Historic counties of Wales The historic counties of Wales are
sub-divisions of Wales. They were used for various functions for
several hundred years, but have been largely superseded by
contemporary sub-national divisions, some of which bear some
limited similarity to the historic entities in name and extent.
They are alternatively known as ancient counties. |Historic
counties of Wales| - The earldom of Pembroke and lordship of
Glamorgan pre-date the Edwardian conquest. - These counties
originate in 1282, following King Edward I's conquest. - These
counties originate in 1535, with the Laws in Wales Act, 1535,
converting the remaining Marcher Lordships into counties. -
Despite being created at the same Act as the other counties,
Monmouthshire was included with England for some legal purposes
until 1974. In many cases the formulation "Wales and
Monmouthshire" was used. The Welsh, however, have always
considered Monmouthshire to be part of Wales. The 1535 Laws in
Wales Act had the effect of abolishing the marche