No doubt Radnorshire always proved a bit of a nuisance to the one-size-fits-all delusions of the Boundary Commission.Back in the 1940s they wanted to amalgamate the county with Breconshire and Herefordshire. As much as I would like to see the return of those parts of the March lost in 1535, I'm sure the proposal was more about extending the borders of England rather than those of Wales.
By the early Sixties the Commission had come up with another wizard idea, to merge Radnorshire and Breconshire with Monmouthshire. The Times even had an editorial about it, they were worried the proposal might dilute Monmouthshire's Englishness!
In the end of course they created Powys. Why? Because Welsh counties had a lower average population than those in England. Oh and because bigger counties would save cash. Yeh right.
In the end of course they created Powys. Why? Because Welsh counties had a lower average population than those in England. Oh and because bigger counties would save cash. Yeh right.
I'd love to see a scan of that editorial in The Times, if anyone has it.
ReplyDeleteCarl, if you sign up for an online readers ticket to the National Library of Wales you can access lots of interseting stuff, 19C newspapers incl the Western Mail and the Times Digital archive for example. You have to have a Welsh postcode.
ReplyDeleteOnly a couple of lines in the editorial are about Monmouthshire's Englishness being diluted though.