(Welsh Giedad Morgan), a maritime county of South Wales, bounded on the N. by Brecknock, on the N.W. by Caermarthen, on the W. and S. by the Bristol Channel, and on the E. by the county of Monmouth. Its greatest length from east to west is about 53 miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south about 29 miles.

Glamorgan, with the exception of some flat tracts on the borders of the Bristol Channel, consists of a succession of hills and valleys, the general character of the country becoming more mountainous as we proceed inland, until on the borders of Brecknock the surface is "a sea of hills." None of the mountains rise to a great height, the most lofty—Llangeinor—being only 1859 feet. Although the mountains are not lofty, yet, owing to their fine bold forms, the scenery of this county is marked by considerable grandeur and great beauty. The lower parts of the country are richly wooded, but the timber generally is of small size.

The valleys of Glamorgan have long been famous for their great beauty, and the charming scenery they contain. The vale of Glamorgan has been called with truth the garden of Wales; and here the climate is so mild that the myrtle and many other tender plants flourish luxuriantly in the open air. The Vale of Neath has long been known to tourists as the waterfall district of South Wales; and although the finest of these are at the upper end of the valley in the county of Brecon, still the Glamorgan part of the valley can boast of some well worthy of a visit. The Swansea valley also contains some pieces of fine scenery. and is throughout marked by great beauty. Besides these, the principal valleys are the Rhymney, the Taff, the Rhondda, and the Llwehwr.

The rivers of Glamorgan are mostly unimportant streams. The chief are the Rhymney, in the vale of that name, forming the county boundary on the east; the Ogwr, which flows into the Bristol Channel at Bridgend; the Taff, which forms the important harbour of Cardiff; the Neath and the Tawe, which both discharge their waters into Swansea Bay; and the Llwehwr, which forms the county boundary on the west, and, falling into Caermarthen Bay, forms the estuary known as the Burry river, on which the thriving town of Llanelli is situated.

The chief geological feature of Glamorgan is the coal measures, which extend nearly over the whole county, and are bounded by a narrow band of millstone grit (the "Farewell Rock" of the miners), and mountain limestone, nearly coincident with the county boundary on the north. In the extreme south and south-west, the Devonian, the magnesian limestone, and the lias show themselves.

The climate is mild, and the plains on the coast, as well as the inland valleys, are very fertile. Agriculture, although better than in some of the other Welsh counties, is still in a backward state, and much remains to be done to bring it to that condition which the soil and the climate would warrant. The farms are seldom large, and the buildings but little suited to "high farming." The crops chiefly raised are wheat, beans and peas, oats, barley, vetches, turnips, and potatoes. The cattle of the county are numerous and of good quality, and great numbers of sheep and ponies are reared in the more mountainous parts.

The industry of Glamorgan is chiefly applied to its coal and iron mines, which are of immense extent; indeed the whole county may be said to be a gigantic coal and iron mine. It is to this that it owes its pre-eminence as the most important of all the Welsh counties. In the neighbourhood of Merthyr Tydfil the iron works are carried on on a scale seldom surpassed; and within a short circuit there are upwards of sixty blast furnaces, employing many thousands of workmen, some of the largest works having from 4000 to 6000 persons engaged in them. Vast quantities of coal and iron are annually exported; and Cardiff, which a few years ago was a small and unimportant town, is gradually becoming one of the most important shipping ports in the Bristol Channel, solely from the great export of minerals and its excellent docks, erected by the late Marquis of Bute, who was also lord of the manor of some of the richest mineral fields.

Besides the coal and iron, a great trade is carried on with Cornwall for the melting of tin and copper ores. The tin is used for the production of tinned iron, and the copper ore is smelted chiefly at Swansea, where there are some of the most extensive copper works in the kingdom.

Glamorgan possesses many ancient ruins of castles, and has been from remote times a district of great importance. It has also some fine cromlechs and other old British remains; and the Sarn Helen, an ancient Roman road, traverses the county. The district to the south of Swansea is called Gower, and is famed for the beauty of its coast scenery, as well as for its people, who are descendants of Flemings, planted here by Henry I., and who retain many characteristics pointing them out as a wholly distinct race from the Welsh, with whom they intermingle but little.

Glamorgan is well supplied with means of transport, for besides its ports, it has four railways and a canal, and numerous tramways.

The county is divided into 128 parishes and 10 hundreds, and is situated in the diocese of Llandaff.

In 1847, the number of day schools was 327, with 15,674 scholars. The number of Sunday schools was 381, of which 92 were Church of England, with 5908 scholars; 92 Calvinistic Methodists, with 8626 scholars; 101 Independents, with 10,188 scholars; 61 Baptists, with 5610 scholars; 21 Wesleyans, with 1709 scholars; 14 other denominations, with 1472 scholars. In the Sunday schools, the proportion per cent. in which Welsh and English were used as the language was as follows:—English, 29·7; Welsh, 34·5; both languages, 35·8. English is much used by the people, except in the remote agricultural districts.

| Population | Increase | Per Cent. | |------------|----------|-----------| | 1831 | 126,612 | Between 1831 & 1841..... 35 | | 1841 | 171,188 | 1841 & 1851..... 35 | | 1851 | Males... 129,748 | Females 111,101 | | | 231,849 | In 50 years............ 223 | | | Annual rate........... 2·38 |

Area in square miles, 856; in statute acres, 547,494. Pop. to a square mile, 268 persons, or 51 houses.

The county returns two members to parliament; the borough of Merthyr Tydfil, one; the Cardiff district of boroughs, one; and the Swansea district of boroughs, one. Total, five. Annual value of real property assessed to property-tax, 1850-1, £850,440.

Principal Towns with their Population in 1851.

| Town | Population | |---------------|------------| | Aberavon* | 6,567 | | Llonghau* | 821 | | Cardiff† | 18,351 | | Merthyr Tydfil| 63,080 | | Cowbridge | 1,068 | | Neath* | 5,841 | | Kenfig* | 433 | | Swansea* | 31,461 | | Llantrisant† | 1,007 |

* Contributory to Swansea parliamentary district of boroughs

† Contributory to Cardiff parliamentary district of boroughs