Radnorshire was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolition in 1974, later becoming a district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populated area, and was bounded to the north by Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, to the east by Herefordshire, to the south by Brecknockshire and to the west by Cardiganshire.