Editing Cowbridge (section)

==History==
===Roman times===
{{main|Cowbridge (Roman town)}}
The town lies on the site of a [[Roman Britain|Roman]] settlement identified by some scholars as the [[Roman fort|fort]] of ''Bovium'' (cow-place). Recent excavations have revealed extensive Roman settlement;<ref>The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008.</ref> the town lies alongside a [[Roman road]].

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Llanblethian, Nr Cowbridge - geograph.org.uk - 856571.jpg|thumb|Llanblethian (June 2008)]]
The town centre is arranged on its [[medieval]] plan, with one long street divided into "[[burgage plots]]". It is one of very few medieval [[walled town]]s in Wales, and substantial portions of the walls, together with the south gate, are still standing. On 13 March 1254, Cowbridge received its first borough charter from [[Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester|Richard de Clare]],<ref>''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''. John Davies, [[Nigel Jenkins]], Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) pg174. {{ISBN|978-0-7083-1953-6}}</ref> the Lord of Glamorgan. Richard de Clare was one of the most powerful Barons of the day, having huge estates stretching across much of south Wales and also lands in southeast England.

The [[Cowbridge town wall|town walls]] were built sometime in the latter half of the 13th century.<ref name="GG">{{cite web|url=http://www.cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk/arch/query/page.php?watprn=GGAT00248s|title=Cowbridge Town Wall |publisher=The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Historic Environment Record|access-date=3 April 2016}}</ref> From 1243, de Clare was actively extending his authority in Glamorgan. In 1245, he seized the manors of Llanblethian, Ruthin and Talyfan from Richard Siward, and the lordships of [[Miskin]] and Glynrhondda from Hywel ap Maredudd. In Llanblethian he founded the town of Cowbridge and in Miskin he founded the castle and town of [[Llantrisant]]. The largely medieval church of the Holy Cross was initially a [[chapel of ease]] to the parish church at Llanblethian. In 1307 [[Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford|Earl Gilbert de Clare]], grandson of Richard de Clare, began work on the stone fortifications of [[St Quintins Castle]] in Llanblethian.

The [[Battle of Stalling Down]] was fought near Cowbridge between an English army, serving [[Henry IV of England]] and a combined force of French and Welsh soldiers under [[Owain Glyndŵr]] in 1403.  Details of the battle, its exact site and its outcome are scant, but the site has been recognised by [[Cadw]] for possible inclusion in a Register of Historic Battlefields in Wales.<ref>[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/battle-sites-set-official-status-1834514 Wales Online, "Battle sites set to get official status", 19 May 2011]. Accessed 18 August 2013</ref>

===Georgian times===
[[File:Cowbridge Clock Tower.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Cowbridge clock tower presented by the [[Bishop of Llandaff]] in 1836]]
The 18th century [[antiquary]], [[Iolo Morganwg]], inventor of the present-day rituals of the [[National Eisteddfod of Wales]], kept a bookshop in the High Street, the location of which is now marked with a plaque inscribed with the words ''Y Gwir yn erbyn y Byd'' ("Truth against the world") in [[Roman script|Roman]] and [[Coelbren y Beirdd]] script. It was just outside the town that he held the first meeting of the [[Gorsedd]], an assembly of bards, in 1795. [[Cowbridge Grammar School]] was founded in 1608 and had close links with [[Jesus College, Oxford]] through its later benefactor, Dr [[Leoline Jenkins]]. Its famous pupils included the poet [[Alun Lewis (poet)|Alun Lewis]] and the actor Sir [[Anthony Hopkins]]. The old [[grammar school]] eventually merged with Cowbridge High School for Girls to become a [[comprehensive school]], and the original buildings, having for some time lain derelict, have been converted into private accommodation.

===Notable buildings===
[[File:Neuadd y Dref, y Bont-faen.JPG|thumb|[[Cowbridge Town Hall]]]]
[[File:Boxing Day Hunt in Cowbridge.jpg|thumb|left|Boxing Day Hunt in Cowbridge]]
The present [[Cowbridge Town Hall]], a building whose foundations date back perhaps as far as the [[Elizabethan era]], served as a prison until 1830, when it was converted into a town hall to replace the former [[guildhall]], demolished at that date. The conversion was completed in 1830 by Isaiah Verity of Ash Hall who in gratitude was made a Freeman of Cowbridge.<ref>Glamorgan Archives - DXAX - Court of Common Council - Cowbridge - 1929-30</ref>

Eight of the original prison cells are still intact, six of which house the exhibits of Cowbridge Museum.<ref>[http://www.cowbridge-tc.gov.uk/abtcouncil.html Cowbridge (Ancient Borough) with Llanblethian Town Council] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714143320/http://cowbridge-tc.gov.uk/abtcouncil.html |date=2014-07-14 }}. Accessed 11 June 2013</ref> The remainder of the building is used by the town council and for public events. The museum holds archaeological finds from Cowbridge and district, as well as displays on the later history of the town, including industrial and domestic artefacts, a photographic collection, and a small historical costume collection.

The main street contains a number of [[Georgian era|Georgian]] houses, including the former town houses of important local families such as the Edmondes and Carnes. The Carnes' town house is known as Great House, a Grade 2* listed property of Medieval origin.

===Modern times===
Cowbridge contains the following [[public house|inns]]: the Bear Hotel, the Horse and Groom, the Edmondes Arms, the Duke of Wellington and the Vale of Glamorgan. The latter is located at the premises of the former Vale of Glamorgan Brewery.

Closely attached to the town of Cowbridge is the village of Aberthin. Aberthin contains two inns; The Hare and Hounds and The Farmers Arms.

Cowbridge once had a railway station, which opened in 1865 and closed in 1951.<ref>{{cite book|first=C. |last=Chapman |year=1985|title=The Cowbridge Railway |publisher=Oxford Publishing Company |page=22}}</ref>

On the 21 March 1950 a [[Bristol Freighter]] (Registration: G-AHJJ) on a test flight took off from [[Bristol Filton Airport]]. The aircraft crashed near Cowbridge after a structural failure of the fuselage. It caused the aircraft to enter spin and crash. The accident killed all four  passengers and crew on board.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19500321-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Bristol 170 Freighter 21 G-AHJJ Cowbridge|first=Harro|last=Ranter|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

Cowbridge was named one of the best places to live in Wales in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=These towns have been named as the best places to live in Wales| date=10 March 2017 |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/towns-named-best-places-wales-12719747|publisher=Wales Online}}</ref>