Brecknockshire (Welsh: Brycheiniog or Sir Frycheiniog), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales Act 1535. From 1889 it was an administrative county with a county council; the administrative county was abolished in 1974. The county was named after the medieval Welsh territory of Brycheiniog, which was anglicised to "Brecknock" and also gave its name to the county town of Brecon. The county was mountainous and primarily rural.
Hand-drawn map of Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire by Christopher Saxton in 1578
The county of Brecknock was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales Act 1535, which formally incorporated Wales into the Kingdom of England and extended English models of government, including counties, across all of Wales. Previously the Brecknockshire area had been subdivided into various smaller marcher lordships and other territories. The largest of these were the Lordship of Brecknock, which had its roots in the medieval Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog, and the cantref of Buellt.
Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. This kingdom covered the area which later became the southern part of Brecknockshire. The county's Welsh name (Sir Frycheiniog – the shire of Brycheiniog) is derived from the kingdom's name.
The exact origins of Brycheiniog are unclear but the name is thought to derive from Brychan mac Anlach, the 5th century ruler of the area. The lands of his kingdom supposedly formed a dowry from his father-in-law Tewdrig ap Teithfallt. Over the succeeding centuries many dynasties ruled the kingdom, alliances were made and broken, victories won and defeats suffered, but the kingdom maintained its integrity and identity up to Norman times.
Cantref of Buellt
Buellt or Builth was a cantref in medieval Wales, located west of the River Wye. Unlike most cantrefs, it was not part of any of the major Welsh kingdoms for most of its history, but was instead ruled by an autonomous local dynasty. During the Norman invasion of Wales, the Marcher Lord Philip de Braose conquered Buellt around 1095. The area then changed hands between multiple Norman and Welsh figures. In November 1282, Edward I overran Buellt as part of his final conquest of Wales and the cantref became a crown possession.
Lordship of Brecknock
Bernard de Neufmarché was a minor Norman lord who rose to power in the Welsh Marches before successfully undertaking the invasion and conquest of the Kingdom of Brycheiniog between 1088 and 1095. Bernard established a Marcher Lordship in its place – the Lordship of Brecknock.
The lordship was ruled by numerous families over the next 400 years. By the early Tudor period, it was ruled by the Earls of Buckingham. When Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was executed for treason, having been suspected of plotting against King Henry VIII, the Lordship was forfeited to the crown. Henry VIII combined it with the cantref of Buellt.
By his Laws in Wales Acts, Henry converted the combined territory - the Lordships of Brecknock and Buellt - into Brecknockshire, subject to standard English law.
Creation of county
The Laws in Wales Act 1535 created the County of Brecknock by combining a number of "lordships, towns, parishes, commotes and cantreds" in the "Country or Dominion of Wales". The areas combined were: "Brekenoke" (Brecknock), "Crekehowell" (Crickhowell) "Tretowre", "Penkelly", "Englisshe Talgarth", "Welsshe Talgarth", "Dynas", "The Haye" (Hay-on-Wye), "Glynebogh", "Broynlles" (Bronllys), "Cantercely" (Cantref Selyf), "Llando Blaynllynby", "Estrodewe", "Buelthe" (Builth), and "Llangors". The town of Brecknock or Brecon was declared the county town.[4]
The county was divided into six hundreds in 1542: Builth, Crickhowell, Devynnock, Merthyr, Penkelly, and Talgarth. Brecknock was the only borough in the county. Other market towns were Builth, Crickhowell and Hay-on-Wye. Under the terms of the 1535 legislation one member of parliament was returned for the borough and one for the county.[3][5]
Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions which had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The 1888 Act also directed that urban sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries should be placed wholly in the county which had the majority of the population. Along Brecknockshire's southern border with Monmouthshire, there were four such urban sanitary districts which straddled the county boundary: Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Rhymney, and Tredegar. Brynmawr was placed entirely in Brecknockshire, whilst Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Tredegar were placed entirely in Monmouthshire. Brecknockshire therefore gained the southern parts of Brynmawr, but ceded to Monmouthshire the Llechryd area (in Rhymney district), the Dukestown area (in Tredegar district) and the Beaufort and Rassau areas (in Ebbw Vale district).[6]
New County Hall, Captain's Walk, Brecon: County council's main offices, built 1962 and demolished 2016.
The county council held its meetings at Brecon Shire Hall, the county's main courthouse, which had been built in 1842 and was also the meeting place of the quarter sessions.[7] The county council's main offices were at Watton Mount, a large house directly opposite the shire hall, until 1962 when New County Hall was built immediately behind the shire hall. Following the local government reorganisation in 1974, the New County Hall became an area office for Powys County Council and also served as offices for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority for some years, but was demolished in 2016.[8][9][10][11]
The 1535 Act which created the county had called it the "County or Shire of Brecknock", and also used the spelling Brecknock for the town.[12] The spelling of the town's name was subsequently standardised to 'Brecon' instead, and there was occasional debate about the correct name of the county. In 1884, the county's magistrates at the quarter sessions decided that 'Brecknock' was the correct form, having been used in the statute creating the county.[13] Conversely, the county council created in 1889 decided by 21 votes to 16 to adopt the name 'Breconshire County Council' rather than 'Council of the County of Brecknock'.[14] Efforts to get the two bodies to agree on a standard form of the name failed. The quarter sessions maintained that they had no authority to go against the form used in statute, whilst the county council went so far as to have erratum slips inserted in books of statistics advising readers that "the words 'Brecknock' and 'Brecknockshire' be throughout read as if the words 'Brecon' and 'Breconshire' had been printed in lieu thereof."[13]
Under the Public Health Act 1848 and the Local Government Act 1858 a number of towns were created Local Board Districts or Local Government Districts respectively, with local boards to govern their areas. In 1875 these, along with the Borough of Brecknock, became urban sanitary districts. At the same time the remainder of the county was divided into rural sanitary districts, some of which crossed county boundaries. The Local Government Act 1894 redesignated these as urban and rural districts. Two civil parishes were administered by rural district councils in neighbouring counties until 1934.
The Brecknockshire Agricultural Society, established in 1755, is the oldest continuous such society in Great Britain. The society organises the Brecon County Show, held annually on the 1st Saturday in August at The Showground, Watton, Brecon.
Brecknock Society and Museum Friends (Welsh: Cymdeithas Brycheiniog a Chyfeillion yr Amgueddfa), found in 1928, is a historical society that promotes "the study and understanding of the Archaeology, History, Geology, Natural History, the Arts and Literature of Wales, especially the historic county of Brecknock." The organization has published the historical journal Brycheiniog since 1955. It is closely associated with funding and running the Y Gaer.
The Brecon Jazz Festival has been held annually since 1984. Normally staged in early August, it has played host to a range of jazz musicians from across the world. A Brecon Fringe Festival organises alternative free music in pubs, hotels, galleries and cafes in the town.
Hay-on-Wye is a destination for bibliophiles in the United Kingdom, with two dozen bookshops, many selling specialist and second-hand books. Richard Booth opened his first shop there in 1962, and by the 1970s Hay had gained the nickname "The Town of Books".
The Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts is a major event in the British cultural calendar. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival runs for ten days from May to June. It was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind".
Transport
Road
The A40 London-West Wales trunk road passes in an east-west direction through the county, entering near Glangrwyney, passing through Crickhowell, by-passing Brecon, leaving the county after passing through Trecastle. The A483 Swansea-Manchester trunk road passes through the north-west, entering south of Llanwrtyd Wells and leaving north of Builth Wells. The A470 Cardiff-Glan Conway trunk road enters the county north of Merthyr Tydfil and, after by-passing Brecon, hugs the eastern border until it leaves the county when it crosses the River Wye at Builth Wells. The A465 (Heads of the Valleys Road) winds in and out of the county, following its southern borders with Monmouthshire and Glamorgan.
Rail
The Heart of Wales line runs from Cravens Arms in Shropshire to Llanelli in Carmarthenshire. It follows a similar route to the A483 through the north of the county, with stops at Sugar Loaf, Llanwrtyd Wells, Llangammarch Wells, Garth and Cilmeri. Builth Road Station to the north of Builth Wells is situated in Radnorshire. The south of the county once had an extensive rail network with connections through Glamorgan and Monmouthshire to Neath, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, Newport and thence to the main Great Western main line. The Brecon Mountain Railway is a 1ft 11 3⁄4 in (603mm) narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant (in Glamorgan) along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called 'Taf Fechan' reservoir by Welsh Water) and continues past the adjoining Pentwyn reservoir to Torpantau.
Cycling
The National Cycle Route 8, which runs from Cardiff to Holyhead, passes through the county. From Cefn-coed-y-cymmer to Brecon this follows the Taff Trail.
Canal
The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ran from Brecon to Newport. It was completed at the start of the nineteenth century but closed in 1962. The route from Brecon to Abergavenny has since been re-opened. 35 miles are currently navigable, most of them running through the Brecon Beacons.
Religious sites
St Mary's Church, Brecon is a Grade II* listed building. The structure was originally a chapel of ease for the priory. The 90 feet (27 m) West Tower dates to 1510 and is attributed to Edward, Duke of Buckingham. The eight bells date to 1750.
The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales. The cathedral is thought to be on the site of an earlier Celtic church, of which no trace remains. A new church, dedicated to St. John, was built on the orders of Bernard de Neufmarché.
St David's Church, Llanfaes referred to locally as Llanfaes Church, was probably founded in the early sixteenth century. It is probable that the site and the name of the present Church were chosen because of the close proximity of a fresh water well called Ffynnon Dewi (David's Well) which was situated approximately 150 metres south of the church.
Plough Lane Chapel, Brecon, also known as Plough United Reformed Church, is a Grade II* listed building. The present building dates back to 1841 and was re-modelled by Owen Morris Roberts and is considered to be one of the finest chapel interiors in Wales.
The Church of St Elli, Llanelly is dedicated to the 6th-century Saint Elli, who may have been a daughter or granddaughter of King Brychan. The church dates from the 14th century, or earlier, but little remains of this period. The nave is medieval but its walls were all rebuilt in the restorations of the 19th and 20th centuries.
St Mary's Church, Hay-on-Wye consists of a nave and chancel with a square embattled tower at the west end. Separated by a deep dingle, which probably was formerly a moat, it is situated westward of the town upon an almost precipitous eminence, near to the River Wye.
St Edmund's Church, Crickhowell is a Grade II* listed building built in the early 14th century. It has the only shingled spire in the county.
The Church of St Issui, Partrishow dates from 1060. The existing building was mainly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church is most famous for its rood screen which dates from 1500. It is a Grade I listed building.
St David's Church, Llanddew is one of the oldest churches in Brecknockshire. The building dates from around the 13th century and has a cruciform shape, with a central tower.
Civil parishes
From the medieval period until 1974, Brecknockshire was divided into civil parishes for the purpose of local government; these in large part equated to ecclesiastical parishes (see the table below), most of which still exist as part of the Church in Wales.[25] Chapelries are listed in italics.
Brecon Rugby Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Rygbi Aberhonddu) was one of the eleven founding members of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881. It is a feeder club for the Cardiff Blues. The club plays at Parc De Pugh, Brecon.
Gwernyfed Rugby Football Club is based in Talgarth. It is a feeder club for the Cardiff Blues. Gwernyfed RFC was founded in 1965 by two school teachers from Gwernyfed High School.
The county has four football clubs: Talgath Town FC, Brecon Corinthians AFC, Brecon Northcote FC and Builth Wells FC. All play in the Welsh football league system.
The county has four clubs affiliated to the Welsh Bowling Association: at Brecon, Talgarth, Builth Wells and Hay on-Wye.
Brecon Leisure Centre at Penlan has a swimming pool, gymnasium, ten-pin bowling and a climbing wall. It is the headquarters of Brecon Hockey Club and of Brecon Athletics Club. Crickhowell Community Sports Centre has indoor and outdoor sports facilities and is a conference venue. Builth Wells Sports Centre and Swimming Pool provides facilities in the north of the county. The Gwernyfed and Hay Leisure Centre at Three Cocks has a fitness suite, sports hall and multi-purpose floodlit pitch.
Coat of arms
On establishment in 1889 the Breconshire County Council adopted the attributed arms of Brychan, fifth century founder of Brycheiniog. The shield was quartered. In the first and fourth quarters were the purported arms of Brychan's father Anlach: sable a fess cotised or between two swords in pale argent hilted gold, the upper sword point-upwards, the lower point-downwards. In the second and third quarters were arms representing Brychan's mother, Marchell: or, three reremice (bats) 2 and 1 azure.[26][27][28] The motto Undeb Hedd Llywddiant or "Unity, Peace, Prosperity" was used with the arms.[28] The supposed fifth-century arms were invented in the Middle Ages, heraldry having not developed until several centuries later.[29] The county council did not obtain an official grant of armorial bearings, although the unofficial arms subsequently became the basis for those granted to the successor Brecknock Borough Council.[30]
Notable people
Thomas Coke (b. Brecon 9 September 1747 – d. at sea 2 May 1814) was the first Methodist bishop and is known as the Father of Methodist Missions.
Richard Booth (b. Hay-on-Wye 12 September 1938), bookseller, known for his contribution to the success of Hay-on-Wye as a centre for second-hand bookselling. He is also the self-proclaimed "King of Hay".
Gareth Gwenlan OBE (b. Brecon 26 April 1937 - d. Herts 8 May 2016), television producer and director, best known for his work on shows such as The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, To the Manor Born, Only Fools and Horses.
Roger Glover (b. Brecon 30 November 1945), musician, best known as the bassist for hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow.
The Brecon Beacons are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan, its twin summit Corn Du, and Craig Gwaun Taf, which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons have given their name to the larger Brecon Beacons National Park, and the range itself is therefore sometimes known as the Central Beacons to differentiate the two.
Hay-on-Wye, known locally as Hay, is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festival.
Powys is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown, and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells.
Brecon, archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Brecknockshire (Breconshire); although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of the County of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third-largest town in Powys, after Newtown and Ystradgynlais. It lies north of the Brecon Beacons mountain range, but is just within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Radnorshire was one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales and later from 1974 to 1996 a district. It covered a sparsely populated area, and was bounded to the north by Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, to the east by Herefordshire, to the south by Brecknockshire and to the west by Cardiganshire.
Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Crickhowell, 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Brecon and 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and a defensive tower house. According to traditional accounts, Talgarth was the capital of the early medieval kingdom of Brycheiniog. It is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. In 2011, it had a population of 1,724.
Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, is a national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons, the mountain range at its centre. The national park includes the highest mountain in South Wales, Pen y Fan, which has an elevation of 886 metres (2,907 ft).
The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the England–Wales border into Herefordshire. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons national park, and are frequently confused with the westernmost, which is known as the Black Mountain. The Black Mountains may be roughly defined as those hills contained within a triangle defined by the towns of Abergavenny in the southeast, Hay-on-Wye in the north and the village of Llangors in the west. Other gateway towns to the Black Mountains include Talgarth and Crickhowell. The range of hills is well known to walkers and ramblers for the ease of access and views from the many ridge trails, such as that on the Black Hill in Herefordshire, at the eastern edge of the massif. The range includes the highest public road in Wales at Gospel Pass, and the highest point in southern England at Black Mountain.
The Diocese of Swansea and Brecon is a Diocese of the Church in Wales, established in 1923 with Brecon Priory as the cathedral. The area of the diocese had formerly been the Archdeaconry of Brecon within the Diocese of St Davids. The diocese has a border with each of the other five Welsh dioceses, as well as with the English Diocese of Hereford.
Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It allied with the Mercian kingdom in the post Roman era, to stabilise and control a central (Marches) area key to dominance over central Proto-England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Armorican Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it remained Welsh in character. It was transformed into the Lordship of Brecknock and later formed the southern and larger part of the historic county of Brecknockshire. To its south was the Kingdom of Morgannwg.
Cathedine is a small hamlet that lies between the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains, in Powys, Wales. It is an approximately 2 miles from Llangorse and 2 miles from Bwlch, in the community of Llangors.
The Borough of Brecknock was one of the three local government districts of the county of Powys, Wales from 1974 until 1996. It covered the majority of the former administrative county of Brecknockshire. The borough was abolished in 1996, with Powys County Council taking over its functions.
Brecon was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election.
Erwood is a village and community lying beside the River Wye, on the A470 road some 6 miles south-east of Builth Wells in Powys, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 429. It is in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) and the older cantref of Cantref Selyf. The community includes the settlements of Crickadarn, Gwenddwr and Llaneglwys.
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Brecknockshire or Breconshire.
Glasbury, also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village and community in Powys, Wales. The village lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the historic counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire, and is located just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains. The village is split between the communities of Glasbury and Gwernyfed. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 4 miles (6 km) to the north east. The nearest city is Hereford in England, some 25 miles (40 km) to the east. Glasbury is a popular location for river fishing, canoeing and kayaking. The population of Glasbury community in Radnorshire was 994, in 1841 it was 838.
Buellt or Builth was a cantref in medieval Wales, located west of the River Wye. Unlike most cantrefs, it was not part of any of the major Welsh kingdoms for most of its history, but was instead ruled by an autonomous local dynasty. During the Norman era it was associated with Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, a region independent of the Welsh monarchies and controlled by Norman Marcher Lords. In the 16th century, it was reorganized as a hundred and joined with the former kingdom of Brycheiniog to form the county of Brecknockshire.
The Mid Wales South League was an association football league, from Mid Wales but some from just over the border in England. It was last called the Watson Financial Mid Wales League (South) for sponsorship reasons.
Duhonw is a rural community in Powys, Wales, to the south of Builth Wells, in the historic county of Breconshire. Covering an area of 4,376 hectares (16.90 sq mi) and including scattered farms and dwellings, it is bounded to its north by the Afon Irfon, to its south by Mynydd Epynt and Banc y Celyn (472m) and to its east the rivers Duhonw and Wye. Llangammarch Wells' is to its west.
Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, first contested at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.
1 2 Samuel Lewis, ed. (1849). "Brecknockshire". A Topographical Dictionary of Wales. British History Online. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
↑ A C Fox-Davies, The Book of Public Arms, 2nd edition, London 1915
↑ Mary O'Regan, Heraldry of the Old Welsh Counties, Part 2 in Aspects of Heraldry, Yorkshire Heraldry Society, 1995
1 2 C Wilfrid Scott-Giles, Civic Heraldry of England and Wales, 2nd edition, London, 1953
↑ Thomas Nicholas, Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales, 1872
↑ Ralf Hartemink. "Brecknock". Heraldry of the World (International Civic Arms). Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
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