Monmouthshire
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| Monmouthshire principal area | |
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| Geography | |
| Area - Total - % Water | Ranked 7th 850 km² ? % |
| Admin HQ | Cwmbran |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-MON |
| ONS code | 00PP |
| Demographics | |
| Population - Total (April 29, 2001) - Density | Ranked 18th 84,885 100 / km² |
| Ethnicity | 97.5% White |
| Welsh language - Any skills | Ranked 22nd 12.9% |
| Politics | |
| Monmouthshire Council http://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/ | |
| Control | Conservative Party |
| MPs | David Davies Jessica Morden |
Template:Infobox Wales traditional county
Monmouthshire (Welsh: Sir Fynwy) is a traditional county and principal area in south-east Wales.
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The traditional county
The traditional county of Monmouthshire includes Newport, and borders Gloucestershire to the east, Herefordshire to the northeast, Brecknockshire to the north, and Glamorgan to the west. The county also includes the exclave of Welsh Bicknor, locally situate a short distance east of Monmouthshire's eastern border, sandwiched between the borders of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. For administrative purposes this has been part of Herefordshire since 1844.
The chief rivers are the Wye (much of which forms the border with Gloucestershire), the Usk and the Rhymney (which forms the border with Glamorgan). The county has a diverse industrial base including agriculture, electronics, engineering, tourism and service industries.
The principal area
The current administrative area was created in 1996 and covers the eastern half of the traditional county - namely the following towns:
It was formed on April 1, 1996 as a successor to the previous district of Monmouth along with a small part of the former Blaenau Gwent district.
History
Monmouthshire's Welsh status was ambiguous until the 1960s. Previously the legal formula had been to refer to 'Wales and Monmouthshire'. In popular usage it had been considered part of Wales for many centuries. The ambiguity surrounding its status arose from its not being mentioned in the second 'Act of Union' between England and Wales in the 16th century. The 1911 Encyclopędia Britannica unambigiously described the county as part of England, but notes that 'whenever an act [...] is intended to apply to [Wales] alone, then Wales is always coupled with Monmouthshire'.
However, this is, to some extent, a legal fiction. The 'Act of Union' (strictly the 'Statute of Wales') made the whole of Wales a part of England and so it did not define Monmouthshire as being different to the other twelve Welsh counties. The question of Monmouthshire's status continued to be a matter of discussion, especially as Welsh nationalism and devolution climbed the political agenda in the 20th century: none the less, in the rare event that an Act of Parliament was restricted to Wales, Monmouthshire was always included, and the creation of the Welsh Office in 1964 explicitly included Monmouthshire. For administrative reasons, the question was clarified in law by an Order in Council of 1968 and further clarified by the Local Government Act 1972.
External links
- Monmouth Town Online Magazine (http://www.towncrier.org.uk/)
| United Kingdom | Wales | Principal areas of Wales | 
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Anglesey | Blaenau Gwent | Bridgend | Caerphilly | Cardiff | Carmarthenshire | Ceredigion | Conwy | Denbighshire | Flintshire | Gwynedd | Merthyr Tydfil | Monmouthshire | Neath Port Talbot | Newport | Pembrokeshire | Powys | Rhondda Cynon Taff | Swansea | Torfaen | Vale of Glamorgan | Wrexham |
Template:Wales traditional countiescy:Sir Fynwy de:Monmouthshire no:Monmouthshire