Gwent is a

preserved county The preserved counties of Wales are the eight current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and othe ...

and former local government county in southeast

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. A county of Gwent was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

; it was named after the ancient

Kingdom of Gwent Gwent ( owl, Guent) was a medieval Welsh kingdom, lying between the Rivers Wye and Usk. It existed from the end of Roman rule in Britain in about the 5th century until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century. Along with its neighbou ...

. The authority was a successor to both the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

(with minor boundary changes) and the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

of Newport (both authorities which were legally part of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

until the Act came into force although considered jointly with Wales for certain purposes). Under the

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

, the county of Gwent was abolished on 1 April 1996. However, the name remains in use for one of the

preserved counties of Wales The preserved counties of Wales are the eight current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and othe ...

for the ceremonial purposes of Lieutenancy and High Shrievalty, and its name also survives in various titles, e.g.

Gwent Police Gwent Police ( cy, Heddlu Gwent) is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. The force was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation o ...

Royal Gwent Hospital The Royal Gwent Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Brenhinol Gwent) is a local general hospital in the city of Newport. It is managed by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Since 2020, the hospital no longer has a full Emergency Department, and redirec ...

Gwent Wildlife Trust Gwent Wildlife Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth Natur Gwent) (GWT) is a The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trust covering the area between the lower River Wye, Wye and Rhymney River, Rhymney rivers which forms the Watsonian vice-counties, vice county of Mo ...

and

Coleg Gwent Coleg Gwent ( en, Gwent College) is Wales' largest further education college at various locations in the former county of Gwent, South Wales. It has 24,000 students ranging from secondary school leavers to mature students. A wide range of part- ...

. "Gwent" is often 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". The former administrative county was divided into several districts: Blaenau Gwent,

Islwyn The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996. History The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and part of a four ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

, Newport and

Torfaen Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south ...

. The successor

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

are Blaenau Gwent,

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...

(part of which came from

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

(which covers the eastern 60% of the historic county of the same name), Newport and

. In 2003 the preserved county of Gwent expanded to include the whole of

Caerphilly County Borough Caerphilly County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are Bed ...

; the Gwent Police area had already been realigned to these boundaries in 1996. In 2007, the population of this enlarged area was estimated as 560,500,2007 population estimate, calculated using 2003 borders for Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen. Source: making it the most populous of the preserved counties of Wales.

References

External links

_Ralph_A._Griffiths
,_general_editor,_''Gwent_County_History,''_University_of_Wales,_5_vols,_2004_—_.html" ;"title="Ralph A. Griffiths"> Ralph A. Griffiths
, general editor, ''Gwent County History,'' University of Wales, 5 vols, 2004 — ">Ralph A. Griffiths"> Ralph A. Griffiths
, general editor, ''Gwent County History,'' University of Wales, 5 vols, 2004 — {{Authority control Preserved counties of Wales Gwent (county) 1974 establishments in Wales

See also

References

External links