Colwinston
| Colwinston Welsh: Tregolwyn | |
| Glamorgan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS941755 |
| Location: | 51°28’7"N, 3°31’34"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Cowbridge |
| Postcode: | CF71 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Vale of Glamorgan |
Colwinston is a village in Glamorgan. By road the village is 4 miles southeast of the centre of Bridgend and 20 miles west of the centre of Cardiff. The population of the village was estimated in 2005 at approximately 400.
The novelist Agatha Christie was a frequent visitor to the village, where her descendants still live, at the former manor house of Pwllywrach.
History
St Michael's Church in Colwinston is reputed to have originally been built in 1111.[1] The church was restored in 1879 and suffered a fire in 1971.[1] The 1811 A Topographical Dictionary of The Dominion of Wales by Nicholas Carlisle said of the village:
"COLWINSTON, or, TRE COLLWYN, in the Cwmwd of Maenor Glynn Ogwr, Cantref of Cron Nedd (now called the Hundred of Ogmore),County of GLAMORGAN, South Wales: a discharged Vicarage, valued in the King's Books at £6..6..8; Patron, David Thomas, Esq.: Church dedicated to St. Michael. The Resident Population of this Parish, in 1801, was 235. The Money raised by the Parish Rates, in1803, was £101..6..10, at 1s. 6d. per acre. It is 4 m. W. N. W. from Cowbridge. This Parish contains between fourteen and fifteen hundred acres of inclosed Land, and 60 acres of common Pasture, called The Golden Mile. According to the Diocesan Report, in 1809, the yearly value of this Benefice, arising from Vicarial Tythes, and Augmentation, was £111..18..0. "[2]
In 1835, the Seion Presbyterian Chapel was built but in 1996 it became a residential building.[1] In 1843, the Ebenezer Baptist Chapel was established and the building was completed in 1852.[1] The last minister was the Rev A.E. Powell of Balarat, who served at the church between 1905 and 1944 before the church became part of a house.[1] Colwinston is one of only three villages in Wales which suffered no fatalities in First World War and one of only 52 Thankful Villages in the United Kingdom, and the only such village in the county.
Parish church
At the centre of the village is the 12th Century Norman Church of St Michael and All Angels. It has met the attentions of many ages, including the unwelcome attention of Parliamentary soldiers.
The church was the subject of a major restoration project to celebrate the 2000 millennium. The church is a Grade I listed building.
The church contains a memorial to the men of the village who served during the Great War of 1914-1918; some twenty-three men from the village enlisted and served their country in various theatres of conflict. All returned; the only Glamorgan village which lost none of its young men.
About the village
Close by are the church are St David's Church in Wales Primary School, the village hall, the village green and the Sycamore Tree Inn. The inn dates to at least 1650
In May 1865 The Philanthropic Order of True Ivorites Friendly Society was established and registered there.[1] At the crossroads is a thatched house dated to the 16th century, opposite the south-east corner of churchyard. It has a Gothic or Tudor arch and the building is "one of only two in Glamorgan with a latrine in the form of a small closet at the side of the fireplace."[1] Several other cottages in the village are listed buildings.
Culture
Colwinston has its own community council with seven elected members. The major social event of the year is the annual village festival, usually held during the first or second week in July. Other annual events include a pantomime and the New Year's Day sport of "collyball".
Pictures
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Colwinston) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Vale Treasures - Vale of Glamorgan Council]
- ↑ Carlisle, Nicholas (1811). "A Topographical Dictionary of The Dominion of Wales". accessed via Colwinston community website. http://www.colwinston.btck.co.uk/History.