DESCRIPTIONS OF COWBRIDGE FROM 1907 AND 1947
Circa 1907 ‘One long street, Cowbridge’
‘After walking some distance, I came to an insignificant looking little bridge which crosses an insignificant little river. The bridge gets the chief attention of the inhabitants. “So far from the bridge” is the distance to everywhere.
A number of public houses come into sight, a few places of worship keep out of sight. I turn from the long street into an old-fashioned hotel where I shall stay a few days.
Saturday morning. A great storm swept over the Vale last night. The street has been washed by the rain and swept by the wind. Signs of another storm before long.
Let us have a look at Cowbridge then. Standing in front of the hotel, I could see the whole of Cowbridge nearly. It is one long street with a green hill at each end of it. The road is clean and wide. Enough room to hold fairs and to accommodate crowds going to the races. Not any of the people were however willing to admit that this was the only street, although they looked upon it with pride, considering it enough of a town of itself. “But,” they say “there are two other streets.” And seeing my thoughtful gaze, they persuade me to go and see them by saying there is a Methodist chapel in one and the Church in the other.
The first walls built around Cowbridge were raised in 1090 and its charter dates from the time of Charles II. It has a Mayor and Councillors.
Its inhabitants still consider Cowbridge a place of great importance. It is left to a stranger to perceive the decay spreading over its ancient glory. Opposite I noticed an empty house with ‘To Let’ in the window which shows that newcomers need not ask and wait for a dwelling place. I walked on the left side towards the bridge. I was filled with astonishment to see the large number of public houses, nearly all of them small and poor to look at. I wonder that so many can make a living with so much temperance in the country. A similar decay is to be seen upon the people too. Among the old people, who have been under the discipline of conversions, we found intelligent and thoughtful faces. But coming to those of the middle aged, a certain deterioration is noticeable. The face is heavy and dull – the bovine sodden face – as if the flesh dominated the soul. But what will become of the children?’
Unknown source
March 1947 from ‘Reflections on Cowbridge’
‘In the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan, tucked away in an almost forgotten valley where proud Roman legions once marched, lies the Borough of Cowbridge. To reach this apology for a town, one must either wait for a bus (seemingly in the company of several million other human beings) or board a train…...one suddenly finds oneself at a station which is hardly any improvement on one built in 1847.
Another alternative is to travel by car…..along a road that winds like a python with indigestion. So Cowbridge may have to wait for some time until a new form of travel is invented, to clear up the traffic problem, before it can enjoy the privilege of being a Mecca to the thousands of ill-informed people who wish to visit it.
Having cleared up that problem, there still remains the more obvious problem of making Cowbridge look dignified. When one first comes upon Cowbridge, one is very surprised to discover a hamlet, for it seems so improbable that anything will spring into view to break the monotony of the bus journey. As the bus poises for a second on the summit of the hill, there lies before one the panorama of a village, which seems suddenly to have sprung from the bowels of the earth.
Were it not for its interesting approach and situation, Cowbridge would look a very poor sight indeed; for example, if it were suddenly transported into the middle of a plain, the only thing to save it from complete disgrace would be the West side of the town. To sum up, Cowbridge needs a brave town planning pioneer not afraid to take the law into his own hands.’
S.G.L.T. ‘Bovian’ magazine
With thanks to Betty Alden who compiled these articles.
By way of contrast
The most expensive town in Wales
A 2015 survey named Cowbridge as the most expensive Welsh town to live in, with houses costing an average of £416k, according to property website Zoopla.
Homes on the most expensive street, Primrose Hill, had an average pricetag of £1.06m, which puts it in second spot on Zoopla's list of the most expensive streets in Wales.
Steve Monaghan