Glamorgan (Welsh: Morgannwg, or Sir Forgannwg) is a historic county in south Wales, between the Bristol Channel and the Brecon Beacons. It covered about 811 square miles (2,100 km2), and by the late nineteenth century it held more people than the rest of Wales put together.
Glamorgan is no longer a unit of local government. It was abolished as an administrative county in 1974 and its area is now covered by eight principal areas, including the cities of Cardiff and Swansea. The name survives in the preserved counties used for lieutenancy, in Glamorgan County Cricket Club and in everyday speech.
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Welsh name | Morgannwg / Sir Forgannwg |
| Status | Historic county, abolished 1974 |
| Area | 811 sq mi (2,100 km2) |
| County town | Cardiff |
| Cities | Cardiff and Swansea |
| Highest point | Craig y Llyn, 600 m (1,969 ft) |
| 1974 successors | Mid, South and West Glamorgan |
| 1996 successors | Eight unitary principal areas |
Towns and Villages in Glamorgan
Because Glamorgan has no council of its own, its towns are listed here by the modern authority that now administers them. Every place below stood in the historic county.
| Cardiff | Cardiff, Llandaff, Radyr, Pentyrch, Creigiau, Tongwynlais, St Fagans, Whitchurch, Rumney |
|---|---|
| Swansea | Swansea, Morriston, Mumbles, Gorseinon, Gowerton, Loughor, Pontarddulais, Clydach, Penllergaer, Pen-clawdd, Llanrhidian, Reynoldston, Port Eynon, Rhossili, Bishopston |
| Vale of Glamorgan | Barry, Penarth, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, Dinas Powys, Sully, Wenvoe, Rhoose, St Athan, Llandow, Southerndown, Ogmore-by-Sea, St Nicholas, Peterston-super-Ely |
| Bridgend | Bridgend, Maesteg, Porthcawl, Pencoed, Pyle, Kenfig Hill, Ogmore Vale, Nantymoel, Blaengarw, Pontycymer, Laleston, Coity |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | Pontypridd, Aberdare, Treorchy, Treherbert, Tonypandy, Porth, Ferndale, Maerdy, Mountain Ash, Abercynon, Tonyrefail, Llantrisant, Pontyclun, Llanharan, Hirwaun, Ynysybwl, Cwmaman |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Merthyr Tydfil, Dowlais, Treharris, Trelewis, Merthyr Vale, Aberfan, Troedyrhiw, Bedlinog, Cefn-coed-y-cymmer, Pentrebach |
| Neath Port Talbot | Neath, Port Talbot, Pontardawe, Briton Ferry, Glyn-neath, Skewen, Ystalyfera, Cwmafan, Resolven, Crynant, Seven Sisters, Baglan, Cymmer, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Margam |
| Caerphilly (western part) | Caerphilly, Bargoed, Gelligaer, Nelson, Hengoed, Ystrad Mynach, Llanbradach, Aberbargoed, Senghenydd, Abertridwr, Fochriw, Deri, Pontlottyn |
Only the western part of the modern Caerphilly county borough was in Glamorgan. The River Rhymney was the historic boundary, and everything east of it — Risca, Newbridge, Blackwood, Rhymney town — belonged to Monmouthshire. The Vale of Glamorgan has no separate page in this directory.
Geography
Glamorgan divided into three distinct blocks. In the north, the coalfield valleys — the Rhondda, Cynon, Taff, Ely, Afan and Neath — cut deep, narrow trenches through the uplands, with Craig y Llyn above Rhigos the highest ground at 600 metres.
South of the coalfield lies the Vale of Glamorgan, a belt of gentle limestone farmland and low cliffs running from Cardiff to Porthcawl. West of Swansea the Gower Peninsula juts into the Bristol Channel; in 1956 Gower became the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated in the United Kingdom.
The county bordered Brecknockshire, now part of Powys, to the north; Monmouthshire to the east; and Carmarthenshire to the west. The Bristol Channel formed the whole southern coast.
Demographics
Glamorgan was by far the most populous Welsh county. Its population grew from about 71,000 in 1801 to more than 1.2 million by 1921, as the coalfield drew workers from rural Wales, the West Country, Ireland, Italy and Spain.
The same eight areas that replaced it held about 1.49 million people at the 2021 census, close to half the population of Wales. Cardiff alone had 362,310 residents and Swansea 238,490.
Welsh-speaking levels vary sharply across the old county. They are lowest in the Vale and the eastern coast, and highest in the upper Swansea, Neath and Aman valleys, where Welsh remained the language of the pits and chapels into the twentieth century.
Economy and Local Life
Coal, iron and shipping defined Glamorgan for 150 years. Merthyr Tydfil was the largest town in Wales by the 1850s on the strength of its ironworks; the Rhondda valleys alone produced millions of tons of steam coal a year; and Cardiff, Barry and Penarth shipped it worldwide.
Almost none of that survives. The last deep mine in the historic county closed in the 1990s. Steelmaking continues at Port Talbot, the largest single industrial site in Wales, and Cardiff and Swansea have rebuilt around government, media, health, higher education and services.
The old county remains the cultural centre of gravity for south Wales: Principality Stadium in Cardiff, the Wales Millennium Centre, the National Museum Cardiff and the Swansea and Cardiff university sectors all sit within its bounds.
History
Glamorgan takes its name from Morgannwg, an early medieval Welsh kingdom also called Glywysing. Norman lords under Robert Fitzhamon took the lowlands in the 1090s and held them as the Lordship of Glamorgan, ruling from Cardiff Castle, while Welsh lords kept the uplands for generations.
The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 to 1542 turned the lordship into a shire on the English model. Industrial growth from the 1760s, beginning with the Dowlais and Cyfarthfa ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil, made it the engine of the Welsh economy.
The Local Government Act 1972 abolished the administrative county in 1974, splitting it into Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan. Those in turn were replaced in 1996 by the eight unitary authorities listed above. Mid, South and West Glamorgan remain in use as preserved counties for lord lieutenants and shrievalty.
Getting There
The M4 crosses the old county from east to west, from Newport through Cardiff, Bridgend and Port Talbot to Swansea. The A470 runs north from Cardiff up the Taff valley through Pontypridd and Merthyr Tydfil, and the A465 Heads of the Valleys road crosses the northern edge.
The South Wales Main Line links Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath and Swansea to Bristol, Birmingham and London Paddington. The Valley Lines run north from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare, Treherbert, Rhymney and Coryton. Cardiff Airport, at Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan, is the only international airport in Wales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Glamorgan still exist?
Not as a council area. It was abolished in 1974 and its land is now governed by eight principal areas. Mid, South and West Glamorgan survive as preserved counties for ceremonial purposes.
Which counties replaced Glamorgan?
Cardiff, Swansea, the Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, and the western part of Caerphilly.
What was the county town of Glamorgan?
Cardiff, which became a city in 1905 and the capital of Wales in 1955.
What are the main towns of Glamorgan?
Cardiff, Swansea, Barry, Neath, Port Talbot, Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd, Aberdare, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Penarth and the Rhondda towns of Treorchy, Tonypandy and Porth.
How big was Glamorgan?
About 811 square miles, or 2,100 square kilometres, from the Rhymney River west to the Loughor and from the Bristol Channel north to the Brecknockshire boundary.