Preserved counties of Wales facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Preserved Counties (Wales)
Gwent South Glamorgan Mid Glamorgan West Glamorgan Dyfed Powys Gwynedd Clwyd
Category	Lieutenancy areas
Location	Wales
Created by	Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19)
Created	1 April 1996
Number	8

The preserved counties of Wales are eight special areas in Wales. They are used for important official jobs, like when the King or Queen needs a representative (called a Lord-Lieutenant) or for the High Sheriff who helps with law and order.

These preserved counties are based on older areas that were used for local government between 1974 and 1996. Each preserved county is made up of one or more of the 22 main areas that Wales uses today for everyday administration.

Why Do We Have Preserved Counties?

The way local government worked in Wales changed in 1994. A law called the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 got rid of the eight ceremonial counties that were created in 1972.

However, the law also created the idea of "preserved counties." These new areas were based on the old ones. They are still used for important ceremonial roles, like the Lord-Lieutenancy. Another law, the Lieutenancies Act 1997, made this usage even clearer. So, even though they don't run local services, these counties are still important for tradition and official duties.

How Boundaries Changed Over Time

When the preserved counties were first created, their borders were almost the same as the old 1974–96 counties. But there were a few small changes to match new local government borders. For example, some areas like Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant moved from Clwyd to Powys.

At first, two local government areas, Caerphilly and Conwy, were actually split between different preserved counties. This meant one town could be in two different preserved counties!

To fix this, the National Assembly for Wales asked for a review in 2002. They wanted to make sure each preserved county included only whole local government areas. From April 2, 2003, this was sorted out. Now, each preserved county contains between one and five complete local government areas. There have been a couple more small boundary changes since then to keep things tidy.

List of Preserved Counties

Here is a list of the eight preserved counties in Wales, along with the main local government areas they include:

See also

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• In Spanish: Condados preservados de Gales para niños