Sixty county courts in Wales have closed since the modern system of county courts in England and Wales was established by the County Courts Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 95). The act created 491 courts on 60 circuits; of these, 53 courts were in Wales and Monmouthshire, a Welsh county that had ambiguous status at the time and was sometimes treated as being in England. Since then, new courts have been opened in various locations, and 80 towns and cities in Wales have, or have had, county courts. As of 2012, there are 20 county courts in Wales. Reasons for closure have included a decision that it was "inexpedient" to continue to provide a court, the volume of business no longer justifying a court, or the state of the building housing the court. The first closure was Fishguard in 1856. The most recent closures are the county courts in Aberdare and Pontypool, which closed on 1 August 2011.