, HQ= County Hall,

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Government=

West Glamorgan County Council West Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gorllewin Morgannwg) was the county council of the county of West Glamorgan in south-west Wales, from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. History The county was created in 1974 under the ...

(abolished 1996) , Status= , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms=
''Coat of arms of West Glamorgan County Council'' , Replace=

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf ...

Preserved county of West Glamorgan , Map= West Glamorgan Preserved County in Wales

''West Glamorgan shown within Wales as a preserved county'' , PopulationLast= 365,500 (est; 2003 borders)
Ranked 6th , PopulationLastYear= 2007 , AreaFirst= 820 km²
Ranked 6th , AreaFirstYear= 2003 , AreaLast= , AreaLastYear= , Divisions=

Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non-m ...

s , DivisionsNames= West Glamorgan ( cy, Gorllewin Morgannwg) is a former administrative county in South Wales. It is now 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 ...

. West Glamorgan was one of the divisions of the ancient county of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

. It was created on 1 April 1974, by 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 ...

from 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 ...

, the municipal boroughs of

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

and

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

, the urban districts of

Glyncorrwg Glyncorrwg is a village in the Afan Valley, in southern Wales. Glyncorrwg is also the name of an electoral ward and formerly a community covering the village and surrounding countryside, in Neath Port Talbot county borough. Glyncorrwg community c ...

and

Llwchwr Llwchwr is a community and (from 2022) electoral ward in the central western part of the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. It lies west-north-west of Swansea city centre and is bounded by the communities of Gorseinon to the north, Penllerg ...

Gower Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

Rural District,

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county ...

Rural District, and all of Neath Rural District except the parish of

Rhigos Rhigos () is a small village on the saddle of higher ground between the Vale of Neath and the Cynon Valley. It was part of the old Neath Rural district Council under Glamorgan until 1974. The village then came under the jurisdiction of The Cynon ...

. From 1982, the main offices of

were located in County Hall, Swansea. West Glamorgan had four

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, as follows: *

– Swansea CB and Gower RD *

Lliw Valley , HQ= Penllergaer , subdivision_type= Borough , Start= 1 April 1974 , End= 31 March 1996 , Replace= SwanseaNeath Port Talbot , Civic= , Motto= Nid d ...

– Llwchwr and Pontardawe RD *

– Neath and Neath RD *

– Port Talbot and Glyncorrwg Following 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 ...

, West Glamorgan and its component districts were abolished on 1 April 1996, the area being divided into the two

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 governme ...

and Neath and Port Talbot (later changed to "

"). Lliw Valley was partitioned between the two authorities. A West Glamorgan preserved county was created for the limited functions of Lieutenancy and High Shrievalty.

Coat of arms

The arms of West Glamorgan were: ''Argent three chevronels gules, between in chief two pine cones vert dimidiating as many gouttes sable, and in base a lozenge sable.'' The crest is a

Welsh Dragon The Welsh Dragon ( cy, y Ddraig Goch, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales. As an emblem, the red dragon of Wales has been used since the reign of Cadwaladr, King of ...

holding a

Tudor rose The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic badge, heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor ...

in its forepaws, rising above four gold cogwheels. The supporters are an

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

and a

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

, both with a fish in their beaks, and wearing a chain round their necks. The osprey is standing on water, and the heron on a ploughed field. The motto is (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

: 'The just are strong'). The

chevronel A chevron (also spelled cheveron, especially in older documents) is a V-shaped mark or symbol, often inverted. The word is usually used in reference to a kind of fret in architecture, or to a badge or insignia used in military or police unifo ...

s derive from the arms of the

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that held at various times the earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales, as well as playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were de ...

family; the pine cones represent forestry; the black drops (

goutte A goutte is a droplet-shaped charge used in heraldry. Its name derives from the Old French for "droplet". A goutte may be blazoned by its tincture, as in a ''goutte argent'' (literally "a silver droplet"). Alternatively, there are special names ...

s) the oil industry; and the black lozenge, coal. The four cogwheels above the shield stand for the four districts and their industries; the chains around the supporters' necks, the steel and aluminium industries; the water and the fish, fishing; and the ploughed field, agriculture.

References

{{Wales preserved counties Preserved counties of Wales

Coat of arms

See also

References