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Powys
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| British History: Powys |
County of the middle Welsh borderland. The name derives from the Welsh kingdom of post-Roman times. With Norman control it was divided into a series of marcher lordships which were themselves integrated in 1536 into the counties of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire. It was not until the Local Government Act of 1972 that the name was revived and given to the new county formed by the merging of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, and Breconshire. In spite of active campaigning by Montgomeryshire, Powys was retained in 1996 as a unitary authority.
| Celtic Mythology: Powys |
[Latin pagenses, (land of the) country-dwellers]
Ancient and medieval kingdom of eastern Wales and now a county, re-formed in 1974, adjacent to the border with England. Believed to have developed from the territories of the ancient Carnovii, Powys reached its apogee during the reign of King Madog ap Maredudd (AD 1138–60), when its borders extended as far north as Pulford, near Chester, and east to the upper Severn. Esteemed for the welcome it extended to minstrels, Powys was called the ‘Garden of Wales’ in the poetry of Llywarch Hen (9th-10th centuries). Evidence of the Powys dialect is found in the language of the second branch of the Mabinogi. Powys also provided the background for Breuddwyd Rhonabwy [The Dream of Rhonabwy], although the kingdom had disappeared by the time the text was composed. Powys is also the name of a castle near the town of Welshpool. The modern county of Powys was forged in 1974 from the former counties of Montgomery, Radnor, and Brecknock; it includes a great deal of territory never a part of medieval Powys and is the most thinly populated of all modern counties. The heroic elements of regional stories prompted Alwyn and Brinley Rees (1961) to see a link between Powys and Ulster.
Bibliography
- Wendy Davies, Wales in the Early Middle Ages (Leicester, 1982)
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Powys |
Powys (pō'ĭs), county, 2,009 sq mi (5,204 sq km), E central Wales. The terrain is a network of lowlands, highlands, and connecting plateaus. Agriculture is economically important, as are sheep and cattle raising. There are some light and service industries. Named after the Welsh princedom, Powys peaked as a vital region in the 12th cent. Tourists are attracted to the 8th-century Offa's Dyke, a feature within the landscape, and to the remains of numerous Norman castles.
Dictionary:
Pow·ys (pō'ĭs)  |
Family of British writers, comprising the brothers John Cowper Powys (1872–1963), whose novels, such as Wolf Solent (1929), glorify nature; Theodore Francis Powys (1875–1953), who wrote allegorical novels, such as Mr. Weston's Good Wine (1927); and Llewelyn Powys (1884–1939), known primarily for his essays.
| Wikipedia: Powys |
- This article is about the county in Wales. For other uses, see Kingdom of Powys and Powys (surname).
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| Geography | |
| Area - Total - % Water |
Ranked 1st 5,196 km² ? % |
|---|---|
| Admin HQ | Llandrindod Wells |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-POW |
| ONS code | 00NN |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - (2007 est.) - Density |
Ranked 10th 132,000 Ranked 22nd 25 / km² |
| Ethnicity | 99.3% White |
| Welsh language - Any skills |
Ranked 7th 30.1% |
| Politics | |
 Powys Council http://www.powys.gov.uk/ |
|
| Control | Independent |
| MPs | |
| AMs |
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| MEPs | |
Powys (pronounced /ˈpaʊ.ɪs/[1] by most English-language speakers, but [ˈpowɪs] in Welsh) is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.
Contents |
Geography
- See the list of places in Powys for all towns and villages in Powys.
Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire, and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,196 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.
It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Wrexham; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot.
Most of Powys is mountainous, with north-south transportation by car being difficult.
The majority of the Powys population is made up of small villages and towns. The largest is Newtown, with a population of 12,783 (2001).
Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills and Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth, Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn), and the industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the extreme south-west of Brecknockshire (Welsh: Sir Frycheiniog). Radnorshire (Welsh: Sir Faesyfed) was almost completely Anglicised by the end of the 18th century.
For a map of the current distribution of Welsh speakers see the website of bwrdd-yr-iaith/The Welsh Language Board
History
This area is named after the older Welsh/British Kingdom of Powys, which occupied the northern two thirds of the area as well as lands now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd of Gwynedd during the 1260s.
In December 2007 Powys was awarded Fairtrade County status by the Fairtrade Foundation[2]
Heraldry
The gold in the county coat of arms (see right) symbolises the wealth of the area. Black for both mining and the Black Mountains. The fountain is a medieval heraldic charge, always shown as a roundel barry wavy Argent and Azure. It represents water and, therefore, both refers to the water catchment area and the rivers and lakes. The arms, therefore, contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry.
The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a mural crown, which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a red kite, a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain, but thriving here. The bird is semy of black lozenges for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in Powys [3]).
The county motto is, Powys - the paradise of Wales (Welsh: Powys Pardwys Cymru) .
Government
Powys from 1974-1996.
See also: Powys County Council
Powys was originally created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and originally had Montgomery and Radnor and Brecknock as districts under it, which were based directly on the former administrative counties.
On 1 April 1996, the districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a unitary authority, with a minor border adjustment in the north-east (specifically the addition of the communities of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Llansilin and Llangedwyn from Glyndwr district in Clwyd, all historically part of Denbighshire).
The first Lord Lieutenant of Powys was previously the Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. The Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as Lieutenants.
The present Lord Lieutenant is The Hon. Mrs Elizabeth Shân Legge-Bourke LVO of Crickhowell.
Quality of life
Recent research suggests that Powys is the happiest place in the UK[4]
Places of interest
Cave systems
Lakes, reservoirs and waterfalls
- the Elan Valley Reservoirs:
- Lake Vyrnwy
- Llangorse Lake [5].
- Llyn Clywedog
- Pistyll Rhaeadr - highest waterfall in England and Wales
- Water-breaks it-neck - waterfall in Radnorshire
Museums and exhibitions
- Brecknock Museum, Brecon,
- Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth
- Llandrindod Wells Museum
- Llanidloes Museum
- Newtown Textile Museum
- Powysland Museum, Welshpool
- The Judges Lodgings, Presteigne
Castles
Walks
- The Wye Valley Walk from Chepstow to Rhayader
- Offa's Dyke Path
- Glyndŵr's Way
- Severn Way
- Taff Trail
- The Sarn Sabrina circular walk from Llanidloes via the source of the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) in Hafren Forest, Plynlimon.[6]
Others
- The Black Mountains
- Brecon Beacons
- Y Gaer, Brecon Roman fort
- Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
- Radnor Forest
- The Welsh National Cycle Route
References
- ^ "pow-iss", with the vowels of "how" and "hiss"
- ^ Sally Williams. "FairTrade Resource Network". http://www.fairtraderesource.org/2007/12/07/wales-ahead-in-bid-to-be-first-fairtrade-country/. Retrieved on 03 July 2008.
- ^ http://www.ngw.nl/int/gbr/p/powys.htm International Civic Heraldry site
- ^ "BBC - "Britain's Happiest Places Mapped"". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7584321.stm. Retrieved on 28 August 2008.
- ^ http://www.mikehollandphotographic.co.uk/photo_51647.html Langorse Lake at dawn
- ^ "Llani Leisure". http://www.llanileisure.org.uk/Sarnsabrinaroutenarration. Retrieved on 03 July 2008.
External links
- Powys at the Open Directory Project
- Powys County Council official site
- Powys Heritage
- Tourism in Powys
- Coleg Powys
- Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
- Reducing the area's carbon footprint - Recycling and Composting in Powys
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 | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| British History. A Dictionary of British History. Copyright © 2001, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Celtic Mythology. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Cynan Garwyn ap Brockfael
- Breconshire (former county, Wales)
- Montgomeryshire (former county, Wales)
- Radnorshire (former county, Wales)
- Glaspell (family name)
- Owain ap Gruffydd
- Berwyn
- Madog ap Maredudd
- Montgomery (town, Wales)
- Rhodri
- John Cowper Powys (English writer & rhetorician)
- Clwyd (former county, Wales)
- Plynlimon (mountain, Wales)
- Presteigne (city, Wales)
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