Wales Historical Geography

Learning about the places where your ancestors lived helps you find and understand the records about them. Local histories and gazetteers have information about changes in the land and community in which people lived.

Counties evolved more slowly in Wales than in England. The county boundaries in Wales changed in 1974, then again in 1996. The new county names are used on recent maps and in current addresses. The pre-1974 county names are used in the Family History Library Catalog and for most research purposes.

Monmouthshire, a pre-1974 county, was sometimes considered part of England and other times part of Wales. After 1974 Monmouth became the Welsh county of Gwent and then reverted to Monmouth in 1996. Monmouth is listed in the Family History Library Catalog under the country of England.

The following books explain more about Welsh historical geography. You can find these and similar materials at the Family History Library and many other research libraries.

Rees, William. An Historical Atlas of Wales. 2nd ed. London, England: Faber and Faber, 1972. (FHL book 942.9 E3r.)

Davis, Margaret. Wales in Maps. 2nd ed. Cardiff, Wales: University of Wales Press, 1958. (FHL book 942.9 E3d.)

Other sources are found in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:

WALES - HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

WALES - HISTORY

WALES - MAPS

Web Sites
http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Board/77918

http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/0705histdata.htm