of Newport
• Blaenau Gwent County Borough
• Torfaen County Borough
• Caerphilly County Borough, part of which came from Mid Glamorgan
• Monmouthshire, which covers the eastern half of the traditional county of the same name

In 2003 the preserved county of Gwent expanded to cover the whole of Caerphilly County Borough^[3]; the Gwent Police area having already been realigned to these boundaries in 1996. In 2007, the population of this enlarged area was estimated as 560,500^[4], making it the most populous of the preserved counties.

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gwent
• List of Lord Lieutenants of Gwent
• list of High Sheriffs of Gwent

References

1. ^ "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 c. 19, s. 1(1)". 5 July 1994. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/part/I/crossheading/the-new-areas-and-their-councils/enacted. 
2. ^ "Gwent Family History Society". http://www.gwentfhs.info/. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
3. ^ "The Preserved Counties (Amendment to Boundaries) (Wales) Order 2003". Office of Public Sector Information. 2003-04-01. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/wales/wsi2003/20030974e.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 
4. ^ 2007 population estimate, calculated using 2003 borders for Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen. Source: "Table 10: Mid-2006 to Mid-2007 Population Estimates, Components of population change for local authorities in the United Kingdom". Office for National Statistics. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/Mid_2007_UK_England_&_Wales_Scotland_and_Northern_Ireland%20_21_08_08.zip. Retrieved 2010-09-11. 

External links

• Ralph A. Griffiths, general editor, Gwent County History, University of Wales, 5 vols, 2004 —