•  Brecknockshire, Wales

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In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Brecknockshire like this:

Brecknockshire, or Brecon, an inland co. of S. Wales, bounded N. by Radnorshire, E. by Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, S. by Monmouthshire and Glamorgan, and W. by Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire; greatest length, N. and S., 38 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 33 miles; area, 460,158 ac., pop. ...

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57,746. B. is one of the most mountainous of the Welsh counties, abounding in grand and picturesque scenery. A range of mountains, running E. and W., culminates about 4 miles S. of the centre of the co. in the Van or Beacon (2862 ft.), the highest summit of South Wales; its rocks belong to the old red sandstone or Devonian system. Part of the S. lies within the great Welsh coal-field, where ironstone is also abundant; limestone occurs in the W. Less than one-half of the surface is under cultivation, and the mountain land is generally bare. The river Wye traces nearly the whole of the N. boundary, and the Usk flows in an easterly direction through the central valley. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) There are mfrs. of coarse woollens and worsted hosiery. The Brecon Canal, 33 miles long, extends to the Monmouth Canal at Pontypool. The co. comprises 6 hundreds, 91 pars., with part of one other, and the mun. bor. of Brecknock. It is mostly in the diocese of St David's. It returns 1 member to Parliament.

Vision of Britain presents long-run change by redistricting historical statistics to modern units. However, none of our modern units covers an area close to that of Brecknockshire. If you want trends covering a particular location within the county, find it on our historical maps and then select "Tell me more".

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