Historic county of Wales
Glamorgan
Morgannwg
Bristol Channel below, Vale along the coast, industrial valleys climbing north.
Glamorgan / Morgannwg contains one of Wales’s strongest contrasts between coast and upland. Along the south lies the Bristol Channel, with the lower agricultural country of the Vale of Glamorgan and an extensive urban belt. Behind it, steep river valleys cut northwards into the hills of the South Wales coalfield.
Westwards, the geography changes again as the coast opens around Swansea Bay and continues into Gower. Glamorgan therefore contains rural vale, great cities, industrial valleys, upland moor and peninsula within one county whose landscapes are tightly interconnected.
- Kingdom of Morgannwg
- Lordship then shire 1284
- Cardiff = great town / port
- 'Glamorganshire'
- Area: 827 sq mi
- Population: 1,321,460
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
- 1,632.4 people per sq mi (630.3 people per km²)
- Population
- 1,351,840
Vale and coast
The Vale of Glamorgan forms a lower and more agricultural landscape between the hills and the Bristol Channel.
Its open farmland, cliffs and coastal settlements differ sharply from the narrow industrial valleys only a short distance north.
The Valleys
Northwards, rivers cut deeply into the uplands, creating long parallel corridors.
Coal mining and heavy industry transformed these valleys, concentrating settlement along floors which had already been dictated by physical geography.
Swansea Bay and Gower
Western Glamorgan opens dramatically towards Swansea Bay before extending into the Gower peninsula.
Gower adds limestone coast, beaches, commons and rural country to an already exceptionally varied county.
County questions
Questions about Glamorgan
Are the later areas called Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan separate geographic counties?
No. Glamorgan is the geographic county. Those names were used for later areas created for local administration.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Glamorgan
- Local name
- Morgannwg
- Foundation
- c 1190
Glamorgan and Morgannwg are forms associated with the county. Its coastal vale, industrial valleys and western peninsula remain its clearest geographical structure.