Editing Dyfed

{{For|the post-Roman and medieval petty kingdom|Kingdom of Dyfed}}
{{short description|Preserved county of Wales}}
{{Infobox historic subdivision |
|Name=                Dyfed
|HQ=                  [[County Hall, Carmarthen|County Hall]], [[Carmarthen]]
|Status=              Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–)  
|Origin=              [[Kingdom of Dyfed]]
|Start=               1974
|End=                 1996
|Government =         [[Dyfed County Council]]
|Replace=             [[Carmarthenshire]], [[Ceredigion]], [[Pembrokeshire]]<br />Preserved county of Dyfed
|Map=                 [[File:Dyfed Preserved County in Wales.svg|200px]]<br />''Dyfed shown as a preserved county since 2003''
|Arms=                [[File:Dyfed coa.png|150px|Arms of Dyfed County Council]]
|PopulationFirst=     316,369
|PopulationFirstYear= 1971
|PopulationSecond=    351,100 (estimate)
|PopulationSecondYear=1992 
|PopulationLast=      385,094<ref name="ONS preserved counties population">{{cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/mid2022populationestimatesbylieutenancyareas/1997lieutenancyarea2022estimatesfinal.xlsx |title=Mid-2022 population estimates by Lieutenancy areas (as at 1997) for England and Wales |date=24 May 2024 |website=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 May 2024}}</ref> ([[Preserved counties of Wales#Lists of Preserved Counties|5th]])
|PopulationLastYear=  2022
|AreaFirst=           5,766&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>
|AreaFirstYear=       1974
|AreaLast=            5,774 km<sup>2</sup> ([[Preserved counties of Wales#Lists of Preserved Counties|1st]])
|AreaLastYear=        2022
}}

'''Dyfed''' ({{IPA|cy|ˈdəvɛd}}) is a [[Preserved counties of Wales|preserved county]] in southwestern [[Wales]], covering the [[Principal areas of Wales|modern counties]] [[Carmarthenshire]], [[Ceredigion]] and [[Pembrokeshire]]. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the [[Irish Sea]] and the [[Bristol Channel]]. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was an [[History of local government in Wales|administrative county of Wales]], with [[Dyfed County Council|its council]] based at [[Carmarthen]]. Dyfed continues to give name to public services including [[Dyfed-Powys Police]] and [[Dyfed Telecom]].

==Etymology==
{{See also|Demetae}}
The name Dyfed is an ancient one, appearing in the [[Mabinogion]] with a history predating that work. It is derived from [[Demetae]] (the [[Iron Age]] tribe that inhabited the area), with this tribal name deriving from a [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] element related to the [[Welsh language]] word ''defaid'' (sheep) as well as the [[Common Brittonic]] word ''defod'' (wealth, property or riches).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baxter |first1=William |title=Quasi regio ovibus pascendis apt |journal=Cambrian Register |volume=2 |pages=61–65}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baxter|first1=Mr|title=The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Reportage|journal=The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Reportage|date=1832|volume=4|page=401|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6M2AAAAMAAJ&dq=defaid&pg=PA401}}</ref> This suggests that the area that became Dyfed was noted for the cultivation of sheep from ancient times, and that this was associated with great wealth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Southey |first1=Thomas |title=Observations addressed to the Wool Growers of Australia and Tasmania respecting Improvements in the Breed of Sheep preparing and assorting Wools & c also on the Introduction of other laniferous lanigerous Animals suited to their Climate and Localities and recommended for their Adoption By Thomas Southey Wool Broker 2d edit London Redford and Robins London Road Southwark 1831 |journal=Cambrian and Caledonian Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repertory |date=1832 |volume=4 |pages=401–402 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6M2AAAAMAAJ&dq=defaid&pg=PA401 |publisher=proprietors |language=en}}</ref> The name persisted in the [[Sub-Roman Britain|post-Roman]] [[Kingdom of Dyfed]] (clearly a continuation of this pre-Roman [[etymon]]) and even survived the [[Norman conquest of Wales]] and the introduction of the [[Historic counties of Wales|Shire system]], with [[Thomas Morgan (Afanwyson)|Thomas Morgan]] noting that the Welsh inhabitants of [[Pembrokeshire]] still referred to the area as ''Dyfed'' in the nineteenth century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Thomas |title=Handbook of the Origin of Place-names in Wales and Monmouthshire |date=1887 |publisher=H.W. Southey |page=29 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookoriginp00morggoog/page/n37/mode/2up?q=dyfed}}</ref>

==History==
Dyfed is a [[Preserved counties of Wales|preserved county]] of [[Wales]]. It was originally created as an administrative county council on 1 April 1974 under the terms of the [[Local Government Act 1972]], and covered approximately the same geographic extent as the ancient Principality of [[Deheubarth]], although excluding the [[Gower Peninsula]] and the area west of the [[River Tawe]].

Dyfed County Council was abolished on 1 April 1996, when the three [[Historic counties of Wales|historic counties]] were reinstated for administrative purposes with Cardiganshire being renamed ''[[Ceredigion]]'' on the following day. The name "Dyfed" remains used for some ceremonial and administrative purposes.

{| class="wikitable"
!Administrative county<br />1889–1974
!Local government districts<br />1974–1996
|-
|[[Ceredigion|Cardiganshire]]
|[[Ceredigion]]
|-
|[[Carmarthenshire]]
|[[Carmarthen (district)|Carmarthen]], [[Dinefwr Borough Council|Dinefwr]], [[Llanelli (district)|Llanelli]]
|-
|[[Pembrokeshire]]
|[[Preseli Pembrokeshire|Preseli]] (renamed to Preseli Pembrokeshire in 1987), [[South Pembrokeshire]]
|}

==Headquarters==
The administrative headquarters of [[Dyfed County Council]] was [[Carmarthen]], whilst the largest settlement was [[Llanelli]]. Other significant centres of population included [[Haverfordwest]], [[Milford Haven]] and [[Aberystwyth]].<ref name=Archives>{{cite web |url=http://www.archiveswales.org.uk/anw/get_collection.php?inst_id=30&coll_id=1522&expand= |title=Dyfed County Council Records |publisher=Carmarthenshire Archive Service |access-date=1 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523122839/http://www.archiveswales.org.uk/anw/get_collection.php?inst_id=30&coll_id=1522&expand= |archive-date=23 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Continued use of name==
The name Dyfed was retained for such purely ceremonial purposes as the Lord Lieutenancy and in the name of some regional bodies such as [[Dyfed–Powys Police]], Dyfed Telecom,<ref name=1994Act>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/19/contents |title=Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 |work=The National Archives |publisher=legislation,gov.uk |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> and Dyfed Digital,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.onlinefilings.co.uk/company/profile/14861401-dyfed-digital-ltd/ | title=Company Information for Dyfed Digital LTD.. Registered as 14861401 }}</ref> but some databases, including that of the [[Royal Mail]], continued its use at least until 2008, causing confusion in online commerce.<ref>{{cite news|work=Wales online|date=6 February 2008|author=Clark, Rhodri|title=1996 passed by for databases that still believe there's a Dyfed|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/1996-passed-databases-still-believe-2194258|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

==Geography==
Dyfed has a long coast on the Irish Sea to the west and the [[Bristol Channel]] to the south. It is bounded by the preserved counties of [[Gwynedd]] to the north, [[Powys]] to the east and [[West Glamorgan]] to the southeast.

[[Ceredigion]], the northernmost part of Dyfed, has a narrow coastal strip and the [[Cambrian Mountains]] cover much of the east of the county. The highest point is [[Plynlimon]] at {{convert|752|m|ft}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=d54f8dd9-afd2-483f-a48f-283007c9a502&cp=52.464539~-3.791991&lvl=15&style=s&imgid=30c54e80-6fd9-4f5b-a820-a310a5b3bb6d&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027|title = Maps}}</ref> on the slopes of which five rivers have their sources: the [[River Severn|Severn]], the [[River Wye|Wye]], the [[River Dulas|Dulas]], the [[Afon Llyfnant|Llyfnant]] and the [[Afon Rheidol|Rheidol]], the first two of which flow eastwards into England and the last three of which flow westwards to the Irish Sea. Further south in Ceredigion the land is less mountainous, and the [[River Teifi]] forms the border with Carmarthenshire for part of its length.<ref name=Atlas>{{cite book |title=Atlas of the World |last=Philip's |year=1994 |publisher=Reed International |isbn=0-540-05831-9 |pages=16–17 }}</ref>

Carmarthenshire, the southeastern part of Dyfed, is mostly hilly, except for the river valleys and coastal strip. [[Fforest Fawr]] and [[Black Mountain (range)|Black Mountain]] extend into the east of Carmarthenshire and the [[Cambrian Mountains]] into the north. The highest point in Carmarthenshire is [[Fan Foel]], {{convert|781|m|ft}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=76d1b025-89df-4a76-9dc5-5a174488f6b1&cp=51.88197~-3.710071&lvl=16&style=s&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027|title=Maps}}</ref> on the border with Powys. The [[River Towy]] is the largest river and drains into the Bristol Channel, as do  the [[River Loughor]], the [[River Gwendraeth]] and the [[River Taf]]. Carmarthenshire has a long coastline which is deeply cut by the estuaries of the Loughor, Gwendraeth, Tywi and Taf. The south coast has many fishing villages and sandy beaches and the eastern part around [[Llanelli]] and [[Burry Port]] is more industrial.<ref name=Atlas/>

Pembrokeshire, the southwestern part of Dyfed, juts out into the Irish Sea and has a long, much indented, coastline. It does not have the mountains found in other parts of Dyfed but much of the interior is still hilly. In the north are the [[Preseli Hills]] (Mynydd Preseli), a wide stretch of high [[moorland]]. The highest point in the Preseli Hills is [[Foel Cwmcerwyn]] at {{convert|536|m|ft}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=7fec71c1-8601-42cb-b23a-f43758c830d8&cp=51.94568~-4.778182&lvl=16&style=s&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027|title=Maps}}</ref> and this is the highest point in Pembrokeshire. The largest river is the [[River Cleddau]] which has two main branches which join to form the Daugleddau estuary, which forms the important harbour of Milford Haven which enters the sea at the southwestern corner of the county. The areas around the River Cleddau are mainly level, low-lying land with many inlets and creeks. The coastline of Pembrokeshire has cliffs in places, and numerous [[bay]]s and sandy beaches.<ref name=Atlas/> The county contains the [[Pembrokeshire Coast National Park]], which contains the {{convert|186|mi|km|0|abbr=off|adj=on}} walking trail, the [[Pembrokeshire Coast Path]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/trail.asp?PageId=33 |title=Pembrokeshire Coast Path |publisher=Nationaltrail.co.uk. |access-date=1 May 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817224247/http://nationaltrail.co.uk/trail.asp?PageId=33 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1973 Dyfed County Council election]]
* [[1977 Dyfed County Council election]]
* [[Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed|List of Lord Lieutenants of Dyfed]]
* [[High Sheriff of Dyfed|List of High Sheriffs of Dyfed]]

== References ==
<references />

{{Wales preserved counties}}

{{coord|51.94|-4.51|display=title}}

[[Category:Dyfed| ]]
[[Category:Preserved counties of Wales]]