Gwynedd is a principal area in
north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although
one of the biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of
the most sparsely populated. A large proportion of the population is
Welsh-speaking.
Gwynedd is the home of Bangor University and includes the scenic
Llŷn Peninsula, and most of the Snowdonia National Park.
The name "Gwynedd" is also used for a preserved county, covering
Anglesey as well as the principal area.
The Preserved counties of Wales
are the current areas used in Wales for ceremonial purposes such as
Lieutenancy. They are based on the counties created by the Local
Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes
between 1974 and 1996.
Gwent
South Glamorgan
Mid Glamorgan
West Glamorgan
Dyfed
Powys
Gwynedd
Clwyd
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the eight ceremonial
counties created by the Local Government Act 1972. However, it
created the concept of preserved counties based on their areas, to
be used for purposes such as Lieutenancy. In addition to this
ceremonial function, the Boundary Commission must avoid crossing
preserved county borders when drawing up Parliamentary
constituencies, where practicable.
The preserved counties were originally almost identical to the
1974–1996 counties, but with a few minor changes intended to ensure
preserved counties were composed of whole principal areas. Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochant, Llansilin and Llangedwyn were transferred
from Clwyd to Powys, and Wick, St Brides Major, Ewenny and Pentyrch
were transferred from Mid Glamorgan to South Glamorgan. However,
these changes still left two county boroughs, Conwy and Caerphilly
split between preserved counties.
In order to rectify this, the National Assembly for Wales made two
changes of substance to the boundaries. These changes came into
effect on April 2, 2003. The part of the local government area of
Conwy which had been in Gwynedd was transferred to Clwyd, and the
part of the local government area of Caerphilly which had been in
Mid Glamorgan was transferred to Gwent. The boundary between Mid
Glamorgan and South Glamorgan was also re-aligned to reflect small
changes in local government boundaries. Each preserved county now
encompasses between one and five whole local government areas.
Clwyd - Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham
Dyfed - Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire
Gwent - Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Newport
Gwynedd - Anglesey, Gwynedd
Mid Glamorgan - Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff
Powys - Powys
South Glamorgan - Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan
West Glamorgan - Neath Port Talbot, Swansea
