Portal:Wales

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Wales (Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] ^ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. , it had a population of 3,107,494. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. The capital and largest city is Cardiff.

A distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was briefly united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led the Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament (Welsh: senedd). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by David Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters. (Full article...)

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The modern system of county courts in Wales and England dates from the County Courts Act 1846, which received Royal Assent on 28 August 1846 and was brought into force on 15 March 1847. Wales and England (with the exception of the City of London, which was outside the scope of the Act) were divided into sixty circuits, with a total of 491 courts. Four of these circuits were wholly in Wales, as were 46 of these courts. A further seven courts were located in Monmouthshire (which had at the time an ambiguous status and was sometimes treated as being part of England) and these seven courts were part of a circuit for Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. One county court judge was appointed to each circuit, assisted by one or more registrars with some limited judicial powers, and would travel between the courts in his area as necessary, sitting in each court at least once a month. Few permanent courts were needed initially, given the infrequency of court hearings, and temporary accommodation such as a town hall would often be used where there was no existing courthouse for use.

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Maesyronnen Chapel, situated about 1 mile north of the village of Glasbury, Powys, is one of the earliest Nonconformist chapels to be built in Wales. Built shortly after the Act of Toleration of 1689, which granted Nonconformists freedom to worship in their own buildings, it is the only chapel existing from that time to be largely unchanged and still in use as a chapel.

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Did you know...?

... that Richard Summers, Edward Peake, Godfrey Darbishire and Richard Williams were all single cap Wales rugby union players after the team was humiliated by England in its first international match?
... that when Scottish poet Hugh MacDiarmid was found plagiarising the work of Welsh author Glyn Jones, he claimed he had a photographic memory and had copied his work unconsciously?
... that the Banc Ty'nddôl sun-disc, a gold ornament discovered at Cwmystwyth, is over 4,000 years old, making it the earliest gold artifact discovered in Wales?
... that 'The Ghost with the Hammer in his Hand', with more than ninety knock-outs, was one of the greatest Welsh boxers?

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Llywelyn the Great (Welsh Llywelyn Fawr) was a Prince of Gwynedd in North Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales. By a combination of war and diplomacy he dominated Wales for forty years, and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called 'the Great'. During Llywelyn's boyhood Gwynedd was ruled by two of his uncles, who had agreed to split the kingdom between them following the death of Llywelyn's grandfather, Owain Gwynedd, in 1170. Llywelyn had a strong claim to be the legitimate ruler and began a campaign to win power at an early age. He was sole ruler of Gwynedd by 1200, and made a treaty with King John of England the same year. Llywelyn's relations with John remained good for the next ten years. He married John's illegitimate daughter Joan in 1205, and when John arrested Gwenwynwyn ab Owain of Powys in 1208 Llywelyn took the opportunity to annex southern Powys.

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In the news

Wikinews Wales portal

General images

The following are images from various Wales-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Facsimile of Part of Column 579 from the Red Book of Hergest (from Culture of Wales)
Image 2Gravestone of King Cadfan ap Iago of Gwynedd (died c. 625) in Llangadwaladr church (from History of Wales)
Image 3Owain Glyndŵr painting by AC Michael (from Culture of Wales)
Image 4King Hywel Dda depicted in a 13th-century manuscript (from History of Wales)
Image 5Red Dragon of Wales (from Culture of Wales)
Image 6Crempog - Anglesey style (from Culture of Wales)
Image 7Island of Britain in AD 500. (from History of Wales)
Image 8Two of the furnaces of the Blaenavon Ironworks (from History of Wales)
Image 9Caradog by Thomas Prydderch. Caradog led multiple celtic tribes against the Romans. (from History of Wales)
Image 10Tom Jones performing with Janis Joplin in 1969 (from Culture of Wales)
Image 11'The Welsh at Mametz Wood' painted by Christopher Williams, commissioned by Secretary of State for War at the time, David Lloyd George. (from History of Wales)
Image 12Senedd-Welsh Parliament, Cardiff Bay. (from History of Wales)
Image 13Offa's Dyke (Clawdd Offa) Map. (from History of Wales)
Image 14The Flag of Saint David (from Culture of Wales)
Image 15Harlech Castle was one of a series built by Edward I to consolidate his conquest. (from History of Wales)
Image 16Roman invasion of Wales. (from History of Wales)
Image 17Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1910) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 18Medieval crwth instrument (from Culture of Wales)
Image 19Portrait of William Morgan. (from History of Wales)
Image 20Medieval kingdoms of Wales shown within the boundaries of the present day country of Wales and not inclusive of all (from History of Wales)
Image 21Big Pit, National Coal Museum. (from History of Wales)
Image 22Owain Glyndŵr (from History of Wales)
Image 23The Bard, 1774, by Thomas Jones (1742–1803) (from Culture of Wales)
Image 24Cawl, a Welsh dish of meat and vegetables (from Culture of Wales)
Image 25Standard of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King of Powys 1063-1075. (from History of Wales)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Wales}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.