I.

Introduction

South Glamorgan, former county, southern Wales, bounded on the north and west by Mid Glamorgan, and on the east and south by the Bristol Channel. South Glamorgan was formed under the local government reforms of 1974 from the merger of a small part of the former county of Monmouthshire and part of Glamorganshire, which was divided into three new counties: South, West, and Mid Glamorgan. South Glamorgan ceased to exist on April 1, 1996, being divided to form the major parts of the new county of Cardiff and the new county borough of Vale of Glamorgan. This was a result of administrative changes implemented under the Local Government Act 1994, which provided for the replacement of the two-tier system of county and district councils introduced in 1974 by a single-tier system of unitary authorities. South Glamorgan was the smallest of the post-1974 Welsh counties, with a land area of 416 sq km (161 sq mi). The city of Cardiff was the administrative centre.