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

Preserved counties of Wales

Gwent South Glamorgan Mid Glamorgan West Glamorgan Dyfed Powys Gwynedd Clwyd

The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the eight ceremonial counties created by the Local Government Act 1972. However, it created the concept of preserved counties based on their areas, to be used for purposes such as Lieutenancy.^[1] In addition to this ceremonial function, the Boundary Commission must avoid crossing preserved county borders when drawing up Parliamentary constituencies, where practicable.^[2]

The preserved counties were originally almost identical to the 1974–1996 counties, but with a few minor changes intended to ensure preserved counties were composed of whole principal areas. Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochant, Llansilin and Llangedwyn were transferred from Clwyd to Powys, and Wick, St Brides Major, Ewenny and Pentyrch were transferred from Mid Glamorgan to South Glamorgan. However, these changes still left two county boroughs, Conwy and Caerphilly split between preserved counties.

In order to rectify this, the Preserved Counties (Amendment to Boundaries) (Wales) Order 2003 made two changes of substance to the boundaries. These changes came into effect on April 2, 2003. The part of the local government area of Conwy which had been in Gwynedd was transferred to Clwyd, and the part of the local government area of Caerphilly which had been in Mid Glamorgan was transferred to Gwent. The boundary between Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan was also re-aligned to reflect small changes in local government boundaries. Each Preserved county now encompasses between one and five whole local government areas.

• Clwyd - Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham
• Dyfed - Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire
• Gwent - Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Newport
• Gwynedd - Anglesey, Gwynedd
• Mid Glamorgan - Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taff
• Powys - Powys
• South Glamorgan - Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan
• West Glamorgan - Neath Port Talbot, Swansea

v • d • e Preserved counties of Wales
Counties of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 Clwyd • Dyfed • Gwent • Gwynedd • Mid Glamorgan • Powys • South Glamorgan • West Glamorgan

1. ^ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/1997023.htm
2. ^ The Review of Parliamentary constituencies and of Welsh Assembly electoral regions in Wales. Boundary Commission for Wales. Retrieved on November 8, 2006.

• Subdivisions of Wales
• Traditional counties of Wales
• Ceremonial counties of England
• Counties of Northern Ireland
• Lieutenancy areas of Scotland

v • d • e Subdivisions of the United Kingdom
England	Regions • Metropolitan county • Unitary authority • Ceremonial counties • Civil parish
Scotland	Sheriffdoms • Lieutenancy areas
Wales	Principal areas • Preserved counties
Northern Ireland	Counties • Districts