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England–Wales border

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For the area loosely based around the border, seeWelsh Marches.

England–Wales border
Ffin Cymru a Lloegr
Map showing the England–Wales border, and local authorities on either side
Characteristics
EntitiesEnglandWales
Length160 miles (260 km)
History
Established784
Construction ofOffa's Dyke
Current shape1972
Local Government Act 1972
TreatiesLaws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542

TheEngland–Wales border,sometimes referred to as theWales–England borderor theAnglo-Welsh border,runs for 160 miles (260 km)[1]from theDee estuary,in the north, to theSevern estuaryin the south, separatingEnglandandWales.[2][3]

It has followed broadly the same line since the 8th century, and in part that ofOffa's Dyke;the modern boundary was fixed in 1536, when the formermarcher lordshipswhich occupied the border area were abolished and newcountyboundaries were created. The administrative boundary of Wales was confirmed in theLocal Government Act 1972.WhetherMonmouthshirewas part of Wales, or an English county treated for most purposes as though it were Welsh, was also settled by the 1972 Act, which included it in Wales.

Geography[edit]

TheRiver Deemarking the border betweenFarndon,England, to the left andHolt,Wales, to the right
Bilingual "Welcome to Wales" sign
Bilingual "Welcome to England" sign

The modern boundary between Wales and England runs from thesalt marshesof the Dee estuary adjoining theWirral Peninsula,across reclaimed land to theRiver DeeatSaltneyjust west ofChester.It then loops south to include within England an area southwest of Chester, before rejoining the Dee, and then loops east of the river to include within Wales a large area known asMaelor,formerly anexclaveofFlintshire,betweenBangor-on-Dee(in Wales) andWhitchurch, Shropshire(in England). Returning to the River Dee as far asChirk,the boundary then loops to the west, following Offa's Dyke itself for about 2 miles (3 km), and including within England the town ofOswestry,before reaching theRiver VyrnwyatLlanymynech.It follows the Vyrnwy to its confluence with theRiver Severn,and then continues southwards, rising overLong Mountaineast ofWelshpool.East ofMontgomery,the boundary again follows the line of Offa's Dyke for about 2 miles (3 km), before looping eastwards to include within Wales a large area nearChurchstokeincludingCorndon Hill.It then runs westwards to theRiver Teme,and follows the river southeastwards throughKnightonbefore turning south towards theRiver LuggatPresteigne,which is within Wales.[citation needed]

The boundary continues southwards across hills to theRiver Wye,and follows the river upstream for a short distance toHay-on-Wye,on the Welsh side of the border. It continues southwards and rises through and across theBlack Mountains,following theHatterall RidgepastLlanthonyon the Welsh side andLongtown, Herefordshireon the English side, to reach theRiver MonnownearPandy.It then generally follows the river, pastPontrilas(in England) andSkenfrith(in Wales), towardsMonmouth,looping eastwards to include the town itself and a surrounding area within Wales. AtRedbrook,the boundary again reaches the Wye, and follows the river southwards, pastTinternandChepstowon the Welsh side, to its confluence with the Severn at theSevern Bridge.The boundary then continues down theSevern estuarytowards theBristol Channel,with the small island ofFlat Holmbeing administered as part of Wales and the neighbouring island ofSteep Holmas part of England.[citation needed]

Administrative boundary[edit]

The boundary passes betweenFlintshire,Wrexham County Borough,Powys,andMonmouthshirein Wales andCheshire,Shropshire,HerefordshireandGloucestershirein England.

History[edit]

Ancient Britain[edit]

The approximate limit of coin-minting tribes in south Britain, and the limits of the campaigns ofClaudiusandAulus Plautius.

Before and during theRomanoccupation ofBritain,all the native inhabitants of the island (other than the Pictish/Caledonian tribes of what is now northern Scotland—and also excepting theLloegyrof greater south-east Britain[dubious–discuss]) spokeBrythonic languages,a sub-family of theInsular Celtic languages,and were regarded asBritons.The topographical contrast between the mountainous western areas and the generally lower-lying areas to the east is reflected in the nature of ancient settlements, with the majority ofhillforts in Britainfound in this western area.[4]

Roman era[edit]

Distribution of the legions across the Roman Empire in 80 AD, showing two legions stationed near what would become the England-Wales border.[citation needed]

During the Roman occupation, the tribes of Wales (Ordovices,Deceangli,Demetae,and especially theSilures) were noted by Roman authors as fiercely resisting any occupation. As such the border area became a centre of military activity, with legions based atDeva(Chester),Viroconium(Wroxeter), andIsca Augusta(Caerleon).[citation needed]

In most of Wales, the militaristic nature of the occupation was in stark contrast to that of southeast Britain. As such, by theend of Roman rule,there would have been a cultural border, between the highly RomanisedRomano-Britishin the east, and the more independent and tribal kingdoms to the west. This western area was, however,largely Christian,and a number ofsuccessor statesattempted to continue Roman practices. The most successful of these were theKingdom of Gwyneddin the northwest, theKingdom of GwentandGlywysingin the southeast, theKingdom of Dyfedin the southwest and theKingdom of Powysin the east. Powys roughly coincided with the territory of the CelticCornoviitribe whosecivitasor administrative centre during the Roman period was atViroconium.Gwynedd, at the height of its power, extended as far east as the Dee estuary. Gradually, from the 5th century onwards,pagantribes from the east, including theAnglesandSaxons,conquered eastern and southern Britain, which later became England.[5][6]

In the south, the Welshkingdom of Gwentbroadly covered the same area as the pre-RomanSilures,traditionally the area between the riversUsk,Wyeand the Severn estuary. It was centred at different times onVenta(Caerwent), from which it derived its name, andIsca Augusta(Caerleon). Gwent generally allied with, and at various times was joined with, the smaller Welsh kingdom ofErgyng,centred in present-day southern Herefordshire west of the Wye (and deriving its name from the Roman town ofAriconium); and the larger kingdom ofGlywysingin modernGlamorgan.The name Glywysing may indicate that it was founded by a British native ofGlevum(Gloucester).[citation needed]

Medieval era[edit]

Peoples of southern Britain, circa 600 AD
Post-Roman Welsh kingdoms or tribes. The modern border between England and Wales is shown in purple.

TheBattle of Mons Badonicus,circa 500, could have been fought nearBathbetween the British, the victors, and Anglo-Saxons attempting to reach the Severn estuary, but its date and location are very uncertain and it may equally well have taken place inSomersetorDorset.However, it is more certain that the Anglo-Saxon kingdom ofWessexemerged in the 6th and 7th centuries in the upperThamesvalley,CotswoldsandHampshireareas. In 577, theBattle of Deorhamin the southern Cotswolds was won by the Anglo-Saxons, and led to Wessex extending its control to the Severn estuary and the cities of Gloucester,Cirencester,and Bath. This severed the land link between the Britons of Wales andthose of the south west peninsula.By about 600, however, the area of modern Gloucestershire east of the Severn, as well as most ofWorcestershire,was controlled by another group, theHwicce,who may have arisen from intermarriage between Anglo-Saxon and British leading families, possibly the successors to the pre-RomanDobunni.The Hwicce came increasingly under Mercian hegemony.[citation needed]

At theBattle of Chesterin 616, the forces of Powys and other allied Brythonic kingdoms were defeated by theNorthumbriansunderÆthelfrith.This divided the Britons of Wales from those inNorthern England,includingLancashire,Cumbria, andsouth west Scotland,an area which became known as"YrHen Ogledd"or "the Old North". Within a few decades, the Welsh became engaged in further defensive warfare against the increasingly powerful kingdom ofMercia,based atTamworthin what became theWest Midlandsof England. The capital of Powys,Pengwern,at or near modernShrewsbury,was conquered byOswiu of Northumbriain 656 when he had become overlord of the Mercians. Powys then withdrew from the lowland areas now in southernCheshire,ShropshireandHerefordshire,which became known to Welsh poets as "The Paradise of Powys".[5]The areas were occupied by Anglo-Saxon groups who became sub-kingdoms of Mercia, theWreocensǣteorWrekinsetin the northern part of what became Shropshire, and theMagonsætein the southern part.[6]Further south, the area north west of the Severn later known as theForest of Deanseems to have remained in British (that is, Welsh) hands until about 760.[7]

Offa's Dyke[edit]

Offa's DykenearClunin Shropshire
Main article:Offa's Dyke

AfterIne of Wessexabdicated in 726,Æthelbald of Merciaestablished Mercia's hegemony over the Anglo-Saxons south of theHumber.However, campaigns by Powys against Mercia led to the building ofWat's Dyke,an earthwork boundary extending from theSevernvalley near Oswestry to the Dee atBasingwerkin what becameFlintshire,perhaps to protect recently acquired lands.[5]After Æthelbald was killed in 757, a brief civil war in Mercia then ended in victory for his distant cousin,Offa.As king, he rebuilt Mercia's hegemony over the southern English through military campaigns, and also caused the construction of Offa's Dyke, around the years 770 and 780.[8]

Offa's Dykeis a massive linear earthwork, up to 65 feet (20 m) wide (including its surrounding ditch) and 8 feet (2.4 m) high. It is much larger and longer than Wat's Dyke, and runs roughly parallel to it. The earthwork was generally dug with the displaced soil piled into a bank on the Mercian (eastern) side, providing an open view into Wales and suggesting that it was built by Mercia to guard against attacks or raids from Powys. The late 9th-century writerAsserwrote that Offa"terrified all the neighbouring kings and provinces around him, and... had a great dyke built between Wales and Mercia from sea to sea".In the mid-20th century, SirCyril Foxcompleted a major survey of the Dyke and stated that it ran from the Dee to the Severn, as Asser suggested, but with gaps, especially in the Herefordshire area, where natural barriers of strong rivers or dense forests provided sufficient defence. More recent research by David Hill and Margaret Worthington concluded that there is little evidence for the Dyke stretching "from sea to sea", but that the earthwork built by Offa stretched some 64 miles (103 km) betweenRushock HillnearKingtonin Herefordshire, andTreuddynin Flintshire. Earthworks in the far north and south, including sections overlooking theWye valleyand east of the Wye atBeachley,may in their view have been built for different purposes at different times, although their conclusions are themselves disputed.[8][9]

Alt text
Map Showing Offa's dyke alongside other Medieval dykes and native Welsh Defensive architecture[10][11][12][13][14]

Offa's Dyke largely remained the frontier between the Welsh and English in later centuries. By the 9th century, the expanding power of Mercia led to it gaining control over Ergyng and nearbyHereford.The system ofshireswhich was later to form the basis of local administration throughout England and eventually Wales originated in Wessex, where it became established during the 8th century. Wessex and Mercia gradually established an occasionally unstable alliance, with Wessex gaining the upper hand. According to Asser, the southern Welsh kings, including Hywel ap Rhys of Glywysing, commended themselves toAlfred the Greatof Wessex in about 885. Alfred's sonEdward the Elderalso secured homage from the Welsh, although sporadic border unrest continued. In the early 10th century, a document known asThe Ordinance Concerning the Dunsaeterecords procedures for dealing with disputes between the English and the Welsh, and implies that areas west of the Wye inArchenfieldwere still culturally Welsh. It stated that the English should only cross into the Welsh side, and vice versa, in the presence of an appointed man who had the responsibility of making sure that the foreigner was safely escorted back to the crossing point.[15]In 926, Edward's successorAthelstan,"King of the English", summoned the Welsh kings includingHywel DdaofDeheubarthto a meeting at Hereford, and according toWilliam of Malmesburylaid down the boundary between England and Wales, particularly the disputed southern stretch where he specified that the eastern bank of the Wye should form the boundary.[citation needed]

By the mid-eleventh century, most of Wales had become united under the king ofGwynedd,Gruffudd ap Llywelyn.In 1055, he marched on Hereford and sacked the city. He also seizedMorgannwgand the Kingdom of Gwent, together with substantial territories east of Offa's Dyke, and raided as far as Chester andLeominster.[6]He claimed sovereignty over the whole of Wales, a claim recognised by the English, and historianJohn Daviesstates that Gruffudd was"the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales.".[5]However, after his most powerful ally – Earl Elfgar of Mercia and East Anglia – died, Harold and Tostig Godwinson took advantage of the situation – Gruffudd being besieged in Snowdonia – and invaded Wales. In 1063, Gruffudd was killed by his own men. Harold returned many of the Welsh princes their lands, so that after Harold's death at theBattle of Hastings,Wales was again divided without a leader to resist the Normans.[citation needed]

March of Wales[edit]

TheRiver Wye,1816 road bridgeandcastleatChepstow.The river forms the boundary betweenMonmouthshire,Wales(left) andGloucestershire,England (right)
Main article:Welsh Marches

Immediately after theNorman conquest of England,KingWilliaminstalled one of his most trusted confidants,William FitzOsbern,as Earl of Hereford. By 1071 he had started the building ofChepstow Castle,the first castle in Britain built of stone, near the mouth of the Wye. It served as a base from which the Normans continued to expand westward intosouth Wales,establishing a castle at Caerleon and extinguishing the Welsh kingdom of Gwent. William also installedRoger de Montgomerieat Shrewsbury, andHugh d'Avranchesat Chester, creating a new expansionistearldomin each case. In theDomesday Bookof 1086, Norman lands are recorded west of the Wye at Chepstow andCaldicotin theGwent Levels(Welsh:Gwent Is-coed); over the whole of north east Wales as far west as theRiver Clwyd,an area known to the Welsh as thePerfeddwlad;and west of Offa's Dyke, especially in Powys where a new castle was named, after its lord, Montgomery.[5]

Domesday Bookno doubt records the extent of English penetration into Wales. This suggests that Offa's Dyke still approximately represented the boundary between England and Wales. However, during theanarchy of Stephenvarious Welsh princes were able to occupy lands beyond it, includingWhittington, Shropshire(seeWhittington Castle) andMaelor Saesneg,hitherto in England. These lands were brought under English lordship byHenry II of England,but becameMarcher lordships,and so part of Wales. This involved a loss of direct rule by the English crown.[16]

Over the next four centuries, Norman lords established mostly small lordships, at times numbering over 150, between the Dee and Severn and further west. The precise dates and means of formation of the lordships varied, as did their size. Hundreds of small castles, mostly of themotte and baileytype, were built in the border area in the 12th and 13th centuries, predominantly by Norman lords as assertions of power as well as defences against Welsh raiders and rebels. Many new towns were established across the area, some such as Chepstow,Monmouth,LudlowandNewtownbecoming successful trading centres, and these tended to be a focus of English settlement. However, the Welsh continued to attack English soil and supported rebellions against the Normans.[5][6]

Yellow: areas directly ruled byLlywelyn ab Iorwerth;Grey: areas ruled by Llywelyn's vassals. Both theKingdom of England,and also Anglo-Norman marcher lordships in Wales, are shown in green with light green being areas occupied by Llewelyn during the firstbarons war.[17]

TheMarches,orMarchia Wallia,were to a greater or lesser extent independent of both the English monarchy and thePrincipality of Wales,which remained based in Gwynedd in the north west of the country. By the early 12th century, they covered the areas which would later becomeMonmouthshireand much ofFlintshire,Montgomeryshire,Radnorshire,Brecknockshire,Glamorgan,Carmarthenshire andPembrokeshire.Some of the lordships, such as Oswestry,Whittington,Clun,andWigmorehad been part of England at the time of Domesday, while others such asthe Lordship of Powyswere Welsh principalities that passed by marriage into the hands of Norman barons. In ecclesiastical terms, the ancientdiocesesofBangorandSt. Asaphin the north, andSt. David'sandLlandaffin the south, collectively defined an area which included both the Principality and the March, and coincided closely with later definitions of Wales.[5]

ThePrincipality of Wales(Welsh:Tywysogaeth Cymru) covered the lands ruled by thePrince of Walesdirectly, and was formally founded in 1216, and later recognised by the 1218 Treaty of Worcester betweenLlywelyn ab Iorwerth,Prince of Gwynedd,and KingJohn of England.Encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales, the principality operated as an effectively independent entity from the reign of Llywelyn until 1283 (though it underwent a period of contraction during the early part of the reign ofDafydd ap Llywelynin the 1240s, and again for several years from the beginning ofLlywelyn ap Gruffudd's rule in 1246). Its independence was characterised by a separate legal jurisprudence based on the well established laws ofCyfraith Hywel,and by the increasingly sophisticatedcourtof theAberffrawdynasty.[5]

TheStatute of Rhuddlanin 1284 followed the conquest of the Principality byEdward I of England.It assumed the lands held by the Princes of Gwynedd under the title "Prince of Wales"as legally part of the lands of England, and established shire counties on the English model over those areas. TheCouncil of Wales,based atLudlow Castle,was also established in the 15th century to govern the area.[citation needed]

Formation of "England and Wales" and county boundaries[edit]

Main article:Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542
Wales 1543[a]
Principality of Wales
Earldom of Chester
[b][18]
Tudormarcher lordships
other lordships
England
[19]
Wales 1545
Wales
England
Threapwood
[20]

However, the Marches remained outside the shire system, and at least nominally outside the control of the English monarchy, until the firstLaws in Wales Actwas introduced in 1535 underHenry VIII.Henry had not seen the need to reform the government of Wales at the beginning of his reign, but gradually he perceived a threat from some of the remaining Marcher lords and therefore instructed his chief minister,Thomas Cromwell,to seek a solution. This, and a further Act in 1542, had the effect of annexing Wales toEnglandand creating a single state and legaljurisdiction,commonly referred to asEngland and Wales.The powers of the marcher lordships were abolished, and their areas formed into new counties, or amalgamated into existing ones. At this point, the boundary between England and Wales, which has existed ever since, was effectively fixed. In the border areas, five new counties were created: Denbighshire, Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire; and Flintshire gained some additional territory. However, several of the marcher lordships were incorporated in whole or in part into English counties. The lordships of Ludlow, Clun,Causand part of Montgomery were incorporated into Shropshire; andWigmore,Huntington,Cliffordand most ofEwyaswere included in Herefordshire. According to John Davies:[5]

Thus was created the border between Wales and England, a border which has survived until today. It did not follow the old line of Offa's Dyke nor the eastern boundary of the Welsh dioceses; it excluded districts such as Oswestry and Ewias, where the Welsh language would continue to be spoken for centuries, districts which it would not be wholly fanciful to consider asCambria irredenta.Yet, as the purpose of the statute was to incorporate Wales into England, the location of the Welsh border was irrelevant to the purposes of its framers.

Changes to the border after 1545[edit]

Changes after 1545
Date Details
1753–1760 Parts of Threapwood transferred to Wales and England[21]
1844 Litton andCascobtransferred to England from Wales
Bwlch Trewyn transferred to Wales from England
Welsh Bicknortransferred to England from Wales
Crooked Billet transferred to Wales from England[22]
1857 Threapwood incorporated partly into England and partly into Wales[23]
1865 Territorial waters extended to 3 nautical miles
1887 Stanford farm transferred to England from Wales
1891 Ffwddog transferred to Wales from England
1893 Llanrothal CP transferred to England from Wales[24]
1896 Part of Threapwood transferred to England from Wales
1972 Monmouthshire incorporated into Wales
1987 Territorial waters extended to 12 nautical miles[25]

There was a serious proposal to transfer English Maelor to England in the 19th century.[26]

Cross border parishes[edit]

Notably a number of the old "Ancient"parishesused to cross the England-Wales border as they didn't necessarily have follow the borders of Counties or Hundreds but seemingly still acted as aDe jureadministrative division:

  • English parish: Dodleston (WelshTownship:Higher Kinnerton)
  • English parish: Ellesmere (Welsh Township: Penley)[27]
  • English parish: Malpas (Welsh Townships: Iscoed and part ofThreapwood)
  • Welsh parish:Llanymynech(English Township: Carreghofa)[28]
  • Welsh parish: Llansilin (English Township: Sychtyn)
  • English parish: Alberbury (Welsh Townships: Bausley, Criggion Middletown and Uppington)
  • Welsh parish: Churchstoke (English Townships: Brompton and Rhiston)[29]
  • English parish: Worthen (Welsh Townships: Trelystan, Leighton and Rhos Gogh)
  • Welsh parish: Hyssington (English Township: Mucklewick)
  • English parish: Lydham (Welsh Township: Aston)
  • English parish: Mainstone (Welsh Township: Castlewright)[30]
  • Welsh parish: Snead (Extends into England encompassing a area no less than a few fields)
  • English parish: Brampton Bryan (Welsh Township: Stanage)
  • Welsh parish: Cascob (English township:Part of Litton and Cascob)
  • Welsh parish:Presteigne(English townships: Combe; Kinsham; part of

Litton and Cascob; Rodd, Nash and Little Brampton; Stapleton; and Willey)[31]

Monmouthshire[edit]

Main article:Monmouthshire (historic)

Although Monmouthshire was included in the 16th century legislation, it was treated anomalously, with the result that its legal status as a Welsh county fell into some ambiguity and doubt until the 20th century.[32]It was omitted from the second Act of Union, which established theCourt of Great Sessions,and like English shires it was given twoKnights of the Shire,rather than one as elsewhere in Wales. However, in ecclesiastical terms, almost all of the county remained within theDiocese of Llandaff,and most of its residents at the time spokeWelsh.In the late 17th century underCharles IIit was added to the Oxford circuit of theEnglish Assizes,following which, according to the1911 Encyclopædia Britannica,it gradually "came to be regarded as an English county".[33]Under that interpretation, the boundary between England and Wales passed down theRhymney valley,along Monmouthshire's western borders with Brecknockshire and Glamorgan, so includingNewport,and other industrialised parts of what would now generally be considered to beSouth Wales,within England.[citation needed]

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica unambiguously described the county as part of England, but noted that "whenever an act [...] is intended to apply to [Wales] alone, then Wales is always coupled with Monmouthshire". Some legislation and UK government decisions, such as the establishment of a "Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire" in 1908,[34]referred to "Wales and Monmouthshire", so that it was treated as one with Wales rather than as a legal part of Wales. The county's status continued to be a matter of debate in Parliament, especially as Welsh nationalism and devolution climbed the political agenda in the 20th century. In 1921 the area was included within theChurch in Wales.TheWelsh Office,established in 1965, included Monmouthshire within its remit, and in 1969George Thomas,Secretary of State for Wales,proposed to fully incorporate Monmouthshire into Wales. The issue was finally clarified in law by theLocal Government Act 1972,[32]which provided that "in every act passed on or after 1 April 1974, and in every instrument made on or after that date under any enactment (whether before, on or after that date)" Wales ", subject to any alterations of boundaries..." included "the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the county borough of Newport".[35]The legal boundary between England and Wales therefore passes along Monmouthshire's eastern boundaries withHerefordshireandGloucestershire,essentially along theRiver MonnowandRiver Wye.

The border today[edit]

English and Welsh boundaries[edit]

Main article:Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542
Lookingsouthwesttowards theBristol Channelwith England on the left and Wales on the right. TheSecond Severn Crossingis in the distance.
TheSevern Bridgeis in the foreground.

The firstlegislation applying solely to Walessince the 16th century was passed in 1881. Subsequently, the border between England and Wales has taken on increasing legal and political significance.

Until theWelsh Disestablishmentin 1920, theDiocese of St Asaphincluded parts of north-west Shropshire. The parishes transferred to the Diocese of Lichfield were: Criftins, Hengoed, Kinnerley, Knockin, Llanyblodwell, Llanymynech, Melverley, Morton, Oswestry, St Martins, Selattyn, Trefonen, Weston Rhyn and Whittington.[citation needed]

In 1965, a separate government department, theWelsh Office,was established for Wales, and it assumed an increasing range of administrative responsibilities.[36]By 1992, the Welsh Office oversawhousing,local government,roads, historic buildings,health,education,economic development,agriculture,fisheriesandurban regeneration,[36]although the extent to which it was able to be autonomous from England inpublic policyis a matter of debate.[37]

The establishment ofdevolved governmentin Wales through theWelsh Assembly,set up in 1999, has led to a divergence between England and Wales on some government policies. For example,prescription chargeswere abolished in Wales in 2007.[38]In 2008, residents of the village ofAudlem,Cheshire, 9 miles (14 km) from the border, "voted" to become part of Wales in what was originally a joke ballot. Some residents sought to make a case for securing Welsh benefits such as free hospital parking and prescriptions.[39]The modern border lies between the town ofKnightonand its railway station, and divides the village ofLlanymynechwhere apubstraddles the line. Knighton is the only town that can claim to be on the border as well as onOffa's Dyke.The postal and ecclesiastical borders are in places slightly different – for example the Shropshire village ofChirburyhasMontgomery,as itspost town,and the Welsh town ofPresteigneis in the EnglishDiocese of Hereford.

National League Northfootball clubChester F.C.'s ground atDeva Stadiumstraddles the border, with the car park and some of the offices in England but the pitch in Wales. In the 2021–22 season, the club was threatened with legal action for failing to apply theCOVID-19 regulations applying in Walesand allowing crowds to attend matches at the ground.[40]

A competition was launched in 2005 to design one or more new iconic images, along the same lines as the "Angel of the North",to be placed at the borders of Wales.[41]This became known as the "Landmark Wales" project, and a shortlist of 15 proposals was unveiled in 2007.[42][43]However, the proposal was shelved after it failed to receiveLotteryfunding.[44]

The main road links over the border in the south are theM4Second Severn Crossingand theM48Severn Bridge.[45][46] In July 2017, theWelsh Secretary,Alun Cairns,announced that tolls would be abolished at the end of 2018, claiming that this would boost theSouth Waleseconomy by around £100m a year.[47]In September 2017, Cairns confirmed that tolls would be reduced in January 2018 whenVATwas removed.[48]All tolls ceased on 17 December 2018.[49]

Place names[edit]

Map to show proportion ofWelshspeakers in Wales according to the 2021 census[50]

In general,placenames of Welsh originare found to the west of the border, and those of English origin to the east. However, many historically Welsh names are also found east of the border, particularly aroundOswestry[51]in northern Shropshire, such asGobowenandTrefonen;in southern Shropshire, such asClun;and in southern Herefordshire, such asKilpeckandPontrilas.[52]Most of these areas were not incorporated fully into England until the 16th century,[53]and native Welsh speakers still lived there until at least the 19th century.[54]Equally, placenames of English origin can be found on the Welsh side of the border where there was Mercian and Norman settlement, particularly in the north east, such asFlint,WrexhamandPrestatyn;inEnglish Maelor,such asOverton;in central Powys, such asNewtownandKnighton;and in southeastern Monmouthshire, includingChepstowandShirenewton.[55]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Flint, Maelor Saesneg and Hawarden are administered by Cheshire
  2. ^a power in England which was akin to a separate country, with its own legal system and courts, and an almost independent government

References[edit]

  1. ^"Crossing the border: road and rail links between England and Wales - Welsh Affairs Committee".Parliament of the United Kingdom.6 March 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 25 March 2017.Retrieved25 March2017.
  2. ^"The Countries of the UK".Office for National Statistics.6 April 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 5 January 2016.Retrieved31 March2013.
  3. ^"'Urgent clarification' over Wales stamp duty tax call ".BBC.21 January 2017.Retrieved12 May2017.
  4. ^Forde-Johnston, J. (1976).Hillforts of the Iron Age in England and Wales: A Survey of the Surface Evidence.Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
  5. ^abcdefghiDavies, John (1993).A History of Wales.Penguin.ISBN0-14-028475-3.
  6. ^abcdRowley, Trevor (1986).The Welsh Border – archaeology, history and landscape.Tempus Publishing.ISBN0-7524-1917-X.
  7. ^Mansfield, R. J. (1964).Forest Story.The Forest of Dean Newspaper.ASINB0006F5DCE.
  8. ^abHill, David; Worthington, Margaret (2003).Offa's Dyke – history and guide.Tempus Publishing.ISBN0-7524-1958-7.
  9. ^Bapty, Ian."The Final Word on Offa's Dyke? Review ofOffa's Dyke: History and Guide,by David Hill and Margaret Worthington ".Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust. Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved18 May2012.
  10. ^"Map showing the relationship between the modern Anglo-Welsh border... | Download Scientific Diagram".
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Further reading[edit]

  • Quinault, Roland (2014). "Unofficial Frontiers: Welsh-English Borderlands in the Victorian Period".Borderlands in World History, 1700–1914.Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 279–292.ISBN978-1-137-32058-2.
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