Clwyd

Clwyd, former county, north-eastern Wales, bordered on the north by the River Dee and the Irish Sea, on the east by the English counties of Cheshire and Shropshire, and on the south and west by the Welsh counties of Powys and Gwynedd respectively. The county town and administrative centre was Mold. Clwyd was formed in 1974 out of the historic counties of Flintshire and most of Denbighshire. Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1994, which changed the structure of local administration in Wales from a two-tier system of county and district councils to a single-tier system of unitary authorities, the six districts which comprised Clwyd were reorganized into two new counties and two new county boroughs—apart from a very small area on the southern border of Glyndwr district, which was transferred to the county of Powys. These changes became effective on April 1, 1996.

The two north-eastern districts of Delyn, and Alyn and Deeside were joined to form Flintshire. The district of Rhuddlan on the north coast, most of Glyndwr in the centre and south, and a small part of the district of Colwyn in the west were combined to form Denbighshire. The south-eastern district of Wrexham Maelor and part of southern Glyndwr were integrated into the county borough of Wrexham. The majority of Colwyn district was combined with the district of Aberconwy in Gwynedd to form the county borough of Conwy.

Clwyd had an area of 2,426 sq km (937 sq mi) and was a mainly hilly county of rugged uplands and moorland. Lowland areas included the narrow coastal plain, the valley of the River Clwyd in the centre, and the peninsula of land east of the town of Wrexham, running into England. The main population centres included: Wrexham, the commercial centre of north Wales; Mold; the seaside resorts of Prestatyn, Rhyl, and Colwyn Bay; the historic towns of Denbigh, Ruthin, and Flint; and Llangollen, home of the International Musical Eisteddfod. Service industries and light manufacturing provided most of the jobs in Clwyd, replacing the steel, coal mining, and textile industries which were historically the mainstay of the region's economy. Agriculture employed only 2 per cent of the population; beef cattle and sheep were raised on the uplands, while dairy cattle, arable farming, and market gardening were significant industries in the lowlands.

There is evidence of early settlement in the region, especially in the uplands. The Romans mined lead at Prestatyn and in the hills. Offa's Dyke runs through the county; it was built in the 8th century ad to protect the English kingdom of Mercia from Welsh attack. William I of England invaded in the late 11th century, but it took his successors another 100 years to establish their rule over the region. Under the 1536 Act of Union between England and Wales the county of Denbighshire was created; Flintshire, created in 1284 by Edward I, was enlarged.