Cardiganshire County Council was the local government authority for the county of

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, between 1889 and 1974. It was superseded by

Dyfed County Council Dyfed County Council () was the county council of the county of Dyfed in south west Wales. It operated between 1974 and 1996. The county council was based at County Hall, Carmarthen. History Dyfed County Council was created on 1 April 1974 und ...

Overview

The administrative county of Cardigan and its local authority, the Cardiganshire County Council was established in 1889 under the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

. The first elections were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

on 1 April 1974. The Ceredigion District Council operated between 1974 and 1996 as a district within the new

. As a result of the

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

, which came into force on 1 April 1996, a new unitary authority of

was established with boundaries identical to those of the previous county council.

Early history, 1889-1914

During the period, Liberal candidates won large majorities at each election and Conservative support was limited to some of the towns and areas where local gentry continued to gain some personal support. The leadership of the council was composed mainly of prosperous middle class tradesmen, professionals and nonconformist ministers.

1889 election

The first election was held in 1889 and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

held a large majority of the seats down to the First World War, reflecting its dominance over the politics of the county. The first meeting of the council was a notable watershed, as Morgan Evans of Oakford proposed that in fairness to the Welsh councillors business should be transacted in Welsh as well as in English. He proceeded to propose the Aberystwyth tradesmen Peter Jones, elected to represent rural Trefeurig as chair. The

Earl of Lisburne Earl of Lisburne is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Wilmot Vaughan, 4th Viscount Lisburne. He represented Cardiganshire and Berwick-upon-Tweed in the House of Commons and held minor governmental office. Not satisfi ...

seconded this proposal. Despite the fiery rhetoric at this initial election and at later contests, the Conservatives' willingness to accept the Liberal triumph was met in return with a tacit acceptance by the Liberals that the Conservatives be allocated a number of aldermanic seats. It was nearly ten years, however, before the council had a Conservative chairman: J.C. Harford of Falcondale, who was elected on a motion moved by Peter Jones. By the early years of the twentieth century much of the earlier enthusiasm had become dissipated and many members attended only a few meetings a year.

Offices

In the early years the county council held their meetings at

Lampeter Town Hall Lampeter Town Hall () is a municipal structure in the High Street, Lampeter, Wales. The town hall, which was the meeting place of Lampeter Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall in Lampeter, which was commi ...

. The county council established offices for county officials and their departments at the former town hall in Aberaeron in 1910 and it was not until 1950 that the council established a permanent base at

Swyddfa'r Sir is a Grade II listed former hotel, former main offices of Ceredigion County Council and former Magistrates Court building located in Aberystwyth, well known as the outside of the police station in the BBC Wales police television series '' Y Gwy ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

. Some departments, including the departments of the county surveyor and the county architect, remained at Aberaeron.

References

{{reflist History of Ceredigion County councils of Wales Former local authorities of Wales

Overview

Early history, 1889-1914

1889 election

Offices

See also

References