Historic counties of Wales

The historic counties of Wales (Welsh: siroedd hynafol) were the thirteen sub-divisions used in Wales from 1535 up to their abolition in 1974 when they were replaced by eight larger administrative counties (which in turn were replaced with the current twenty-two). They were used for various functions for several hundred years, with some dating to 1282, but for administrative purposes have been superseded by contemporary sub-national divisions, some of which bear some limited similarity to the historic entities in name and extent. They are alternatively known as ancient counties.

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