Historic county of Wales
Montgomeryshire
Sir Drefaldwyn
Upper Severn, Cambrian mountains and the eastern March.
Montgomeryshire / Sir Drefaldwyn is a county of mountains threaded by river valleys. The Severn rises in its western uplands and flows eastwards through the county before the landscape opens towards the Welsh border.
Further west and north, the terrain belongs increasingly to the Cambrian and Berwyn uplands; towards the east, valleys broaden and the county turns towards the Marches. Montgomeryshire therefore faces two ways at once: deep into the Welsh interior and outward towards the border country.
- Formed 1535 from the cantrefs of Powys Wenwynwyn and Arwystli
- Named after Roger de Montgomerie, William the Conqueror's counsellor
- Borders roughly correspond to mediæval kingdom of Powys Wenwynwyn
- Area: 796 sq mi
- Population: 61,956
- County Top: Moel Sych
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
- 77.8 people per sq mi (30.0 people per km²)
- Population
- 61,925
Following the Severn
The upper Severn provides one of Montgomeryshire’s principal natural routes.
Its valley cuts through difficult terrain and gradually broadens eastwards, connecting mountain country with increasingly open lowland.
A county facing two ways
Western Montgomeryshire belongs to the upland world of mid-Wales and the Dyfi system.
Eastern Montgomeryshire turns much more clearly towards the Marches. The coexistence of these orientations gives the county much of its character.
Older Powys beneath the county
Much of the territory from which Montgomeryshire developed belonged to the older Welsh world of Powys, particularly Powys Wenwynwyn, alongside other territories.
That historical geography matters, but it should not be confused with the council area which later reused the Powys name.
County questions
Questions about Montgomeryshire
Are Montgomeryshire and Sir Drefaldwyn different counties?
No. They are English and Welsh forms associated with the same geographic county.
Is the Powys council area the historic territory of Powys?
No. It is a local-government area using an ancient territorial name. Name reuse does not make its boundary identical with older Powys.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County of Montgomery
- Local name
- Sir Drefaldwyn
- Foundation
- 1535
Montgomeryshire, County of Montgomery and Sir Drefaldwyn are forms associated with the county. The upper Severn and the transition from Cambrian uplands to Marches provide its clearest geographical structure.