, also known as ''Breconshire'' or, in
Welsh , as ''Sir Frycheiniog'' is an inland
Traditional County of
Wales , bounded to the north by
Radnorshire , to the east by
Herefordshire and
Monmouthshire , to the south by
Monmouthshire and
Glamorganshire , and west by
Carmarthenshire and
Cardiganshire . Area 475,224 acres (1,923 km²). Population 56,000. The county is predominantly rural and mountainous. The
Black Mountains occupy the southeast of the county, the
Brecon Beacons the central region, Fforest Fawr the southwest and Mynydd Eppynt the north. Most of the
Brecon Beacons National Park lies within the county. The highest point is
Pen-y-Fan , 2907 ft (886 m). The
River Wye traces nearly the whole of the northern boundary, and the
Usk flows in an easterly direction through the central valley. Of the many waterfalls in the county,
Henrhyd Falls are particularly spectacular. The main towns are
Brecon ,
Brynmawr ,
Builth Wells ,
Hay-on-Wye ,
Llanwrtyd Wells and
Ystradgynlais . The most important industries are agriculture, forestry and tourism. The county corresponds roughly to the combined territories of the former '''Kingdom of Brycheiniog''' and the '''Kingdom of
Builth ''' which were brought together to form this traditional county following the defeat of the last independent Welsh prince and the signing of the
Statute Of Rhuddlan in
1284 .
The county is administered by
Powys council.
The kingdom of Brycheiniog was formed in the mid 5th century by
King Brychan ab Anlach and after him the kingdom is named. He had as many as twenty-four sons and founded a dynasty which ruled this realm until the 10th century when it was subjugated by the
Anglo-Saxons and later by the
Normans . During the Norman period the area was classified as a ''Lordship''. The Lord of Brycheiniog was subject to the Mortimer family who ruled most of south and east Wales in an area called the
Welsh Marches . During the reign of
Llywelyn Ap Gruffydd of
Gwynedd the homage of the Lord of Brycheiniog was transferred to him from the
King Of England (
Henry III ) by the
Treaty Of Montgomery in 1267. However, it was an attack on Brycheiniog by the ''Marcher Lords''
Humphrey De Bohun and
Roger Mortimer in 1276 which led to the final breakdown of the peace between
England and
Wales after which Llywelyn's domain was reduced to just his lands in Gwynedd. Brycheiniog was thereafter subject to the King of England and became a county under the same Shire model as seen in the rest of England.
