Radnorshire

 

former county, E Wales. In 1974, Radnorshire became part of the nonmetropolitan county of Powys.

Ancient county of Radnorshire

Geography
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.

Geography

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.

Heraldry

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).

History and Culture

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, Never a park, and never a deer, Never a squire of five hundred a year, Save Richard Fowler of Abbey-Cwm-hir

”

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^{[citation needed]}. 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^{[citation needed]}.

References

1. ^ F G Payne, Crwydro Sir Faesyfed Vol I (1966) & Vol II (1968), Llandybïe

Sources

The leading texts on Radnorshire history are:

• Donald Gregory (1994). Radnorshire. ISBN 0863812848.  (Amazon)
• Keith Parker (2000). Radnorshire from Civil War to Restoration. ISBN 1873827865.  (Amazon)

Places of special interest

• Abbey Cwmhir aka Abbeycwmhir (SO0571);
• Beguildy Tumuli (SO176767);
• Broadheath House, Presteigne (SO3363);
• Elan Valley Visitor's Centre (SN927646);
• The Pales (SO138641);
• Offa's Dyke (SO2763, SO2872);
• The Rock Park, Llandrindod Wells (SO052609).

Principal towns and villages

No centre in Radnorshire exceeds a population of 6,000; only 1 exceeds 5,000:

• Knighton
• Llandrindod Wells
• Presteigne
• Rhayader
• New Radnor
• Old Radnor

Radnorshire diaspora

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

• Radnor Lake State Park
• Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. Part of the Welsh Tract first settled in 1663-1665 by a group of 40 Quakers from Radnorshire[3]

Others may have formed part of the Welsh community in Patagonia

External links

• Collection of old photographs

United Kingdom • Wales • Historic counties of Wales
Counties which originate prior to 1889 Anglesey • Brecknockshire • Caernarfonshire • Cardiganshire • Carmarthenshire • Denbighshire • Flintshire • Glamorganshire • Merionethshire • Monmouthshire • Montgomeryshire • Pembrokeshire • Radnorshire

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