Town History - Cowbridge

• The first real evidence of a Roman settlement in Cowbridge came to light in 1977 when remains of shops and houses were discovered during the Cooper's Lane excavation opposite Old Hall.
  
• Further excavation behind Bear Lane revealed that there had been a sizeable military and civilian presence at Cowbridge until the Second Augustan Legion moved away to defend Hadrian's Wall, and the town became deserted.
  
• The Normans entered South Wales at the end of the 11th century and soon established control of the lordship of Glamorgan.
  
• Richard de Clare - Earl of Gloucester and Lord of Glamorgan - founded Cowbridge, in the aftermath of the Siward rebellion of 1245. Towns like Cowbridge were a response to the booming economy of the early and mid-13th century and to the increasing demand for manufactured goods and services from the rural population.
  
• The town received its first charter in 1254, in which it is called Longa Villa (Long Town), an apt description in view of its layout.
  
• Unusually for a Welsh planted town, Cowbridge lacked a castle, although Richard de Clare's castle at Llanblethian was only half a mile away and overlooked the town.
  
• The town walls were completed by about 1300, their purpose being to protect the Lord of Glamorgan's valuable rental properties and burgage plots as well as providing a suitable way of collecting tolls from the twice-weekly markets.
  
• Much of the wall still stands, especially around the Old Hall garden and near the South Gate (right). Cowbridge is the only town of the old County of Glamorgan to retain its walls.