Historic county of Wales
Brecknockshire
Sir Frycheiniog / Breconshire / County of Brecon
Wye north, Usk through the middle, mountains closing the county south and east.
Brecknockshire / Breconshire is a county of valleys enclosed by upland. The upper Wye shapes much of the northern country, while the Usk cuts an east–west corridor through the centre. Between and around them rise Mynydd Epynt, the Bannau Brycheiniog, the Black Mountain and the Black Mountains.
This combination gives the county an unusually strong physical structure. Broad river valleys contain much of its gentler and more settled country, while plateau and mountain form a dramatic rim. Brecknockshire is therefore best understood not simply as “the Brecon Beacons”, but as a complete landscape of Wye, Usk, Irfon, Epynt and surrounding uplands.
- Kingdom of Brycheiniog
- Formed from the ancient Welsh cantrefs of Brycheiniog, Builth and Hay
- Brecknock or Breconshire
- Area: 742 sq miles / 1,922 km²
- Population: 67,598
- County top: Pen y Fan 2,906 ft / 886 m
County geography
Current Census
Contemporary Census profile
England and Wales Census 2021. Detailed contemporary statistics are available in the Geographic County Census Explorer.
- Population density
- 91.0 people per sq mi (35.2 people per km²)
- Population
- 67,567
The Usk valley
The Usk provides Brecknockshire’s great central corridor, cutting through the mountain country and creating a relatively open route across the county.
Tributary valleys descend from the surrounding hills, making the river system the natural link between otherwise separated upland districts.
Wye, Irfon and northern country
Northern Brecknockshire turns towards the Wye and its tributaries. The landscape becomes broader in places but remains enclosed by high ground.
Further west, the Irfon drains a quieter and more upland part of the county, adding another distinct river landscape to the better-known Usk country.
A mountain rim
The southern and eastern sides rise into some of Wales’s most celebrated upland scenery. Bannau Brycheiniog, the Black Mountain and the Black Mountains are different landscapes rather than interchangeable names.
Together with Epynt, they give Brecknockshire the sense of a county whose valleys lie within a great upland frame.
County questions
Questions about Brecknockshire
Are Brecknockshire and Breconshire different counties?
No. Brecknockshire and Breconshire are alternative names for the same geographic county.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Brecknock
- Local name
- Sir Frycheiniog
- Alternative name
- Breconshire
- Foundation
- 1535
Brecknockshire, Breconshire and Sir Frycheiniog are established forms associated with the county. Its older background lies in Brycheiniog, while the later county brought that inherited territorial identity into a new geographical framework.