Additionally, getting away from the official and administrative side of things, how have the people of Monmouthshire historically identified? Did everyone already see themselves as Welsh by 1974? Had they always considered themselves Welsh?
The ambiguity started a few centuries after the conquest of Wales by England in 1282.
The area that makes up the modern-day country of Wales was, at this time, ruled over by the Principality of Wales (with the Prince of Wales title now being given to the heir to the English throne), and the various marcher lordships. [Davies, p.227]
Over the next 300 years, Wales would be ruled by English law, the Penal Laws (which prevented Welsh men, and English husbands of Welsh women, from holding a governmental office) had fallen into disuse and the traditional law of Wales had essentially been abolished. [Davies, p.194, 228]
In 1536, Henry VIII would make this transition official, by passing an act that would, in a legal sense, fully incorporate Wales into England, and one of the most prominent features of this act was the division of the Principality of Wales and the fifty marcher lordships into 13 counties, which would set the border between England and Wales that lasts up until the present day. [Davies, p.226-228]
The Prince of Wales could no longer make laws without the consent of the king, and the people of Wales would gain a surprising proportional representation in Parliament.
(According to the historian John Davies, the 278,000 inhabitants of Wales would have made up 6.9% of the total population, and they were granted 26 MPs (7.2% of the MPs in Parliament)). [Thornton, p.5. Davies, p.228].
And finally, the most important creation in terms of answering your question, a chancery and exchequer would be established in 3 of the new counties of Wales. [Davies, p.230]
Of the 13 counties of Wales, Anglesey, Merionethshire, and Carnarvonshire would all be served by a chancery and exchequer,
Montgomeryshire, Flintshire and Denbighshire would also all be served by a chancery and exchequer,
Cardiganshire, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire would be served by a chancery and exchequer,
And finally Radnorshire, Breconshire and Glamorgan would be served by a chancellor and exchequer. [Davies, p.230].
This neat grouping of 4 groups of 3 counties also led to the establishment of 12 courts, one for each of the previously mentioned counties, in Wales, collectively known as the Great Sessions of Wales. They provided a justice system on behalf of Westminster until their abolition in 1830. [Davies, p.230]
You may have noticed that I have not mentioned how Monmouthshire fit into this system. This is because this county was brought into the English justice system, and it would be served by the courts of Westminster. This led to the notion that the county had been annexed by England, and is both the instigator and the prime source of the ambiguity over whether or not Monmouthshire is a part of Wales. [Davies, p.230]
However, the government of England did not seem to treat it like it was a part of England. It was typically included as a part of Wales in any legislation passed by Parliament that was made specifically for Wales, such as:
‘An Act For Certain Ordinances in the King’s Dominion and Principality of Wales’ (1542-43).
- Item, It shall be lawful to all Persons to aliene, sell, or otherwise put away their Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments within the said Country or Dominion of Wales, the County of Monmouth, and other Places annexed to any of the Shires of England.
‘An Act for the due Payment of the Fees and Wages of Knights and Burgesses for the Parliament in Wales’ (1543).
Be it therefore enacted by the authority of this present Parliament that the Sheriff for the time being of every of the twelve Shires in Wales and in the County of Monmouth from the beginning of this present Parliament shall have full power and authority by force of this Act.
‘An Act touching certain Politique Constitutions made for the maintenance of the Navy’ (1563).
into the havens, ports and towns of Cardiff Carnarvon Beaumarris and other havens, ports and towns in South Wales and North Wales, or any of them, and into the haven, port and town of Newport in the said county of Monmouth
Just to name a few. [Davies, p.230. All of the acts can be read here:]
As you can see, although Monmouthshire was often referred to as separate from Wales, it was very frequently grouped with the country in legal documents, and this distinction simply arose from the fact that the county was not placed into the Great Sessions of Wales, and was instead incorporated into the English justice system.
As for how the people of Monmouthshire historically identified, it’s difficult to say.
Censuses in the UK didn’t start recording national identity until 2011, but in this census 47.8% of respondents in Monmouthshire reported that they had ‘no Welsh identity’.
However, this is not the lowest in Wales, and many counties which are indisputably in Wales reported larger percentages of non-Welsh identifying people, such as Flintshire (57.3%), Conwy (52.4%), and Powys (49.8%).
Source.
I hope this answers your question!
Sources:
Davies, J. (2007). A History of Wales. London: Penguin Books, pp.194, 226-230.
Thornton, T. (2000). Dynasty and Territory in the Early Modern Period: the Princes of Wales and their Western British Inheritance. The Welsh History Review, 20(1), p.5.
https://journals.library.wales/view/1073091/1084601/4#?xywh=193%2C-713%2C2035%2C4423
