Cowbridge

Here is a substantial reading list of books which relate to Glamorgan, either county or parish.

References to the town of Cowbridge at

• The British Library, London
• The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth

An on-line index to the book The Vale of Glamorgan in Old Photographs, by Roy Denning, has been provided by Huw Daniel.

A Name index to the book Cowbridge Buildings and People By Cowbridge Record Society 1999 - ISBN 0 9537029 0 1. Indexed by Phil Mustoe, June 2002

Cowbridge Wills and Administrations 1575 - 1799 from a book titled, "Old Cowbridge", by Lemuel John Hopkin-James 1922. Provided by Phil Mustoe

Hopkin-James,  Lemuel John.   Old Cowbridge, borough, church, and school. 1922   - the complete book is accessible on the Internet Archive site - click on Texts and search on Cardiff

Old Inns and Alehouses of Cowbridge. Cowbridge Record Society, 2004. ISBN: 09537029 4 4.
Iolo Morganwg claimed that Cowbridge was well blessed with 'great and glorious drinkers' and indeed some forty-two of the buildings of Cowbridge have been used as inns or alehouses at some time in their history. This is the story of these public houses, their owners and innkeepers, and of some of the people who drank there.

• Edward John & Son Ltd, corn merchant, Cowbridge, Glamorgan
  1922-24: invoice book
  [Glamorgan Record Office, Cardiff]
• Cowbridge Railway Co.
  1862-89: minutes, stock holders register, cash book
  [Public Record Office, Kew, London - Reference : RAIL 141]
• Cowbridge & Aberthaw Railway Co.
  1889-95: minutes, ledger, journal and invoices inward
  [Public Record Office, Kew, London - Reference: RAIL 140]

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Edward John and Son, agricultural merchant, of Cowbridge, records    1900-1969    "Edward John set up in business as an agricultural merchant in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, some time between 1875 and 1881. Before this, he had been an agent for the seed and manure merchants Hall, Reynolds and Co. ......................."  
• Gwyn and Gwyn Solicitors, Cowbridge records 1700s-1970s

Indexed transcriptions of monumental inscriptions at Holy Cross Churchyard and Cowbridge Cemetery, by Phil Mustoe.

The Glamorgan Family History Society have produced a set of microfiche containing Monumental Inscriptions for the following burial grounds :-

• Parish Church of the Holy Cross
• Ramoth Baptist Church

Visit their website for information on how to purchase.

In the trade directories contained within these pages, and from other sources, it appears that the church of the Holy Cross, Cowbridge, was previously dedicated to that of St. Mary.
The change in dedication appears to have taken place at some point between the years 1910 and 1934.

Rectorial Benefice of Cowbridge - photographs under Churches

Chapels Database - a list of all known non-conformist chapels or other non-Anglican religions in the parish

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph of Holy Cross Tower

See John Ball's site Welsh Churches and Chapels Collection for a photograph/data re Holy Cross Church

For full and up-to-date details of their holdings see the sites of Glamorgan Record Office and/or West Glamorgan Archives

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on  FreeReg

The church is dedicated to Holy Cross, and is in the Benefice of Cowbridge. Details of the present incumbent of this benefice can be found at the Church in Wales website. The church can be found at grid reference SS994746.

A transcription of the registers is available from the Glamorgan Family History Society for the years: Baptisms, 1718-1887, Marriages, 1721-1837, Burials, 1735-1873. Visit their website for information on how to purchase these fiche.

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Cowbridge Ecclesiastical Parish records     " ...... including registers of baptisms, 1718-1923; burials, 1735-1928; marriages, 1753-1998; banns, 1894-1975; prechers books, 1905-1924; service, 1924-1990; licences, 1925; terrier, 1771; correspondence and papers relating to various topics, 1867-1965; parochial church council records, 1885-1980; vestry minute books, 1814-1893; church affairs, 1834-1948; civil records, 1713-1890; photograph, 19th century; plans, post 1790"  
• St. Mary Church Ecclesiastical Parish records    " ...... including registers of baptisms, 1584-1985; marriages, 1577-1985; burials, 1602-1985; services, 1954-1989; churchwardens accounts, 1862-1933; civil records, 1863-1921"

The following Religious Institutions are covered in the Mormon International Genealogical Index (IGI) :-

• Cowbridge, Holy Cross - Christenings (BT's), 1819-1875

Transcript of the Roll of Honour at Cowbridge Church for 1914-1918 war

Description of Cowbridge from the Glamorgan Village Book, compiled by the Glamorgan Federation of Women's Institutes.

Conservation areas within the Vale of Glamorgan. See Cowbridge - "Conservation areas are areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance"

Various landscapes - on the People's Collection Wales site

• Geograph
• Flickr

Transcript of name listing for Cowbridge, and neighbouring parishes from Commercial and Trade Directories, for the years:-

Cowbridge Trades & Tradesmen 1660 - 1750  - on the People's Collection Wales site

The transcription of the section for Cowbridge from The National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

Description of parish from A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) by Samuel Lewis.

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Cowbridge to another place.

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• John Richards, Pharmacist and Local Historian, Cowbridge papers   18th century-20th century    " ........ comprising of papers relating to his family in south Wales and England; letters; history of  Cowbridge"  
• Shepherd Family of Cowbridge Papers      " .......... comprising of photographs collected by the Shepherd family, including servants at Verlands, Llanblethian, c1910; C owbridge Scouts, 1910-1911; photograph album of Lucy Shepherd, 1916-1924; C owbridge Grammar School cricket team, 1955."

Various items - on the People's Collection Wales site

• Held in Cowbridge on the 20th of May, 1910, a procession for the memorial service of King Edward VII 
• Images of the old market, Cowbridge taken in the early 1900s
• Picture and postcard showing Cowbridge Motors........ Church Street circa 1900.
• Pictures taken during the floods of 1947 and 1995

This diagram shows the position of this parish within the county of Glamorgan - click on this to see a full size diagram of the county

Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

Plan of the town and township of Cowbridge in the County of Glamorgan  - on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS995746 (Lat/Lon: 51.461815, -3.447604), Cowbridge which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• OpenStreetMap Cymru (Welsh counties only)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

Various items  - on the People's Collection Wales site

• The Victory Parade held in Cowbridge, June 1946
• Home Guard 1940s
• First volunteers to the First World War conflict from Cowbridge at railway station 1914

Places, villages, farms etc within Cowbridge as shown on the online parish map from the CD of Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. (Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R.). (Extracted by Glenys Travis)

• Cowbridge (123) - no place names visible

Newspaper extracts

Bridgend & Cowbridge Workhouse - on Peter Higginbotham's site

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Bridgend and Cowbridge Poor Law Union, Workhouse/ Public Assistance Institution, and Cottage [Children's] Homes records  1836-1952

The population of Cowbridge was as follows, and a more detailed breakdown is available.

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Baker, E. R. of the South Wales Police papers    
  " Police miscellanea, 1830-1930; Cardiff Borough records, 1830-1897; Cowbridge Borough records, 1838-1926; Neath Borough byelaws and Acts of Parliament, 1835-1926; copies of Dunraven Estate plans, 1778; plans of Merthyr Mawr, [c1775] (copies); plans relating to public houses, 1920-1927; plan of the port and town of Cardiff, 1870; plan of Merthyr Tydfil (copy), 1836; Petty Sessions and licensing records, [c1826]-1928; .........................."
• Borough of C owbridge records   1421-1972     "Cowbridge received its first borough charter in 1245, from Richard de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan, and several charters and confirmations were issued subsequently. ....................."
• Cowbridge mayoral oaths 1894-1926    "The medieval borough of Cowbridge,, covering the same area as Cowbridgeparish, began to neglect its formal responsibilties from c 1866. On 28th September 1886, a charter of incorporation was obtained under the terms of the Municipal Corporations Act, and a new Borough Council established. .......... "
• Borough of Cowbridge, Food Control Committee records  [WWI]  1910-1921  
• Bridgend and Cowbridge District Highway Board records   1855-1898  
• Cowbridge Civil Parish records      " .... comprising tithe plan and apportionment, 1844"  
• Cowbridge Petty Sessional Division records     1880-1970     "Court registers, 1885-1970; register of summary convictions, 1885-1892; juvenile court registers, 1933-1964; ............."
• Cowbridge Rural District Council records   1895-1973  
• West Village deeds             "Deeds relating to West Village, Cowbridge, 1766-1899; conveyance relating to Llanblethian Mill, 1877"  
• Turnpike Trusts records  " ......... comprising of assignment of deeds for Cowbridge turnpike disrict, 1820-1823; notice to Cardiff turnpike district, 1831; transfer of deed poll for Cowbridge turnpike district, 1821"

The Headmasters, and an image (circa 1860) of Cowbridge Grammar School, 1608 - 1967, as listed in 'A Certaine Schoole' ( See bibliography)

Cowbridge School Roll - Xmas. 1860, as listed in 'A Certaine Schoole' ( See bibliography)

Cowbridge Grammar School - on Wikipedia

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

• Cowbridge Girls Intermediate/Secondary/High school records 1896-1971
• Cowbridge Girls Secondary School records   1921-1947  
• Cowbridge Grammar School Letter Books  1921-1947     "The Free School, known originally as the CowbridgeGrammar School, Cowbridge, Glamorgan, was founded in 1608, and moved to its present site in 1617. The patron of the school in its early days was Sir John Stradling (1563-1637). ............................."  
• Cowbridge Grammar School records 1618-1972  
• Cowbridge School Board records   1873-1903   "Following the Education Act 1870, School Boards were established to provide education in areas where no such provision existed. The School Boards were elected bodies, empowered to set up and maintain schools in areas where voluntary provision was inadequate, to frame bye-laws for the compulsory attendance of children aged between 5 and 13, and for setting the school leaving age. ........................."

Various items  - on the People's Collection Wales site

• Cowbridge free school
• Sketch of The Old Free School, by David Jones. Inscription reads 'The Old Free School - taken down in 1846. Drawn from memory 1863.'

 Various items - on the People's Collection Wales site

• Cowbridge Carnival 1908 
• An image of Cowbridge Cricket club's 1st XI, taken in 1901
• Pictures of Cowbridge lido / outdoor swimming pool from early 1900s
• Dance 1936

• Cowbridge Farmers Club, Cowbridge, Glamorgan
  1861-1921: records
  [Glamorgan Record Office, Cardiff]
•  
• Cowbridge Young Men's Insitute, Cowbridge, Glamorgan
  1896-1908: records
  [Glamorgan Record Office, Cardiff]
•  
• Cowbridge Record Society
   Latest publication (11/08) is an investigation into the background of the names on the war memorials at Cowbridge and Llanblethian.
   Secretary;- ckrawlins(at)btinternet.com