Everything about Powys totally explained
» This article is about the county of Wales. For the ancient kingdom, see Kingdom of Powys.:
For people called Powys, see Powys (surname)
Powys is a local government
principal area and a
preserved county in
Wales.
Geography
» See the list of places in Powys for all towns and villages in Powys.
Powys covers the former administrative counties of
Montgomeryshire and
Radnorshire, most of
Brecknockshire, and a small part of
Denbighshire — an area of 5,196
km², making it the largest principal area in Wales by land area.
It is bounded to the north by
Gwynedd,
Denbighshire and
Wrexham; to the west by
Ceredigion and
Carmarthenshire; to the east by
England (counties of
Shropshire and
Herefordshire); and to the south by
Rhondda Cynon Taff,
Merthyr Tydfil,
Caerphilly (county borough),
Blaenau Gwent,
Monmouthshire and
Neath Port Talbot.
Most of Powys is mountainous, with north-south transportation by car being difficult.
The majority of the Powys population is made up of small villages and towns. The largest is
Newtown, with a population of 12,783 (2001).
Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistical skills and Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around
Machynlleth,
Llanfyllin and
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where
William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in
1588) in Montgomeryshire, and the industrial area of
Ystradgynlais in the extreme south-west of Brecknockshire .
Radnorshire was almost completely Anglicised by the end of the 18th century.
For a map of the current distribution of Welsh speakers in the county, see the website of
bwrdd-yr-iaith/The Welsh Language Board
Schools
Top performing secondary schools in Powys, 5 GCSEs, grades A-C, according to the latest inspection reports from
Estyn.
83%
Llanidloes High school,
Llanidloes (Bilingual)
77%
Builth Wells High School,
Builth Wells (Bilingual)
74%
Llanfyllin High School,
Llanfyllin (Bilingual)
72%
Crickhowell High School,
Crickhowell
64%
Welshpool High School,
Welshpool
63%
Caereinion High Sch,
Llanfair Caereinion (Bilingual)
61%
Gwernyfed High School,
Three Cocks
57%
Brecon High School,
Brecon (Bilingual)
56%
John Beddoes School,
Presteigne
52%
Ysgol Maes y Dderwen,
Ystradgynlais
49%
Ysgol Bro Ddyfi,
Machynlleth (Bilingual)
42%
Newtown High School,
Newtown
All are substantially out-performed by the county's leading independent school -
Christ College, Brecon. In 2007 91.3% achieved grades A - C in GCSE examinations.
History
This area is named after the older Welsh/British
Kingdom of Powys, which occupied the northern two thirds of the area as well as lands now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd of
Gwynedd during the 1260s.
Heraldry
The gold in the county coat of arms (see right) symbolises the wealth of the area. Black for both mining and the
Black Mountains. The fountain is a
medieval heraldic charge, always shown as a
roundel barry wavy Argent and Azure. It represents water and, therefore, both refers to the water catchment area and the rivers and lakes. The arms, therefore, contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry.
The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a mural crown, which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a
red kite, a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain, but thriving here. The bird is
semy of black lozenges for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in Powys ).
The county motto is,
Powys - the paradise of Wales .
Government
Powys was originally created on
1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, and originally had
Montgomery and
Radnor and
Brecknock as districts under it, which were based directly on the former administrative counties.
On
1 April 1996, the districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a
unitary authority, with a minor border adjustment in the north-east (specifically the addition of the communities of
Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant,
Llansilin and
Llangedwyn from
Glyndwr district in
Clwyd, all historically part of
Denbighshire).
The first
Lord Lieutenant of Powys was previously the
Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. The
Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and
Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as Lieutenants.
The present
Lord Lieutenant is The Hon. Mrs
Elizabeth Shân Legge-Bourke LVO of
Crickhowell.
Places of interest
Cave systems
Agen Allwedd
Ogof Craig a Ffynnon
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
Ogof y Daren Cilau
Reservoirs and Lakes
the Elan Valley Reservoirs:
Lake Vyrnwy
Langorse .
Llyn Clywedog
Museums and exhibitions
Brecknock Museum, Brecon,
Centre for Alternative Technology, Machynlleth
Llandrindod Wells Museum
Llanidloes Museum
Newtown Textile Museum
Powysland Museum, Welshpool
Castles
Dolforwyn Castle
Montgomery Castle
Powis Castle
Tretower Castle
Aberedw Castle
Walks
The Wye Valley Walk from Chepstow to Rhayader
Offa's Dyke Path
Glyndŵr's Way
Others
The Black Mountains
Brecon Beacons
Brecon Caer Roman Fort
Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
Radnor Forest
The Welsh National Cycle RouteFurther Information
Get more info on 'Powys'.
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