Editing Glamorgan (section)

==Culture and recreation==

===Sport===
Sport was an important part of life in Glamorgan, and the county produced several individuals and teams of note. One of the first recorded team sports in Wales was [[Bando (sport)|bando]], a variant of bandy. The game was very popular in Glamorgan between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before losing in popularity to rugby football. The most notable team to carry the name Glamorgan, is [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club]]. Although [[cricket]] had been established in Glamorgan since the creation of [[Cardiff Cricket Club]] in 1819; county team Glamorgan CCC did not form until 1888.<ref name="Davies 177">Davies (2008), p.177</ref> The team gained [[First-class cricket|first-class]] status in 1921,<ref name="Davies 177"/> and still play under the name of Glamorgan. In the first hundred years, the only Welshman to captain an England major tour abroad was [[Tony Lewis]], Glamorgan captain 1967–72.

The other bat and ball team sport of note in the area was [[Welsh baseball|baseball]], which was very popular in Cardiff, reaching its peak in the 1930s.<ref>Davies (2008), p.53</ref>
[[File:Freddie Welsh 1920s.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Freddie Welsh]], one of several World title boxing Champions to come from Glamorgan]]
One of the most popular sports in Glamorgan was [[rugby union]], producing some of the oldest rugby clubs in the world. [[Swansea RFC]], [[Cardiff RFC]] and [[Merthyr RFC]] were founding members of the [[Welsh Rugby Union]] in 1881,<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=David |author2=Williams, Gareth |title=Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union |year=1980 |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff|page=41 |isbn=0-7083-0766-3}}</ref> and both [[St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground]] (Swansea) and the [[Cardiff Arms Park]] (Cardiff), have been sporting venues for international rugby. Like cricket, rugby union was also played at county level, with Glamorgan represented by [[Glamorgan County RFC]], an invitational team which faced the likes of the [[New Zealand national rugby union team|All Blacks]] and the [[South Africa national rugby union team|Springboks]] in the early part of the 20th century. Other rugby clubs of note from the region include [[Bridgend RFC]], [[Glamorgan Wanderers RFC]], [[Neath RFC]] and [[Pontypridd RFC]]. Although never finding any lasting appeal within Glamorgan, a number of [[rugby league]] teams emerged in the early 1900s; and on 1 January 1908, the first true international rugby league game took place in [[Aberdare]] between [[Wales national rugby league team|Wales]] and [[New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Haynes |first=John |title=All Blacks to All Golds |year=2007 |publisher=League Publications Ltd|location=Brighouse|pages=140–142 |isbn=978-1-901347-17-3}}</ref>

As well as rugby and cricket, [[association football]] was a very popular sport in Glamorgan, producing two teams with a long tradition in British football, [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] (formed 1912 as Swansea Town A.F.C.)<ref>{{cite web|title=Club History|url=http://www.swanseacity.net/page/History/0,,10354,00.html|access-date=27 July 2010|publisher=Swansea City Football Club|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101044211/http://www.swanseacity.net/page/History/0%2C%2C10354%2C00.html|archive-date=1 January 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] (formed 1899 as Riverside AFC). Both clubs played in the [[English football league system]], rather than the [[Welsh football league system|Welsh leagues]], though Cardiff were more successful during this period, spending 15 seasons in the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] and winning the [[FA Cup]] in [[1926–27 FA Cup|1927]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Classic Cup Finals: 1927|url=http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup/History/HistoryOfTheFACup/1927CardiffArsenal|access-date=27 July 2010|publisher=The Football Association}}</ref> Other teams of note include [[Merthyr Tydfil F.C.]] (1945), who have won the [[Welsh Cup]] on three occasions.

Of all the individual sports, [[boxing]] was perhaps Glamorgan's most prolific. From the northern coalfields and ironworks a string of world class boxers were produced, which was later matched by notable fighters from Cardiff. Of note were Rhondda's [[Percy Jones (boxer)|Percy Jones]] (World Flyweight Champion), [[Thomas Thomas (boxer)|Tom Thomas]] (British Middleweight Champion), [[Jimmy Wilde]] (World Flyweight Champion) and [[Tommy Farr]] (Empire Heavyweight Champion); Merthyr's [[Eddie Thomas (boxer)|Eddie Thomas]] (European Welterweight Champion) and [[Howard Winstone]] (European Featherweight Champion); Pontypridd's [[Freddie Welsh]] (World Lightweight Champion) and [[Frank Moody]] (Empire Middleweight Champion). From Cardiff came 'Peerless' [[Jim Driscoll]] (British Featherweight Champion) and [[Jack Petersen (boxer)|Jack Petersen]] (British Heavyweight Champion). Other fighters of note include [[Dai Dower]] (European Flyweight Champion) from [[Abercynon]] and [[Bill Beynon]] (Empire Bantamweight Champion) from [[Taibach]].{{cn|date=November 2022}}

===Tourism===
Glamorgan, and Wales, were never exploited as a tourist destination until the late 18th century. The destination of choice for English gentlemen during the period was the [[Grand Tour]], but after conflicts in mainland Europe, British travellers looked for 'wild' destinations within their own country.<ref>Davies (2008), p.874</ref> These first tourists were important archivists in their writings, paintings and sketches but there was no real tourist trade to receive them. The coming of industrialisation in the early 19th century gave rise to a new prosperous middle-class and improved communications; both led to a burgeoning tourist trade.<ref name="Davies875">Davies (2008), p.875</ref> The late 19th century, with improving rail links, saw the coastal areas of Glamorgan that benefited from a beachfront grow as tourist destinations.<ref name="Davies875"/> These towns, most notably [[Barry Island]], Porthcawl, Aberavon and Mumbles, owed their existence as tourist locations to the development of the south Wales coal field and the introduction of the workers' annual holidays.<ref name="Davies875"/> By the mid 20th century these locations improved the number of visitors they could accommodate with the introduction of caravan parks and chalet parks.<ref name="Davies875"/>

As the 20th century progressed, and people's leisure activities extended beyond a once-a-year weeks holiday, the county responded with county parks, museums, art galleries and activity centres.