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Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
. It was originally an early medieval kingdom
Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged in an individual, who is the head of state, often for Life tenure or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch....
 of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Normans
Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William I of England in 1066, although a few Normans were already in England before the conquest....
 as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three preserved counties
Preserved counties of Wales

The Preserved counties of Wales are the current areas used in Wales for ceremonial purposes such as Lord-Lieutenant. They are based on the subdivisions of Wales created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996....
 of West Glamorgan
West Glamorgan

West Glamorgan is a preserved counties of Wales and former administrative county of Wales, one of the divisions of the historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
, Mid Glamorgan
Mid Glamorgan

Mid Glamorgan is a ceremonial preserved counties of Wales of Wales. From 1974 until 1996, it was also an administrative county, with a county council....
 and South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan

South Glamorgan is a preserved counties of Wales of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area....
. The name also survives in that of the county borough
County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control....
 of the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is an exceptionally rich agricultural area in the southern part of Glamorgan, Wales. It has a rugged coastline, but its rolling countryside is quite atypical of Wales as a whole....
.

county of Glamorgan fell into several distinct regions: the industrial valleys, the agricultural Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is an exceptionally rich agricultural area in the southern part of Glamorgan, Wales. It has a rugged coastline, but its rolling countryside is quite atypical of Wales as a whole....
, and the scenic Gower peninsula
Gower Peninsula

The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula on the south coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel in the southwest of the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
.

The county was bounded to the north by Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales of Wales, and a former administrative county....
, east by Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire is a principal area in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covers a larger area....
, south by the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England, and extending from the lower Severn Estuary of the River Severn to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea ....
, and west by Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a subdivisions of Wales in the South West Wales of Wales and one of thirteen counties of Wales. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford....
 and Carmarthen Bay
Carmarthen Bay

Carmarthen Bay is an inlet of the south Wales coast. The coastline includes famous beaches, including the Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands, and is partially covered by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park....
.






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Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
. It was originally an early medieval kingdom
Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged in an individual, who is the head of state, often for Life tenure or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch....
 of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Normans
Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William I of England in 1066, although a few Normans were already in England before the conquest....
 as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three preserved counties
Preserved counties of Wales

The Preserved counties of Wales are the current areas used in Wales for ceremonial purposes such as Lord-Lieutenant. They are based on the subdivisions of Wales created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996....
 of West Glamorgan
West Glamorgan

West Glamorgan is a preserved counties of Wales and former administrative county of Wales, one of the divisions of the historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
, Mid Glamorgan
Mid Glamorgan

Mid Glamorgan is a ceremonial preserved counties of Wales of Wales. From 1974 until 1996, it was also an administrative county, with a county council....
 and South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan

South Glamorgan is a preserved counties of Wales of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area....
. The name also survives in that of the county borough
County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control....
 of the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is an exceptionally rich agricultural area in the southern part of Glamorgan, Wales. It has a rugged coastline, but its rolling countryside is quite atypical of Wales as a whole....
.

Geography

The county of Glamorgan fell into several distinct regions: the industrial valleys, the agricultural Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is an exceptionally rich agricultural area in the southern part of Glamorgan, Wales. It has a rugged coastline, but its rolling countryside is quite atypical of Wales as a whole....
, and the scenic Gower peninsula
Gower Peninsula

The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula on the south coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel in the southwest of the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
.

The county was bounded to the north by Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales of Wales, and a former administrative county....
, east by Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire

Monmouthshire is a principal area in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covers a larger area....
, south by the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel

The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England, and extending from the lower Severn Estuary of the River Severn to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea ....
, and west by Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a subdivisions of Wales in the South West Wales of Wales and one of thirteen counties of Wales. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford....
 and Carmarthen Bay
Carmarthen Bay

Carmarthen Bay is an inlet of the south Wales coast. The coastline includes famous beaches, including the Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands, and is partially covered by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park....
. Its total area was 2,100 kmē, and the total population
Population

File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....
 of the three preserved counties of Glamorgan in 1991 was 1,288,309. In 2001 it was around 1.4 million. The historic county of Glamorgan is one of the fastest growing areas in the UK in population. Its highest point is at Craig y Llyn
Craig y Llyn

Craig y Llyn is a hill in South Wales, the highest point in the traditional county of Glamorgan and the highest in the South Wales Valleys.The hill is covered by forestry, except for the steep north face, and is crowned with a trig point....
 (600 m).

Glamorgan was the most populous and industrialised county in Wales. The northern part of the county was a mountain
Mountain

A mountain is a landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill....
ous area, dissected by deep narrow valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
s, with urbanisation typified by ribbon development
Ribbon development

Ribbon development means building houses along the roads radiating from a town. Ribbon development generated great concern in the United Kingdom during the 1920s and 30s, as well as in numerous other countries....
. At one time the coal industry was dominant, but the last deep mine, Tower Colliery
Tower Colliery

Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously worked deep-coal mining in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world, and the only mine of its kind remaining in the South Wales Valleys....
 at Hirwaun
Hirwaun

Hirwaun is the name of an electoral ward, a Local government in the United Kingdom#Parishes and communities, and a village at the northwest end of the Cynon Valley in the South Wales Valleys....
 closed in January 2008. A few small drift mines like Unity Mine, formerly Pentreclwydau South, near Glynneath
Glynneath

Glynneath , is a small town situated on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales , lying on the River Neath.Glynneath is also the name of a community and an ward ....
 remain. The Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is an exceptionally rich agricultural area in the southern part of Glamorgan, Wales. It has a rugged coastline, but its rolling countryside is quite atypical of Wales as a whole....
, a lowland
Lowland

In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or to any region in contrast to a highland ....
 area mainly comprising farmland and small villages stretched across most of the south of the county from Porthcawl to Cardiff. Further west, beyond Swansea, lay the Gower peninsula
Gower Peninsula

The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula on the south coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel in the southwest of the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of Rural considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government; or the Norther...
.

The major rivers of Glamorgan included the River Taff
River Taff

The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It is known as the Afon Taf in Welsh language.It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons - the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr , before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil....
, the Ely
River Ely

The River Ely is a river in South Wales flowing generally south east, from Tonyrefail to the capital city of Cardiff.The river is about 24 miles long....
, the Ogmore
River Ogmore

The River Ogmore is a river in South Wales popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Pentre, past Bridgend and Ogmore....
, the Neath
River Neath

River Neath is a river in south Wales running south west from its source in the Brecon Beacons National Park to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay....
, Dulais
River Dulais

River Dulais is a river in Wales which has its source at Mynydd y Drum. It joins the River Neath after flowing over Aberdulais Falls....
, the Tawe
River Tawe

The River Tawe is a river in South Wales. It flows in a principally south-westerly direction for some 48 km from its source below Moel Feity in the Old Red Sandstone hills of the western Brecon Beacons to the Bristol Channel at Swansea....
, the Rhymney (which formed the boundary with Monmouthshire), and the Loughor
River Loughor

The River Loughor in Carmarthenshire, Wales has its source at an underground lake at the Black Mountain . It flows past settlements like Ammanford and Hendy in Carmarthenshire and Pontarddulais in Swansea....
 (which formed the boundary with Carmarthenshire). The main towns included Aberdare
Aberdare

Aberdare is an industrial town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, situated at the confluence of the River Dar and River Cynon....
, Barry, Bridgend
Bridgend

Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend in Wales. It is midway between Cardiff and Swansea. The river crossed by the original bridge which gave the town its name is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town....
, Cardiff
Cardiff

Cardiff is the Capital , largest city and most populous Unitary authority#Wales in Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sport institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of Welsh Assembly Government ....
, Caerphilly
Caerphilly

Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly , South Wales Wales, located at the bottom of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000....
, Cowbridge
Cowbridge

Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. It is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France in northwestern France....
, Maesteg
Maesteg

Maesteg is a town in the Bridgend , Wales, lying at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with the county boroughs of Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taff....
, Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
, Mountain Ash
Mountain Ash, Wales

Mountain Ash is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies in the Cynon Valley....
, Neath
Neath

Neath is a town and Community situated in the Principal areas of Wales of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001....
, Penarth
Penarth

Penarth is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales 5.2 miles south west from the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the River Severn at the southern end of Cardiff Bay....
, Pontypridd
Pontypridd

Pontypridd is both a community and a town in Glamorgan, Wales, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff and is situated 12 miles north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff, and comprises the electoral wards of - Cilfynydd, Glyncoch, Graig, Hawthorn, Glamorgan , Pontypridd Town, Rhondda , Rhydfelen Central/Lower Ilan, Trallwng and Trefores...
, Porthcawl
Porthcawl

Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the Bridgend , 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles south-east of Swansea....
, Port Talbot
Port Talbot

Port Talbot is an Industry town in south Wales, United Kingdom, with a population of 35,633 in 2001. Port Talbot is now a part of the Local government in Wales#Principal areas of Wales of Neath Port Talbot county borough....
, and Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
.

Despite the decline in the coal industry, the area remains heavily populated with, particularly around Cardiff, a wide and diverse economic base including public administration
Administration (government)

The term administration, as used in the Context of government, differs according to jurisdiction....
, agriculture
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
, light industry, manufacturing
Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machine, tool and labor to make things for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to Industry production, in which raw material are transformed into finished good on a large scale....
, service sector, and tourism
Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
..

Places of interest

Places of special interest include:
  • Aberdulais Falls
    Aberdulais Falls

    The Aberdulais Falls are found on the River Dulais at Aberdulais, near Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, south Wales. The falls are formed as the river plunges over beds of hard 'Lower Pennant Sandstone' just before meeting the River Neath flowing down the Vale of Neath....
  • Barry Island
    Barry Island (Vale of Glamorgan)

    Barry Island is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry, Wales in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc....
     pleasure beach
  • Caerphilly Castle
    Caerphilly Castle

    Caerphilly Castle is a Norman architecture castle that dominates the centre of the town of Caerphilly in south Wales.Caerphilly Castle was built to stop Llywelyn's southward ambitions....
  • Cardiff Castle
    Cardiff Castle

    Cardiff Castle is a medieval castle and Victorian architecture Gothic revival mansion, transformed from a Norman architecture keep erected over a Roman fort in Cardiff, the Capital of Wales....
  • Castell Coch
    Castell Coch

    Castell Coch is a 19th century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th century fortification. It is situated in the village of Tongwynlais, north of Cardiff in Wales....
    , Tongwynlais
  • Dare Valley Country Park
    Dare Valley Country Park

    Dare Valley Country Park is a public park near the village of Cwmdare and the town of Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales, United Kingdom....
    ,
  • Dunraven Park, Southerndown
    Southerndown

    Southerndown is a village in Wales and suburb of Bridgend, close to St Brides Major, Llantwit Major and Ogmore-by-Sea, mostly known for its beach , which is a popular tourist destination during the summer months....
  • Ewenny Priory
    Ewenny Priory

    Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century.The building was unusual in having military-style defences....
  • Gower peninsula
    Gower Peninsula

    The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula on the south coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel in the southwest of the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
  • Llandaff Cathedral
    Llandaff Cathedral

    Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, situated in the suburb of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales....
  • Llantwit Major
    Llantwit Major

    Llantwit Major . Welsh language: Llanilltud Fawr -- llan church enclosure + Illtud + mawr great) is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast....
  • Museum of Welsh Life, St. Fagans
  • National Museum of Wales, Cardiff
  • National Waterfront Museum
    National Waterfront Museum

    The National Waterfront Museum, Swansea or NWMS is a museum situated in Swansea, Wales, forming part of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales ....
    , Swansea
  • Neath Abbey
    Neath Abbey

    Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in southern Wales, United Kingdom.It was once the largest abbey in Wales....
  • Old Beaupre Castle
    Old Beaupre Castle

    Old Beaupre Castle is a ruins medieval manor house located in the community of Llanfair , outside Cowbridge in Wales presently under the care of Cadw....
  • Ogmore Castle
    Ogmore Castle

    Ogmore Castle, situated near the village of Ogmore-by-sea, south of the town of Bridgend in Glamorgan, South Wales, was initially constructed in 1116 by William de Londres as part of the Normans invasion of Wales....
  • Oxwich Castle
    Oxwich Castle

    File:Oxwich Castle 4.jpgOxwich Castle occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking Oxwich Bay on the Gower peninsula, Wales, United Kingdom....
  • Margam Country Park
    Margam Country Park

    Margam Country Park is a country park estate of around 850 acres in South Wales Wales once owned by the Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot family and now owned and administered by the local council, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council....
    ,
  • Penscynor Wildlife Park, Cilfrew
  • Tinkinswood
    Tinkinswood

    Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber , also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic Chamber tomb, built around 5th millennium BC , during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales....
     burial chamber
  • Vale of Glamorgan Railway
    Vale of Glamorgan Railway

    The Barry Island Railway is a heritage railway based at Barry, Wales in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.An unusual aspect of the railway is that for several hundred yards across from Barry to Barry Island the trackbed used is directly alongside the Network Rail track which uses the original down line, with the BIR using the up....
  • Weobley Castle
    Weobley Castle

    Weobley Castle is a fortified manor house on the Gower peninsula, Wales, United Kingdom in the care of Cadw.It is near the village of Leason overlooking Llanrhidian Marsh and the River Loughor#Estuary....
    , Gower peninsula
    Gower Peninsula

    The Gower Peninsula is a peninsula on the south coast of Wales, on the north side of the Bristol Channel in the southwest of the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
  • Windmill Farm, Llansannor
    Llansannor

    Llansannor is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom.It has a population of roughly 200 people. It contains a parish church, a pub, a primary school and a village hall, which has recently been rebuilt thanks to the efforts of the parishioners....


History

Initially it was founded as an independent petty kingdom named Glywysing
Glywysing

  Glywysing was a Sub-Roman Britain and early Middle Ages kingdom in South Wales Wales. Its people were decended from the Brythonic Iron Age tribes in Britain of the Silures....
. In the 10th century, it became known as Morgannwg after its greatest monarch, Morgan Hen. It was at times united with the neighbouring kingdoms of Gwent
Kingdom of Gwent

  Gwent was, between about the 6th and 11th centuries, one of the kingdoms or principalities of medi?val Wales, traditionally lying between the rivers River Wye and River Usk in what later became known as the Welsh Marches....
 and Ergyng
Ergyng

Ergyng was a Wales kingdom of the sub-Roman Britain and Early Middle Ages period, between the 5th and 7th centuries. It was later referred to by the English people as Archenfield....
. By virtue of its location and geography, Morgannwg was the second part of Wales, after Gwent, to fall under the control of the Normans
Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William I of England in 1066, although a few Normans were already in England before the conquest....
 and was frequently the scene of fighting between the Marcher Lords and Welsh princes.

Administration

After the fall of the Welsh Kingdom of Morgannwg to Robert FitzHamon
Robert Fitzhamon

Robert Fitzhamon , or Robert FitzHamon, Sieur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was Lord of Gloucester and the Norman conquest of England of Glamorgan, southern Wales....
 in 1091, the region became the English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 Lordship of Glamorgan, sometimes called the Lordship of Glamorgan and Morgan because it was divided into the Norman settled Plain or Vale of Glamorgan and the Welsh upland area called Morgannwg, anglicized to Morgan. Both areas were under the control of the Norman Lords of Glamorgan (often the Earls of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester

The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of Peerage of England. A mythical earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester....
).

In 1535, the first Act of Union attached the Lordship of Gower and Kilvey
Gower (Lordship)

Gower was an ancient Marcher Lords of Deheubarth in South West Wales. The district, prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, was the cwmwd of Gwyr, a part of Cantref Eginawc....
 to Glamorgan and created the historic county of Glamorgan.. An administrative county of Glamorgan was created under the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888

The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales....
, excluding Swansea and Cardiff, which were independent county borough
County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control....
s. They were soon joined by Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
.

The county council's coat of arms, granted in 1950, was: Or, three chevronels gules between as many Tudor roses barbed and seeded proper. The red chevronels on a gold shield were the arms of the De Clare
De Clare

The de Clare family of Norman lords were associated with the Welsh Marches, Suffolk, Tonbridge and Ireland. They were descended from Richard Fitz Gilbert who accompanied William the Conqueror into England in 1066....
 Marcher Lords, while the roses recorded the shiring of Glamorgan by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
. The crest above the shield was a Welsh dragon
Y Ddraig Goch

File:Flag UK+Wales.svgThe Welsh Dragon appears on the national Flag of Wales , and is the most famous dragon in Britain....
 rising from flames, symbolising the revival of the county's industry following a period of economic depression. The dragon supported a flag bearing a clarion from the arms of the De Granville family, lords of Neath. The supporters
Supporters

In heraldry, supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon and depicted holding it up. These figures may be real or imaginary animals, human figures, and in rare cases plants or inanimate objects....
 of the arms were a coalminer and a steel worker. The motto
Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used....
 adopted by the county council: A Ddioddefws A Orfu or "He Who suffered, conquered" was that of the lineage of Iestyn ap Gwrgant
Iestyn ap Gwrgant

Iestyn ap Gwrgant or Jestyn ap Gwrgant was the last ruler of the Wales kingdom of Morgannwg, which encompassed the historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ....
, and was considered appropriate to an area whose wealth depended on great hardship.

Under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in the United Kingdom in England and Wales, on 1 April 1974....
, the county and administrative county of Glamorgan was abolished on April 1, 1974, with three new counties being established, each containing a former county borough - West Glamorgan
West Glamorgan

West Glamorgan is a preserved counties of Wales and former administrative county of Wales, one of the divisions of the historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan....
, Mid Glamorgan
Mid Glamorgan

Mid Glamorgan is a ceremonial preserved counties of Wales of Wales. From 1974 until 1996, it was also an administrative county, with a county council....
, South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan

South Glamorgan is a preserved counties of Wales of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area....
. It has now been further subdivided into several unitary authorities
Unitary authority

A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national government....
. The South Wales Police
South Wales Police

South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters are based in Bridgend.Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea, and the western South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population, and the seventh largest in the United K...
 force covers an area that is similar to Glamorgan.

See also

  • Glamorgan County Cricket Club
    Glamorgan County Cricket Club

    Glamorgan County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major historic counties of Wales clubs which make up the England and Wales national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Glamorgan aka Glamorganshire ....
  • Glamorgan County Cricket Club in 2005
    Glamorgan County Cricket Club in 2005

    Glamorgan County Cricket Club started their 2005 season as defending National League champions, but the 2005 season ended without a trophy - instead, they suffered relegation in the first class cricket form....
  • University of Glamorgan
    University of Glamorgan

    The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Trefforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff....


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