Gwent is a preserved county 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 of Monmouthshire (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 t ...

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

(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 ...

until the Act came into force although considered jointly with Wales for certain purposes). Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, the county of Gwent was abolished on 1 April 1996. However, the name remains in use for one of the preserved counties of Wales for the ceremonial purposes of

Lieutenancy A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

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 amalgamati ...

, Royal Gwent Hospital, Gwent Wildlife Trust and Coleg Gwent. "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 fou ...

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. ...

and Torfaen. The successor unitary authorities are Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly (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 ...

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

and Torfaen. 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 ...

; 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 — ">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