View source for Welsh Marches

{{Short description|Border region between Wales and England}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}

The '''Welsh Marches''' ({{langx|cy|Y Mers}}) is an imprecisely defined area along the [[Wales-England border|border]] between [[England]] and [[Wales]] in the [[United Kingdom]].  The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods.

The English term '''Welsh March''' (in [[Latin language|Medieval Latin]] '''''Marchia Walliae''''')<ref>Often rendered ''Marcia Wallie'' in documents.</ref> was originally used in the [[Middle Ages]] to denote the [[march (territorial entity)|marches]] between England and the [[Principality of Wales]], in which [[Marcher lord]]s had specific rights, exercised to some extent independently of the [[Kings of England|king of England]].  In modern usage, "the Marches" is often used to describe those English counties which lie along the border with Wales, particularly [[Shropshire]] and [[Herefordshire]], and sometimes adjoining areas of Wales. However, at one time the Marches included all of the historic counties of [[Cheshire]], Shropshire, Herefordshire, [[Worcestershire]] and [[Gloucestershire]].

== Etymology ==
The term ''March'' is from the 13th-century [[Middle English]] ''marche'' ("border region, frontier"). The term was borrowed from [[Old French]] ''marche'' ("limit, boundary"), itself borrowed from a [[Frankish language|Frankish]] term derived from [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*markō'' ("border, area"). The term is a [[Doublet (linguistics)|doublet]] of English ''mark'', and is [[cognate]] with German ''Mark'' ("boundary").<ref name="OEDmarch">{{cite web |title=march |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/march |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref> Cognates are found in the English [[toponym]]s "[[Mercia]]" and "[[Mersey]]", and in continental place-names containing ''mark'', such as "[[Denmark]]".

The term is distantly related to the verb ''march'', both ultimately derived from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*mereg-'', "edge" or "boundary".

== Origins: Mercia and the Welsh ==
[[Image:Offa's Dyke near Clun.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Offa's Dyke]] near [[Clun]] in Shropshire]]
After the decline and fall of the [[Roman Empire]] which occupied southern [[Roman Britain|Britain]] until about AD 410, the area which is now Wales comprised a number of separate [[Romano-British]] kingdoms, including [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]] in the east.  Over the next few centuries, the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Saxons]] and others gradually conquered and settled in eastern and southern Britain.  The kingdom of [[Mercia]], under [[Penda]], became established around [[Lichfield]], and initially established strong alliances with the [[List of rulers of Wales|Welsh kings]]. 

However, his successors sought to expand Mercia further westwards into what is now [[Cheshire]], Shropshire and [[Herefordshire]]. As the power of Mercia grew, a string of garrisoned [[market town]]s such as [[Shrewsbury]] and [[Hereford]] defined the borderlands as much as [[Offa's Dyke]], a stronger and longer boundary earthwork erected by order of [[Offa of Mercia]] between AD 757 and 796.  The Dyke still exists, and can best be seen at [[Knighton, Powys|Knighton]], close to [[Wales-England border|the modern border]] between England and Wales.<ref name=hill>David Hill and Margaret Worthington, ''Offa's Dyke – history and guide'', Tempus Publishing, 2003; {{ISBN|0-7524-1958-7}}</ref> Campaigns and raids from Powys led, possibly around about AD 820, to the building of [[Wat's Dyke]], a boundary earthwork extending from the [[River Severn|Severn]] valley near [[Oswestry]] to the [[Dee estuary]].<ref name=davies>John Davies, ''A History of Wales'', Penguin, 1993; {{ISBN|0-14-028475-3}}</ref><ref name=rowley>Trevor Rowley, ''The Welsh Border – archaeology, history and landscape'', Tempus Publishing, 1986; {{ISBN|0-7524-1917-X}}</ref> 

In the centuries which followed, Offa's Dyke largely remained the frontier between the Welsh and English. [[Æthelstan]], often seen as the first king of a united England, summoned the British kings to a meeting at Hereford in AD 926, and according to [[William of Malmesbury]] laid down the boundary between Wales and England, particularly the disputed southern stretch where he specified that the [[River Wye]] should form the boundary.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roderick |first1=A. J. |title=The feudal relation between the English crown and the Welsh princes |journal=The Journal of the Historical Association |date=1952 |volume=37 |issue=131 |pages=201–212 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1952.tb00238.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-229X.1952.tb00238.x |access-date=27 August 2020 |archive-date=27 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827111638/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-229X.1952.tb00238.x |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

By the mid-eleventh century, Wales was united under [[Gruffydd ap Llywelyn]] of [[Gwynedd]], until his death in 1063.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

== The Marches in the Middle Ages ==
Immediately after the [[Norman Conquest]], [[William the Conqueror|King William of England]] installed three of his most trusted confidants, [[Hugh d'Avranches]], [[Roger de Montgomerie]], and [[William FitzOsbern]], as [[Earl|Earls]] of Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford respectively, with responsibilities for containing and [[Norman invasion of Wales|subduing]] the [[Welsh people|Welsh]]. The process took a century and was never permanently effective.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.castlewales.com/norman.html|title=Norman Castles|website=www.castlewales.com|access-date=20 December 2008|archive-date=20 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220150732/http://www.castlewales.com/norman.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The term "March of Wales" was first used in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086. Over the next four centuries, Norman lords established mostly small [[marcher lord]]ships between the Dee and Severn, and further west.  Military adventurers went to Wales from [[Normandy]] and elsewhere and after raiding an area of Wales, then fortified it and granted land to some of their supporters.<ref name=lieberman>Max Lieberman, ''The March of Wales, 1067–1300: a borderland of medieval Britain'', University of Wales Press, 2008; {{ISBN|978-0-7083-2115-7}}</ref> 

One example was [[Bernard de Neufmarché]], responsible for conquering and pacifying the Welsh kingdom of [[Brycheiniog]]. The precise dates and means of formation of the lordships varied, as did their size.

[[File:Wales 14C Map.png|thumb|upright=1.75|Wales in the 14th Century showing Marcher Lordships]]
The March, or ''Marchia Wallie'', was to a greater or lesser extent independent of both the English monarchy and the [[Principality of Wales]] or ''Pura Wallia'', which remained based in [[Gwynedd in the High Middle Ages|Gwynedd]] in the north west of the country. By about AD 1100 the March covered the areas which would later become [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]] and much of [[Flintshire]], Montgomeryshire, [[Radnorshire]], Brecknockshire, [[Glamorgan]], Carmarthenshire and [[Pembrokeshire]].  Ultimately, this amounted to about two-thirds of Wales.<ref name=davies/><ref name=Davies>Davies, R. R., ''The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415'' (Oxford 1987, 2000 edition), pp. 271–88.</ref><ref name=courtney/>

During the period, the Marches were a frontier society in every sense, and a stamp was set on the region that lasted into the time of the Industrial Revolution.  Hundreds of small [[castles]] 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. The area still contains Britain's densest concentration of [[motte-and-bailey]] castles.  The Marcher lords encouraged immigration from all the Norman-Angevin realms, and encouraged trade from "fair haven" ports like [[Cardiff]].  Peasants went to Wales in large numbers: [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] encouraged [[Brittany|Bretons]], [[Flemings]], [[Normans]], and English settlers to move into the south of Wales. Many new towns were established, some such as [[Chepstow]], [[Monmouth]], [[Ludlow]] and [[Newtown, Powys|Newtown]] becoming successful trading centres, and these tended also to be a focus of English settlement. At the same time, the Welsh continued to attack English soil and supported rebellions against the Normans.<ref name=davies/>

The Norman lords each had similar rights to the Welsh princes.  Each owed personal allegiance, as subjects, to the English king whom they were bound to support in times of war, but their lands were exempt from royal taxation and they possessed rights which elsewhere were reserved to the crown, such as the rights to create forests, markets and boroughs.<ref name=courtney>Paul Courtney, ''The Marcher Lordships: Origins, Descent and Organization'', in ''The Gwent County History Vol. 2'', University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 2008; {{ISBN|978-0-7083-2072-3}}</ref> 

The lordships were geographically compact and jurisdictionally separate one from another, and their privileges differentiated them from English lordships. Marcher lords ruled their lands by their own law—''sicut regale'' ("like unto a king") as [[Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester]] stated<ref name=nelson>Nelson, Lynn H., 1966. ''[http://www.ku.edu/carrie/texts/carrie_books/nelson/index.html ''The Normans in South Wales''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050410235306/http://www.ku.edu/carrie/texts/carrie_books/nelson/index.html |date=10 April 2005 }}, 1070–1171'' (Austin and London: University of Texas Press)</ref> — whereas in England fief-holders were directly accountable to the king. The crown's powers in the Marches were normally limited to those periods when the king held a lordship in its own hands, such as when it was forfeited for treason or on the death of the lord without a legitimate heir whereupon the title reverted to the Crown in [[escheat]]. At the top of a culturally diverse, intensely feudalised and local society, the Marcher barons combined the authority of [[feudal]] lord and vassal of the King among their Normans, and of supplanting the traditional ''[[tywysog]]'' among their conquered Welsh. However, [[Cyfraith Hywel|Welsh law]] was sometimes used in the Marches in preference to English law, and there were disputes as to which code should be used to decide a particular case. From this developed the distinctive [[March law (Wales)|March law]].<ref name=davies/><ref name=rowley/><ref name=nelson/>

The ''[[Statute of Rhuddlan]]'' in 1284 followed the [[Conquest of Wales by Edward I|conquest of the Principality]] by [[Edward 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 the Crown, and established shire counties on the English model over those areas. The Marcher Lords were progressively tied to the English kings by the grants of lands and lordships in England, where control was stricter, and where many marcher lords spent most of their time, and through the English kings' dynastic alliances with the great magnates. The [[Council of Wales and the Marches]], administered from [[Ludlow Castle]], was initially established in 1472 by [[Edward IV of England]] to govern the lands held under the Principality of Wales which had become directly administered by the English crown following the [[Conquest of Wales by Edward I|Edwardian conquest of Wales]] in the 13th century.<ref name=EnglishLaw>William Searle Holdsworth, ''A History of English Law'', Little, Brown, and Company, 1912, pg. 502</ref>

==The end of Marcher powers{{anchor|Marches in Wales Act 1534}}==
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Marches in Wales Act 1534
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of England
| long_title            = An Act that Murthers and Felonies done or committed within any Lordship Marcher in Wales, shall be inquired of at the Sessions holden within the Shire Grounds next adjoining; with many goods Orders for Ministration of Justice there to be had.
| year                  = 1534
| citation              = [[26 Hen. 8]]. c. 6
| territorial_extent    = [[England and Wales]] 
| royal_assent          = 18 December 1534
| commencement          = 3 November 1534{{efn|Start of session.}}
| repeal_date           = 21 July 1856
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856]] 
| related_legislation   = {{ubli|[[Laws in Wales Act 1535]]|[[Laws in Wales Act 1542]]}}
| status                = Repealed 
| original_text         = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915533&view=1up&seq=556 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
By the 16th century, many marcher lordships had passed into the hands of the crown, as the result of the accessions of [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]], who was previously [[Duke of Lancaster]], and [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]], the heir of the [[Earl of March|Earls of March]]; of the [[attainder]] of other lords during the [[Wars of the Roses]]; and of other events.  The crown was also directly responsible for the government of the Principality of Wales, which had its own institutions and was, like England, divided into counties. The jurisdiction of the remaining marcher lords was therefore seen as an anomaly, and their independence from the crown enabled criminals from England to evade justice by moving into the area and claiming "marcher liberties".{{cn|date=September 2022}}

Under the ''[[Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542]]'' introduced under [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]], the jurisdiction of the marcher lords was abolished in 1536. The acts had the effect of annexing Wales with [[Kingdom of England|England]] and creating a single state and legal [[jurisdiction]], commonly referred to as [[England and Wales]]. The powers of the marcher lordships were abolished, and their areas were organised into the new Welsh counties of [[Denbighshire]], Montgomeryshire, [[Radnorshire]], Brecknockshire, [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]], and [[Carmarthenshire]]. The counties of [[Pembrokeshire]] and [[Glamorgan]] were created by adding other districts to existing lordships. In place of [[assize courts]] of England, there were [[Court of Great Sessions in Wales|Courts of Great Sessions]]. These administered English law, in contrast with the marcher lordships, which had administered Welsh law for their Welsh subjects. Some lordships were added to adjoining English counties: [[Ludlow]], [[Clun]], [[Caus Castle|Caus]] and part of [[Montgomery, Powys|Montgomery]] were incorporated into Shropshire; [[Wigmore, Herefordshire|Wigmore]], [[Huntington, Kington|Huntington]], [[Clifford, Herefordshire|Clifford]] and most of [[Ewyas]] were included in Herefordshire; and that part of [[Chepstow]] east of the [[River Wye]] was included in [[Gloucestershire]].<ref name=davies/>

The Council of Wales, based at [[Ludlow Castle]], was reconstituted as the [[Council of Wales and the Marches]], with statutory responsibilities for the whole of Wales together with, initially, [[Cheshire]], [[Shropshire]], [[Herefordshire]], [[Worcestershire]] and [[Gloucestershire]]. The [[City of Bristol]] was exempted in 1562, and Cheshire in 1569.<ref name=wjec>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/history/wjec_unit_5/the_council_of_Wales_and_the_marches.doc |title=Welsh Joint Education Committee: The Council of Wales and the Marches |access-date=20 December 2008 |archive-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304184502/http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/history/wjec_unit_5/the_council_of_Wales_and_the_marches.doc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkevMXwRMXsC&q=%22Council+of+Wales+and+the+Marches%22&pg=PA160|title=This Realm of England; Monarchy, Aristocracy, Democracy|first=Sir John Arthur Ransome|last=Marriott|date=17 June 1938|publisher=Books for Libraries Press|isbn=9780836956115|via=Google Books|access-date=7 February 2016|archive-date=15 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515012112/https://books.google.com/books?id=lkevMXwRMXsC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=%22Council+of+Wales+and+the+Marches%22&source=web&ots=eQvS3p4P-7&sig=dnwfrTtd0Cl-GYBzIL4qR-GaTAQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA160,M1|url-status=live}}</ref> 

The Council was eventually abolished in 1689, following the "[[Glorious Revolution]]" which overthrew [[James II of England|James II]] (VII of Scotland) and established [[William III of England|William III]] (William of [[House of Orange-Nassau|Orange]]) as king.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

=== List of Marcher lordships and successor shires ===
{{See also|List of Marcher lordships}}
{{Image label begin|width=305|image=WelshMarchesMap.png|float=right}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.460|y=0.480|text='''● [[Chester]]'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.470|y=0.570|text='''● [[Shrewsbury]]'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.450|y=0.530|text='''● [[Oswestry]]'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.470|y=0.610|text='''● [[Ludlow]]'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.460|y=0.685|text='''● [[Hereford]]'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.530|y=0.730|text='''● [[Gloucester]]'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.270|y=0.500|text='''[[Wrexham]] ●'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.220|y=0.575|text='''[[Welshpool]] ●'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.280|y=0.730|text='''[[Monmouth]] ●'''}}
{{Image label small|scale=305|x=0.050|y=1.130|text='''Map illustrating the [[Historic counties of Wales|traditional counties]] considered to form the "Welsh Marches"'''}}
{{Image label end}}
{{clear}}
List of Marcher lordships and successor shires:<ref name=lieberman/>
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
*'''Flintshire'''
:[[Flint, Flintshire|Flint]]
:[[Hawarden]]
:[[Hope, Flintshire|Hopedale]]
:[[Maelor|Maelor Saesneg]]
:[[Mold, Flintshire|Mold]]
*'''Denbighshire'''
:[[Powys Fadog|Bromfield and Yale]]
:[[Chirkland]]
:[[Lordship of Denbigh|Denbigh]]
:[[Ruthin]] ([[Dyffryn Clwyd]])
*'''Montgomeryshire'''
:[[Caus Castle|Caus]] (part)
:[[Bettws Cedewain|Cedewain]]
:[[Kerry, Powys|Ceri]]
:[[Montgomery, Powys|Montgomery]] (part)
:[[Powys Wenwynwyn|Powys]]
{{col-break}}
*'''Radnorshire'''
:[[Cwmdauddwr|Cwmwd Deuddor]]
:[[Elfael]]
:[[Glasbury]]
:[[Gwrtheyrnion]]
:[[Maelienydd]]
:[[New Radnor|Radnor]]
*'''Brecknockshire'''
:[[Blaenllyfni castle|Blaenllyfni]]
:[[Brecon]]
:[[Builth Wells|Builth]]
:[[Hay-on-Wye|Hay]]
*'''Monmouthshire'''
:[[Abergavenny]]
:[[Caerleon]]
:[[Chepstow]] (part)
:[[Ewyas|Ewyas Lacy]] (part)
:[[Gwynllwg]] (Wentloog)
:[[Monmouth]]
:[[Usk]]
{{col-break}}
*'''Glamorgan'''
:[[Lordship of Glamorgan]]
:[[Lordship of Gower]]
*'''Carmarthenshire'''
:[[Cantref Bychan]]
:[[Kidwelly]]
:[[Emlyn]]
:[[Llansteffan]]
:[[Laugharne]]
:[[St Clears]]
*'''Pembrokeshire'''
:[[Cemais (Dyfed cantref)|Cemais]]
:[[Cilgerran Hundred|Cilgerran]]
:[[Roose Hundred|Haverford]]
:[[Llawhaden]]
:[[Narberth (hundred)|Narberth]]
:[[Dewisland|Pebidiog]]
:[[Pembroke, Pembrokeshire|Pembroke]]
{{col-break}}
*'''Transferred to English shires'''
:[[Bishop's Castle]] ''(Shropshire)''
:Caus (part) ''(Shropshire)''
:Chepstow (part) ''(Gloucestershire)''
:[[Clifford, Herefordshire|Clifford]] ''(Herefordshire)''
:[[Clun]] ''(Shropshire)''
:Ewyas Lacy (part) ''(Herefordshire)''
:[[Kington, Herefordshire|Kington]] ''(Herefordshire)''
:[[Knighton, Powys|Knighton]] ''(partly in Shropshire)''
:[[Huntington, Kington|Huntington]] ''(Herefordshire)''
:Montgomery (part) ''(Shropshire)''
:[[Oswestry]] ''(Shropshire)''
:[[Whittington Castle|Whittington]] ''(Shropshire)''<ref>P. Brown, P. King, and P. Remfry, 'Whittington Castle: The marcher fortress of the Fitz Warin family', ''Shropshire Archaeology and History'' LXXIX (2004), 106–127.</ref>
:[[Wigmore, Herefordshire|Wigmore]] ''(Herefordshire)''
{{col-break}}{{col-end}}

== The Marches today ==
[[File:Welsh Marches line.png|alt=the map of the Welsh Marches line, with the area labeled|thumb|Welsh Marches Line]]
[[File:Northbound Train Passing Dinmore - geograph.org.uk - 1365622.jpg|thumb|A [[British Rail Class 175|Class 175 'Coradia']] running through currently closed [[Dinmore railway station (Herefordshire)|Dinmore railway station]], Herefordshire on the [[Welsh Marches Line]] on an [[Arriva Trains Wales]] service.]]
There is no modern legal or official definition of the extent of the Welsh Marches. However, the term the Welsh Marches (or sometimes just the Marches) is commonly used to describe those English counties which lie along the border with Wales, particularly Shropshire and Herefordshire.<ref>•{{cite web|title=The Marches|url=http://www.marcheslep.org.uk/about/the-marches/|website=The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership|access-date=30 June 2016|archive-date=23 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723081422/http://www.marcheslep.org.uk/about/the-marches/|url-status=live}} • {{cite web|title=The Welsh Marches|url=http://www.ludlow.org.uk/marches.html|website=Ludlow.org.uk|access-date=30 June 2016|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011317/http://www.ludlow.org.uk/marches.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The term is also sometimes applied to parts of Powys, Monmouthshire and Wrexham.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Autumn Epic, Welsh Marches, Powys|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/mar/03/cyclingholidays.extremesportsholidays1|website=TheGuardian.com|date=2 March 2007 |access-date=30 June 2016|archive-date=22 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822231858/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/mar/03/cyclingholidays.extremesportsholidays1|url-status=live}} • {{cite web|title=Discover Herefordshire and the Southern Marches|url=http://www.countryfile.com/countryside/discover-herefordshire-and-southern-marches|website=Countryfile.com|access-date=30 June 2016|archive-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815134245/http://www.countryfile.com/countryside/discover-herefordshire-and-southern-marches|url-status=live}} • {{cite web|title=Chirk Castle – Magnificent medieval fortress of the Welsh Marches|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chirk-castle|website=NationalTrust.org.uk|access-date=30 June 2016|archive-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160710072224/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/chirk-castle|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Welsh Marches Line]] is a railway line from [[Newport, Wales|Newport]] in the south of Wales to Shrewsbury, via Abergavenny, Hereford, and [[Craven Arms]].

The [[Marches Way]] is a [[long distance footpath]] which connects Chester in the north of England, via [[Whitchurch, Shropshire|Whitchurch]], [[Shrewsbury]], [[Leominster]] and [[Abergavenny]] to the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

[[The Marches School]] is a secondary school in [[Oswestry]], Shropshire. The school has several meeting rooms named in Welsh, and has students and staff from both sides of the border.

== See also ==
*[[Marches]] – for other examples, including [[Scottish Marches]] between England and Scotland.
*[[Council of the Marches]]
*[[Earl of March]] – some of the dynastic families controlling the Welsh Marches
*[[Welsh Lost Lands]]
*[[England–Wales border]]
*[[East Wales]]
*[[A49 road|A49]] – main road that runs north-south through the Marches
*[[Honour of Richmond]]
*[[History of Gwynedd during the High Middle Ages]]
*[[:Category:Towns of the Welsh Marches]]
*[[:Category:Counties of the Welsh Marches]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
;Attribution
*{{EB1911|wstitle=March, Earls of |volume=17|pages=685–688}}

== Further reading ==
* Allott, Andrew. 2011, Marches. [[New Naturalist|Collins New Naturalist Library]]. London.
* Davies, R. R., ''The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415'' (Oxford 1987, 2000 edition), pp.&nbsp;271–88.
* Davies, R. R. ''Lordship and Society in the March of Wales, 1282–1400'' (1978).
* Freeman, Edward Augustus Freeman, 1871. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_O5EQAAAAYAAJ The History of the Norman Conquest of England: Its Causes and Its Results], (Clarendon Press, London)
* Froude, James Anthony, 1881. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AWMNAAAAIAAJ History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth]'' (London, Published by C. Scribner's sons) pp.&nbsp;380–384.
* {{cite book|last1=Lieberman|first1=Max|title=The Medieval March of Wales: The Creation and Perception of a Frontier, 1066–1283|date=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-76978-5|oclc=459211474|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2nda0A3pVYAC}}
* Reeves, A. Compton (1983), ''The Marcher Lords''
* Skeel, C. A. J. [https://archive.org/stream/councilinmarches00skee/councilinmarches00skee_djvu.txt "The Council in the Marches of Wales", Hugh Rees Ltd. London (1904)]

{{Geography of Wales}}
{{Regions of Wales|state=collapsed}}
{{Wales topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:926 establishments]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 920s]]
[[Category:England–Wales border]]
[[Category:Counties of the Welsh Marches| 01]]
[[Category:Towns of the Welsh Marches| 01]]
[[Category:History of Wales]]
[[Category:Medieval history of England]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Wales]]
[[Category:Regions of England]]
[[Category:Regions of Wales]]
[[Category:West Midlands (region)]]
[[Category:16th century in England]]
[[Category:16th century in Wales]]
[[Category:The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale]]
[[Category:Marcher lords]]

{{Coord|52|-3|region:GB|display=title}}