Gwent (preserved county) facts for kids
| Gwent | |
 Gwent shown within Wales as a preserved county |
|
| Geography | |
| Status | Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) |
| 2003 area | 1,553 km² Ranked 5th |
| HQ | Shire Hall, Newport (1974–1978) County Hall, Cwmbran (1978–1996) |
| History | |
| Created | 1974 |
| Abolished | 1996 |
| Succeeded by | Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Monmouthshire Newport Torfaen Preserved county of Gwent |
| 2007 population | 560,500 Ranked 1st |
Quick facts for kids Politics |
|
|---|---|
| Governance | Gwent County Council (1974–1996) |
Gwent is a preserved county and former local government county in southeast Wales. A county of Gwent was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972; it was named after the ancient Kingdom of Gwent. The authority was a successor to both the administrative county of Monmouthshire (with minor boundary changes) and the county borough of Newport. In forming the county of Gwent the act explicitly resolved the previously somewhat ambiguous status of the latter two authorities, in terms of whether they were a part of Wales or England.
Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, the county of Gwent was abolished on 1 April 1996. However, the name remains in use for one of the preserved counties of Wales for the ceremonial purposes of Lieutenancy and High Shrievalty, and its name also survives in various titles, e.g. Gwent Police, Royal Gwent Hospital, Gwent Wildlife Trust and Coleg Gwent. "Gwent" is often used as a synonym for the historic county of Monmouthshire – for example the Gwent Family History Society describes itself as "The key to roots in the historic county of Monmouthshire".
The former administrative county was divided into several districts: Blaenau Gwent, Islwyn, Monmouth, Newport and Torfaen. The successor unitary authorities are the county boroughs of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly (part of which came from Mid Glamorgan), Torfaen and Newport, and the county of Monmouthshire (which covers the eastern 60% of the historic county of the same name).
In 2003 the preserved county of Gwent expanded to include the whole of Caerphilly County Borough; the Gwent Police area had already been realigned to these boundaries in 1996. In 2007, the population of this enlarged area was estimated as 560,500, making it the most populous of the preserved counties of Wales.
