Thought for the day :"A friend told me, 'Cheer up, it could be worse. You could be stuck underground in a hole full of water.' I know he meant well."
Rain 51 : Dry 21
Bag 18.
Had to fight through the rain to walk the dogs and then clean the Ducks, Chickens and peacocks.
Didn't get around to fixing the Duck Door - needs two of us to manage it and didn't want to get Susie out of the warm - well she was scrubbing the kitchen - there was an inch of soot - the problems to having a coal fire.
In other news - Welsh History-
On 13th March 2004 the town of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan celebrated the 750th anniversary of the granting of its first town charter in 1254.
 |
| (Town Hall - which is also now the Masonic Hall) |
Cowbridge is a market town approximately 7 miles south-west of Cardiff and 6 miles south-east of Bridgend. Its name in Welsh is Y Bont-Faen, meaning 'the stone bridge', however, there is a 17th-century reference to a nearby 'cow-bridge' over a tributary of the river Thaw (which flows through the town). The town centre is still arranged on its medieval plan, with one long street divided into "burgage plots".Burgage plots are characterised by a narrow street frontage with long and narrow plots of land to the rear of the houses. The population of Cowbridge is approximately 3,600, with the larger community including the adjoining villages of Llanblethian and Aberthin, having a population of 4,063 in 2011.
A Timeline history of Cowbridge and the surrounding area;
The Caer yr Arfau Burial Chamber just north of the village of Creigiau and 7 miles northeast of Cowbridge is the oldest evidence of human habitation in the area. It dates from about 3,000 B.C during the Neolithic period when people were changing from being nomadic huntsmen into settled farmers.
There is a Bronze Age settlement at Pentre Meyrick, 2 miles north east of Cowbridge, and a hoard of Bronze Age artefacts has been found at Llantwit Major. There are Bronze Age burial barrows near Llanblethian, Llanharry and Coedely.
The area of Current day Cowbridge was occupied by the Iron Age tribe, the Silures. There is the large hill fort of Caer Dynnaf on Llanblethian Hill and others at Llanquian Wood, one mile east of Cowbridge, at Llantrithyd, 3 miles south-east of Cowbridge, at Mynydd-y-Fforest, near Ystradowen, 3 miles north of Cowbridge and Castell Moel near Bonvilston, four miles east of Cowbridge.
Cowbridge lies on the site of a fortified Roman military camp, possibly the fort of Bovium (cow-place), on the Roman road between Cardiff and Neath.
c. 383 - Following the Roman withdrawal, the kingdom of Cernyw developed from the western portion, including the area around current day Cowbridge, of the territory formerly controlled by the Silures tribe.
c470 - When Glwys, the legendary 5th-century ruler, came to power, Cernyw was renamed Glywyssing in his honour. Glywyssing like other Welsh kingdoms was divided into administrational land divisions called cantrefs. Current day Cowbridge lies on the bank of the River Ddawan (Thaw), which was the border between the cantref of Gorfynedd to the west and the cantref of Penychen.
5th century - The holy man, Saint Illtud came to the area from Brittany and founded a monastery near current day Llantwit Major, 4 miles south of Cowbridge. St. Illtyd's monastery became a major centre of learning, attracting over 2000 students and visitors, including St. David, St. Patrick, the bard Taliesin and the historian Gildas.
c 580 - Meurig, King of Gwent, gained control of Glywyssing through inheritance and marriage. Glywyssing was to remain a part of Gwent until 745.
745 - Glywissing re-emerged as a separate kingdom following the death of Ithel ap Morgan, King of Gwent and seems to have remained relatively stable throughout the remainder of the eighth century and into the ninth.
c.942 - Morgan Hen Fawr (Morgan the Old) became king of Glywyssing and Gwent and changed the name of the combined territories to Morgannwg (current day Glamorgan).
974 - Morgannwg broke up following the death of Morgan Hen Fawr.
1055 - Morgannwg was restored after Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys conquered both Glywissing and Gwent, which resulted in him becoming King of Wales from 1055 to 1063.
c. 1102 - Robert Fitzhamon, the first Norman Lord of Glamorgan created the manor lordship of Llanblethian (1 mile south-west of current day Cowbridge) under the lordship of Herbert de St Quentin, who is believed to have built St Quintins Castle and the manor lordship of Languian (2 miles east of current day Cowbridge) under the lordship of Robert de Wintona, who built the Llanquian Castle.
1245 - Richard de Clare seized the area of Glamorganshire from Cowbridge to Llantrisant,
1254 - The new town of Cowbridge had become the administrative centre of the lordship of Llanblethian and was granted its first charter, from Richard de Clare, the Lord of Glamorgan. Later in the 13th century, the town walls were built.
c.1307 - Gilbert de Clare, began to fortify St Quintins Castle in stone. It was not completed as he was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn.
By the fourteenth century, Cowbridge was one of the largest towns in Wales and it became an administrative centre for the Vale of Glamorgan.
c.1403 - The Battle of Stalling Down reputedly took place just east of Cowbridge, when an army of Owain Glyndwr allied with Fench soldiers, ambushed an army of King Henry IV of England. The battle which is reported to have lasted 18 hours, resulted in Heavy losses for the English.
18th century - Cowbridge became a popular residence for the newly rich landed gentry, who built many grand town houses.
1795 - The first meeting of the Gorsedd of bards in Wales was held by Iolo Morganwg in Stalling Down, just outside Cowbridge.
1865 - Cowbridge railway station was opened. The town was largely unaffected by the industrial revolution that had such an impact on other parts of South Wales and the station was only a minor branch line on Brunel's Great Western Railway.
1951 - Cowbridge railway station was closed.
1960s - The opening of the Cowbridge bypass resulted in Cowbridge becoming a popular residence for commuters to Cardiff and Bridgend.
Points of Interest;
Cowbridge is twinned with the town of Clisson in France.
Cowbridge's clock tower was presented to the town by the Bishop of Llandaff in 1836.
Llanblethian takes its name from the 5th-century holy man Saint Bleiddian, a contemporary of Germanus of Auxerre, who was sent to Britain by the Pope to combat the threat of Pelagianism.
Llandough Castle just south of Cowbridge is an example of a Welsh tower house. These were houses fortified by supporters of Henry VI after 1427.
Cowbridge's Town Hall was previously the town's prison. Six of the original prison cells are used to house Cowbridge Museum.
Aberthin village hall, built in 1749 was Wales's second Calvinistic Methodist meeting house.
Old Beaupre Castle, which is a scheduled monument and Grade I listed building, 2 miles south-east of Cowbridge, is an example of a fortified medieval manor house. The original building dates from c.1300 which was fortified during the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
Cowbridge is one of the few towns in Wales, whose medieval town walls remain substantially intact.
Cowbridge Grammar School, which was founded in 1608, had close links with Jesus College, Oxford through its benefactor, Dr Leoline Jenkins. Jenkins was born and educated in Cowbridge, before going on to study at Jesus College and later to become its Principal.
Llanbleithin was the site of a 14th-century fulling mill, producing traditional Welsh flannel and a 16th-century corn mill.
Cowbridge is one of Wales' most affluent towns and in 2017, it was named as one of the best places to live in Wales.
Well known people with connections to Cowbridge;
The founder the Gorsedd and infamous literary forger, Iolo Morganwg, was born in Llancarfan 4 miles south-east of Cowbridge in 1747. Later in life, he kept a bookshop on Cowbridge High Street.
The Second World War poet, Alun Lewis, was a pupil at Cowbridge Grammar School.
Oscar-winning actor, Anthony Hopkins, was a pupil at Cowbridge Grammar School.
Actress and broadcaster, Anneka Rice, was born in Cowbridge in 1958.
Frances Hoggan, who in 1870, became the first woman to receive a doctorate in medicine from a European University and who also became Wales' first registered female doctor, was brought up and educated in Cowbridge.
Susie is studying the history of the house and checking against he Ancestry links this evening. well it is the ASDA shopping evening so we tend not to get away form the machines -
Ordered the beer for the Easter Weekend and tagged a keg of Hywl Haf - the summer Ale that will not be brewed for long.
Not sure how summery we will be in two weeks time. Am seriously worried about the Easter Egg hunt - the ground is so slippery I am not sure that we can open the grounds.
Also popped in to the Distillery down the road from us .. Blue Wing, and chatted with James Clode, who turns out to be a musician, together with his saxophonist wife, and with his Band which I have now found as I had the name spelled wrongly. However, a small discount and four bottles of the main two Gins are now to be part of the wares on sale at Easter.
Will keep the price for Gordons at £3.50 for double Gin and Tonic - but will charge £5 for the Special. Still think it will be cheap for a speciality Gin,
Sadly they have little publicity material so will have to do it myself - job for tomorrow if it is wet.
So, back to work...
Cheers !
No comments:
Post a Comment