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| Radnorshire | |
| Motto: Ewch yn Uwch (Go Higher) | |
 Pre-1974 extent of Radnorshire |
|
| Geography | |
| Status | historic county, administrative county |
| 1831 area | 272,128 acres (1,101.26 km2) |
| 1911 area | 301,165 acres (1,218.77 km2) |
| 1961 area | 301,165 acres (1,218.77 km2) |
| HQ | New Radnor, Llandrindod Wells |
| Chapman code | RAD |
| History | |
| Created | 1542 |
| Abolished | 1974 |
| Succeeded by | Radnor |
| Demography | |
|---|---|
| 1831 population - 1831 density |
24,651[1] 0.1/acre |
| 1901 population | 23,281 |
| 1971 population | 18,271 |
| Politics | |
| Governance | Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) |
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|
| Subdivisions | |
| Type | Hundreds, sanitary districts, urban districts, rural districts |
Radnorshire (Welsh: Sir Faesyfed) is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805.[2] The historic county is bounded to the north by Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, to the east by Herefordshire, to the south by Brecknockshire and to the west by Cardiganshire.
The county was formed from the cantrefs of Maelienydd and Elfael and the commotes of Gwrtheyrnion and Deuddwr (the area formerly known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren) by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542. New Radnor was considered the county town, although it historically shared administrative functions with Presteigne where the Assizes sat. Radnor County Council and later the District Council were based instead at Llandrindod Wells.
The county was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, with its area being transferred to the new county of Powys.[3] [4] Powys was divided into three districts, one of which (Radnor) was coterminous with Radnorshire. The district was renamed Radnorshire in 1989. Since Powys became a unitary authority in 1996, Radnorshire has been one of three areas formed under a decentralisation scheme. A "shire committee" consisting of councillors elected for electoral divisions within the former district of Radnorshire exercises functions delegated by Powys County Council.[5]
Contents |
In the east and south are some comparatively level tracts, including the Vale of Radnor, but most of the county was mountainous, with the Cambrian Mountains running through the west of the county. The highest point is at Radnor Forest, 2,166 ft (660 m). The Elan Valley contains several huge man-made reservoirs supplying water to Birmingham. The main rivers are the Wye, The River Teme, the Elan and the Ithon.
The chief towns are Knighton, Llandrindod Wells, Presteigne and Rhayader. The main industries are tourism and hill farming, particularly sheep-raising.
On the creation of the county it was divided into six hundreds. The names of the hundreds, which were not always consistently spelt, were as follows:[6]
In the nineteenth century new structures of local administration were introduced. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 grouped parishes into poor law unions. While these were not themselves local authorities, their boundaries were to later be used to define local government districts. PLUs did not conform to county boundaries, but consisted of catchment areas for workhouses. Most of Radnorshire was included in the three unions of Knighton, Presteigne and Rhayader.[7] Parishes on the edges of the county were included in unions based in other counties: Builth and Hay on Wye in Brecknockshire and Kington in Herefordshire.
There were no town councils in the county until 1850, when a local board was formed at Knighton.[8] Similar bodies were later formed at Llandrindod Wells (originally named Trefonen) and Presteigne in 1891.[9] [10]
The Public Health Act 1875 divided England and Wales into sanitary districts, each governed by a sanitary authority. Instead of creating new bodies, existing local board districts became urban sanitary districts (USDs) and the remaining areas of poor law unions became rural sanitary districts (RSDs). The existing local board or poor law guardians became the sanitary authority for their area. By 1891 therefore, Radnorshire was divided between the following sanitary districts:
The Local Government Act 1894 created urban districts (UDs) and rural districts (RDs) in place of the sanitary districts. Directly elected urban and rural district councils became the governing bodies. The new districts were identical to the sanitary districts, with the exception that where a RSD was divided by a county boundary it was split into separate rural district in each county. Radnorshire was divided into eight UDs and RDs, which were unchanged until their abolition in 1974:
Until 1954 Radnorshire County Council used a version of the arms of the Mortimers, Earls of March: Barry of six or and azure on a chief of the last two pallets azure between as may gyrons of the first.[12] [13] The council received a grant of armorial bearings by the College of Arms in 1954.[14] The arms were made up of charges from local families. A gold reguardant lion on red was for Elystan Glodrhydd, Prince of Wales c.1000; black boars' heads on white for his son Cadwgan. Around these was placed a gold and blue compony bordure based on the Mortimer arms. The motto adopted by the county council was (Welsh: Ewch yn Uwch) (Go Higher). In 1974 the arms were transferred to Radnor District Council.[15]. In 1996 the arms were transferred a second time to Powys County Council, for use by the Radnorshire Shire Committee.[16]
The geographic territory of the historic county roughly corresponds with the Welsh territory of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren which fell under the control of the Marcher Lords at the end of the 11th Century. Radnorshire was a poor county and has been an historical backwater but occasionally has drifted to the forefront of history. The most notable historic events are the Battle of Bryn Glas fought on June 22, 1402 during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, and the founding of Cwmhir Abbey.
The county's poverty was remarked upon thus in the 17th century by an anonymous visitor:
| “ |
Poor Radnorsheer, poor Radnorsheer, |
” |
Apart from a handful of parishes along the English border the Welsh language remained the first language of the county well into the second half of the eighteenth century[17]. By 1850 the language had retreated to the western parishes of Rhayader, Llanyre, Cwmdauddwr, St Harmon and Nantmel.[6] By 1900 Welsh was still spoken by a sizeable minority west of the town of Rhayader, the language disappearing as the century progressed. Of course there were Welsh speakers living in Radnorshire who had come from other parts of Wales and today their number has been swelled by children being educated through the medium of Welsh in school.
Until the Acts of Union, Radnor was outside the Principality of Wales. This peculiar Marcher status and its want of Welsh speakers gave weight to the traditional local expression, "Neither Wales nor England, just Radnorsheer"[18]
No centre in Radnorshire exceeds a population of 6,000; only one (Llandrindod Wells) exceeds 5,000:
Poverty and agricultural change, decline and industrial progress elsewhere has always made Radnorshire a place of net emigration. Emigrants employed the name of the county in the USA
Others may have formed part of the Welsh community in Patagonia.
The leading texts on Radnorshire history are:
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Coordinates: 52°15′N 3°15′W / 52.25°N 3.25°W
Radnorshire is a county in Mid Wales. Along with Brecknockshire and Montgomeryshire it forms the principal area of Powys.
Radnorshire is a historic county.
One of the main north-south roads in Wales, (the A470) passes through the county, as does the A44 east-west trunk road and the famous Heart of Wales Railway Line.
All train services into and within the area are operated by Arriva Trains Wales [1].
The Heart of Wales Line. Llandrindod Wells, and other Stations are served by trains from Carmarthenshire and Swansea in the south, and Shrewsbury in the north.
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Category: Outline articles
RADNORSHIRE (Sir Faesyfed), an inland county of Wales, bounded N. by Montgomery, N.E. by Shropshire, E. by Hereford, S. and S.W. by Brecknock and N.W. by Cardigan. This county, which is lozenge-shaped, contains 471 sq. m., and is consequently the smallest in area of the six South Welsh counties. Nearly the whole surface of Radnorshire is hilly or undulating, whilst the centre is occupied by the mountainous tract known as Radnor Forest, of which the highest point attains an elevation of 2163 ft. Towards the S. and S.E. the hills are less lofty, and the valleys broaden out into considerable plains abounding in rivulets. The hills for the most part present smooth, rounded outlines, and are covered with heather, bracken and short grass, though tracts of boggy soil in the uplands are not uncommon. There are rich pastures and numerous woods in the valleys of the Wye and Teme. The Wye Valley has long been celebrated for its beauty, while Radnor Forest and the wild district of Cwmdauddwr present striking views of primeval and unspoiled scenery. Radnorshire is well supplied with water, its principal river being the Wye (Gwy), which, after crossing the N.W. corner of the county, forms its boundary from Rhayader onward to the English border. Salmon, trout and grayling are plentiful, and the Wye is consequently much frequented by anglers; as are also its tributaries - the Elan (which has been utilized for the great Birmingham reservoirs) the Ithon, the Edw or Edwy, the Lug, the Arrow and the Somergil. The Teme, which divides Radnor from Shropshire on the N.E., is a tributary of the Severn. All these streams are clear and rapid, and abound in fish. In the numerous rocky ravines of the mountainous districts are found many waterfalls, of which the most celebrated is "Water-break-its-Neck," to the W. of New Radnor. Omitting the artificially constructed reservoirs in the valleys of the Elan and Claerwen, the lakes of Radnorshire are represented only by a few pools of which Llynbychlyn near Painscastle is the largest.
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Ordovician. rocks occupy most of the western side of the county, they are succeeded eastward by the Silurian formations, the Llandovery, Wenlock and Ludlow beds in the order here given. East of New Radnor an inlier of Wenlock rocks is surrounded by Ludlow beds; while at Old Radnor a ridge of very ancient rocks appears. In the south-east of the county Old Red Sandstone rests upon the Silurian. Between Llandrindod, where there are saline, sulphurous and chalybeate wells, and Builth, is a disturbed area of Ordovician strata with masses of andesitic and diabasic igneous rocks. In the vicinity of Rhayader the strata have been classed as the Rhayader pale shales (Tarannon), the Caban group (Upper Llandovery), the Gwastaden group (Lower Llandovery); these rest upon shales of Bala age.
The climate of Radnorshire is bracing, if somewhat bleak, and the rainfall is not so heavy as in the neighbouring counties of Montgomery and Brecknock, but thick drizzling mists are of constant occurrence. The winters are often very severe, and deep snowfalls are not uncommon. Good hay and tolerable crops of cereals are raised in the valleys, and the margin of cultivation has risen. considerably since 1880. The extensive upland tracts, which still cover over one-third of the total area of the county, afford pasturage for mountain ponies and for large flocks of sheep. The quality of the wool of Radnorshire has long been celebrated, and also the delicacy of the Welsh mutton of the small sheep that are bred in this county. The most important sheep fairs are held at Rhayader, which also contains some woollen factories. There are practically no mining industries, nor are the quarries of great value. The valley of the Wye is rich in medicinal springs, and the saline, sulphur and chalybeate waters of Llandrindod have long been famous and profitable, and are growing in popular esteem.
The Central Wales branch of the London & North-Western railway enters the county at Knighton, traverses it by way of Llandrindod and passes into Brecknock at Builth Road Junction on the Wye. The Cambrian railway, after passing through the N.W. corner of the county to Rhayader, follows the course of the Wye, by way of Builth and Hay. Two small branch lines connect New Radnor and Presteign with the system of the Great Western.
The area of Radnorshire is 301,164 acres, and the population in 1891 was 21,791, while in 1901 it had risen to 23,362; an increase chiefly due to the immigration of outside labourers to the Elan Valley waterworks. There is no existing municipal borough, although New Radnor, now a mere village with 405 inhabitants (1901), was incorporated in 1561 and its municipal privileges were not formally abolished till 1883. The chief towns are Presteign (pop. 1245); Llandrindod (1827); Knighton (2139), and Rhayader (1215); all, except Rhayader, being urban districts. Radnorshire is included in the South Wales circuit, and assizes are held at Presteign, which ranks as the county town. There is no existing parliamentary borough, and the whole county returns one member to parliament. Ecclesiastically, Radnorshire is divided into 46 parishes, of which 38 lie in the diocese of St Davids, and 8 in that of Hereford.
The wild district of Maesyfed (a name of which the derivation is much disputed), corresponding substantially with the modern Radnorshire, originally formed part of the territory of the Silures, who were vanquished by the Romans. Christianity seems to have been introduced into this barren region during the 5th and 6th centuries by itinerant Celtic missionaries, notably by St David, St Padarn and St Cynllo. Towards the close of the 9th century Maesyfed was absorbed into the middle kingdom of Powys, and in the 10th century it was included in the realm of Elystan Glodrudd, prince of Fferlys, or Feryllwg, who ruled over all land lying between the Wye and Severn. In the reign of William the Conqueror, the Normans began to penetrate into Maesyfed, where, according to Domesday Book, the king already laid claim to Radenoure, or Radnor (a name of doubtful meaning), in the lordship of Melenith (Moelynaidd), which was subsequently bestowed on the Mortimer family, when castles were erected at Old Radnor (Penygraig), New Radnor and Cefnllys. Later, the Norman invaders forced their way up the Wye Valley, the de Breos family, lords of Elvel (Elfael), building fortresses at Painscastle and at Colwyn or Maud's Castle. In 1188 Archbishop Baldwin, accompanied by Ranulf de Glanville and Giraldus Cambrensis, entered Wales for the purpose of preaching the Third Crusade, and was met in full state at New Radnor by the Lord Rhys, prince of South Wales. The Wye Valley long formed one of the debatable districts between Welsh and Normans, and in 1282 Llewelyn ap Griffith, prince of Wales, was at Aberedw shortly before his death in a skirmish near Builth. After the annexation of Wales by Edward I., the district of Maesyfed remained under the immediate jurisdiction of the Lords-Marchers, represented by the great families of Mortimer and Todeney. During the summer of 1402 Owen Glendower entered the Marches and raided the lands of the young Edward Mortimer, earl of March, whilst the royal troops were severely defeated at the battle of Bryn Gins near Pilleth. By the Act of Union (1536) Maesyfed was erected out of the suppressed lordships into an English shire on the usual model. For administrative purposes it was now divided into six hundreds, and assizes were ordained to be held in alternate years at Presteign and New Radnor. The newly created county was likewise privileged to return two members to parliament; one for the county, and one for the united boroughs of New Radnor, Rhayader, Knighton, Cefnllys and Knucklas (Cnwclas). The parliamentary district of the Radnor boroughs was, however, disfranchised and merged in the county representation under the act of 1885. The shire of Radnor with its immense tracts of sheep-walk, its absence of large towns and its sparse rural population has always been reckoned the poorest and least important of the Welsh counties, nor since its creation under Henry VIII. has it ever played a prominent part in the national life of Wales. During the Commonwealth the local clergy were made to suffer severely under the drastic administration of Vavasor Powell (1617-1670), himself a Radnorshire man as a native of Knucklas. Of recent years the rise of Llandrindod as a fashionable watering-place and the construction of the Birmingham reservoirs in the Elan Valley have tended to increase the material prosperity of the county.
Among the leading families of Radnorshire, may be mentioned Lewis of Harpton Court; Baskerville of Clyro; Thomas (formerly Jones) of Pencerrig; Lewis-Lloyd of Nantgwyllt; Gwynne of Llanelwedd, and Prickard of Dderw.
Radnorshire contains numerous memorials of early British times, of which the entrenchment called Crug-ybuddair in the parish of Beguildy is specially worthy of note. Of Roman remains, the most important are those of the fortified camp at Cwm near Llandrindod, which is believed to be identical XXII. 26 a with the military station of Magos or Magna. The course of Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa) is perceptible at various points in the hilly regions west of Knighton and Presteign. Very slight traces exist of the many castles erected at various times after the Norman invasion. The parish churches of Radnorshire are for the most part small and of rude construction, and many of them have been modernized or rebuilt. The churches at Old Radnor, Presteign and Llanbister, however, are interesting edifices, and a few possess fine oaken screens, as at Llananno and Llandegley. There was only one monastic house of consequence, the Cistercian abbey of St Mary, founded by Cadwallon ap Madoc in 1143 in "the long valley" of the Clywedog, six miles east of Rhayader, and from its site commonly called Abbey Cwm Hir. Its existing ruins are insignificant, but the proportions of the church, which was 238 ft. long, are still traceable. The modern mansion adjoining, known as Abbey Cwm Hir, was for some generations the residence of the Fowler family, once reputed the wealthiest in the county.
Customs, &c. - Although in most instances the old Celtic place-names survive throughout the western portion of the county, it is only in the wild remote districts of Cwmdauddwr and St Harmon's that the Welsh tongue predominates, and in this region some of the old Welsh superstitions linger amongst the peasants and shepherds of the hills. In the eastern part of the county English is spoken universally, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants differ little from those prevailing in the neighbouring county of Hereford. On the western side of Radnor Forest the modern spirit of progress has destroyed most of the old local customs. Until the beginning of the 19th century the ancient Welsh service of the pylgain on Christmas morning was observed in Rhayader church; and the same town was formerly remarkable for an interesting ceremony, evidently of great antiquity, whereat after a funeral each attendant mourner was wont to throw a stone upon a certain spot near the church with the words "Cam ar dy ben" (a stone on thy head). The laying of malicious sprites by means of lighted tapers was formerly practised in the churches of the Wye Valley; and a curious service, commemorative of the dead and known as "the Month's End," is still observed in certain parish churches, a month after the actual funeral has taken place. The practice of farmers and their wives or daughters riding to the local markets on ponies, the older women sometimes knitting as they proceed, still continues, and is specially characteristic of agricultural life in Radnorshire.
See A General History of the County of Radnor (compiled from the MS. of the late Rev. Jonathan Williams and other sources) (Brecknock, 1905).
Categories: R-RAN | Welsh Counties
Radnorshire
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| Geography | |
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| Area: (1891) | 301,164 (1,218 km²) |
| Rank: | Ranked 11th |
| Administration | |
| County town: | New Radnor |
| Chapman code: | RAD |
Radnorshire (Welsh: Sir Faesyfed ) is one of thirteen historic counties and former administrative counties of Wales. It comprises the central part of Powys, and from 1974 to 1996 constituted the district of Radnor in Powys.
According to the 2001 census, the shire had a population of 24,805. [1] It is bounded to the north by Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, to the east by Herefordshire, to the south by Brecknockshire and to the west by Cardiganshire. The county was formed from the cantrefs of Maelienydd, Elfael and Gwrtheyrnion and the Commote of Deuddwr by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542. New Radnor is considered the county town, although it historically shared administrative functions with Presteigne where the Assizes sat. Radnor County Council and later the District Council were based instead at Llandrindod Wells.
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Area 301,164 acres (1,219 km²). In the east and south are some comparatively level tracts, including the Vale of Radnor, but most of the county is mountainous, with the Cambrian Mountains running through the west of the county. The highest point is at Radnor Forest, 2,166 ft (660 m). The Elan Valley contains several huge man-made reservoirs supplying water to Birmingham. The main rivers are the Wye, The River Teme, the Elan and the Ithon.
The chief towns are Knighton, Llandrindod Wells, Llanelwedd, New Radnor, Presteigne and Rhayader. The main industries are tourism and hill farming. It is said that sheep out number people in Radnorshire by 50:1, giving it a sheep population of over 1,000,000.
The heraldic arms of the county date from 1954. The arms are made up of charges from local families. The gold reguardant lion on red is for Elystan Glodrhydd, Prince of Wales c.1000. The black boars' heads on white are for his son Cadwgan. Around these is a gold and blue compony bordure from the arms of the Mortimers, Earls of March [2]
The motto of the county was Higher and Higher' (Welsh: Ewch yn Uwch ).
The geographic territory of the historic county roughly corresponds with the Welsh kingdom of Cynllibiwg which was annexed to Norman England at the end of the 11th Century. Radnorshire is a poor county and has been an historical backwater but occasionally has drifted to the forefront of history. The most notable events are the Battle of Bryn Glas fought on June 22, 1402 during the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr, and the founding of Cwmhir Abbey.
The county's poverty was remarked upon thus in the 17th century by an anonymous visitor:
| “ |
Poor Radnorsheer, poor Radnorsheer, |
” |
Apart from a handful of parishes along the English border the Welsh language remained the first language of the county well into the second half of the eighteenth century[1]. By 1850 the language had retreated to the western parishes of Rhayader, Llanyre, Llansantffraid, Cwmteuddwr, St Harmon and Nantmel. By 1900 Welsh was still spoken by a sizeable minority west of the town of Rhayader, the language disappearing as the century progressed. Of course there were Welsh speakers living in Radnorshire who had come from other parts of Wales and today their number has been swelled by children being educated through the medium of Welsh in school.
An estimate of the current distribution of Welsh speakers in the area at bwrdd-yr-iaith/The Welsh Language Board
The area historically had the following custom:
"Go North for a wife, go South for a life"
This was for Radnorshire men as the custom was to go North to find a wife, but to settle down South.
The leading texts on Radnorshire history are:
No centre in Radnorshire exceeds a population of 6,000; only 1 exceeds 5,000:
Poverty and agricultural change, decline and industrial progress elsewhere has always made Radnorshire a place of net emigration. Emigrants employed the name of the county in the USA
Others may have formed part of the Welsh community in Patagonia
 United Kingdom • Wales • Historic counties of Wales |
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Counties which originate prior to 1889 |
| This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Radnorshire. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License. |
   | Radnor Township - Radnor Township, Pennsylvania | About the Township |
| | NGW Site - Coat of arms of RADNORSHIRE (England) |
| | Amazon - Radnorshire: A Historical Guide: Amazon.co.uk: Donald Gregory: Books |
| | Amazon - Radnorshire from Civil War to Restoration: A Study of the County and Its Environs 1640-60 in a Regional Setting: Amazon.co.uk: Keith Parker: Books |
| | 1831 Census - Vision of Britain | 1831 Census: Abstract of answers | Table [1] |
| | Amazon - Radnorshire: A Historical Guide: Amazon.co.uk: Donald Gregory: Books |
| | Amazon - Radnorshire from Civil War to Restoration: A Study of the County and Its Environs 1640-60 in a Regional Setting: Amazon.co.uk: Keith Parker: Books |
| | Poor Law: Board of Guardians - Cyngor Sir Powys County Council: Poor Law: Board of Guardians |
| | The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) (No. 2) (Wales) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996 No. 1930) - The Local Authorities (Armorial Bearings) (No. 2) (Wales) Order 1996 |
| | County: Radnorshire Wales - Radnorshire Wales through time | Local history overview for the county |
| | Radnor - Radnorshire - Radnor - Radnorshire | British History Online |
| | Local Government Reorganisation - Local Government Reorganisation (Hansard, 15 December 1972) |
| | Radnorshire District Council - CIVIC HERALDRY OF ENGLAND AND WALES-WALES 1974-1996 |
| | Radnorshire, Wales - GENUKI: Radnorshire, Wales - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868 |
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