Counties of Wales

​When researching family history we sometimes need to visit an archive to find out some information that cannot be found online. So I thought I’d put together a list of the counties of the UK with the location of their main archives for the county. I’m starting with Wales as it’s a country of the UK which I haven’t done a blog about before.

The Counties of Wales

1. Anglesey
Anglesey or Ynys Môn in Welsh is the only island county in Wales. It is located in the north west of the country and has a population of around 70,000 inhabitants. The main towns include Holyhead, Beaumaris and of course Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The county town is Llangefni, not Holyhead as many believe. The archive for the county is also in Llangefni and the following is a link to the website: https://www.anglesey.gov.uk/en/Residents/Archives/Visiting-Anglesey-Archives/Plan-your-visit-to-the-Archives.aspx

2. Brecknockshire
Brecknockshire or Sir Frycheiniog in Welsh is located in the mid east of the country. Its current population is approximately 43,000. The main towns in the county include Buith Wells, Brecon and the smallest town Britain Llanwrtyd Wells. Today although still a county the governance falls under the larger ancient and preserved county of Powys. The county town is Llandrindod Wells (which is in Radnorshire). The archives for Powys and Brecknockshire are held in Llandrindod Wells and the website is at: https://en.powys.gov.uk/archives

3. Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire or Sir Gaernarfon in Welsh is on the west coast of the country. It has a population of approximately 122,000. The main places in the county are Betws-y-Coed, Caernarfon, and Conwy. The county town of the county is Caernarfon. The county falls under Gwynedd. The archives for the county are in Caernarfon and can be found at: https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Libraries-and-archives/Archives-and-family-history/Archives-and-family-history.aspx

4. Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire or Sir Gaerfyrddin in Welsh is in the south west central region of Wales. It has an approximate population of 185,000. The main places in the county are Carmarthen, Pendine, St Clears and Llandeilo. The county town is Camarthen and the archive website can be found at: https://www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales/home/council-services/libraries-archives/archives-family-history/#.XWfFUd5KiM9

5. Cardiganshire
Cardiganshire or Ceredigion in Welsh is on the west coast of Wales and has an approximate population of 76,000. The main places are Cardigan, Aberystwyth and Lampeter. The county town is not Cardigan as you may think but it is Aberystwyth. The archives website can be found at: https://archifdy-ceredigion.org.uk/

6. Denbighshire
Denbighshire or Sir Ddinbych in Welsh is found on the north coast of Wales and has a population of approximately 175,000. The main places in Denbighshire include Rhyl, Wrexham and Denbigh. The county town is Ruthin and the archive website is: http://archives.denbighshire.gov.uk/

7. Flintshire
Flintshire or Sir y Fflint in Welsh is on the north coast of Wales and boarders England in some places. It has an approximate population of 155,000. The main places of the county are Connah’s Quay, Flint and Mold. The county town is Mold and the archives website can be found at: https://www.flintshire.gov.uk/en/LeisureAndTourism/Records-and-Archives/Home.aspx

8. Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Sir Forgannwg in Welsh is on the south coast of Wales and has a populations of approximately 130, 500. The main places in the county are Cardiff, Swansea, Port Talbot and the Gower peninsular. The county town is Cardiff and the archive website can be found at: https://glamarchives.gov.uk/

9. Merionethshire
Merionethshire or Merioneth or Sir Feirionnydd in Welsh is in northern Wales and goes inland from the coast. It has an approximate population of 46,000. The main places in the county include Dolgellau, Bala and Harlech. The county town is Dolgellau. The county falls under Gwynedd. The archives for the county are in Caernarfon and can be found at: https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Libraries-and-archives/Archives-and-family-history/Archives-and-family-history.aspx

10. Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire or Sir Fynwy in Welsh is found in the south east of the country and boarders England. The population of the county is approximately 503,000. The main towns are Monmouth, Abergavenny and Chepstow. The county town is Newport. The archives fall under Gwent and the web address can be found at: http://www.gwentarchives.gov.uk/

11. Montgomeryshire
Montgomeryshire or Sir Drefaldwyn in Welsh is in central Wales and has an approximate population of 64,000. The main places in the county include Welshpool, Newtown and Machynlleth. The county town is Welshpool. The archives fall under Powys and can be found in Llandrindod Wells and the website is at: https://en.powys.gov.uk/archives

12. Pembrokeshire
Pembrokshire or Sir Benfro (the best of the Welsh counties in my opinion) is in on the south west Wales coast. The population of the county is approximately 122,500. The main places of the county are Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Milford Haven, Fishguard and Britain’s smallest city St David’s. The county town is Haverfordwest and the archives for the county are in Haverfordwest and the web address is: http://www.culture4pembrokeshire.co.uk/content.asp?nav=3

13. Radnorshire
Radnorshire or Sir Faesyfed in Welsh is in central east Wales and has an approximate population of 26,000. The main places of the county include, Presteigne, Knighton and Rhayader. The county town is Presteigne, although the county now comes under Powys. The archives can be found in Llandrindod Wells and the website is at: https://en.powys.gov.uk/archives
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So I hope this helps people in their Welsh research in identifying which part of the county any records they wish to view may be located, but don’t forget there will be repositories of information in other more local places.