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Cowbridge (Roman town)

Archaeological sites in the Vale of GlamorganCowbridgeFormer populated places in WalesRoman towns in Wales
Vale of Glamorgan UK ward location Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan UK ward location Cowbridge

Cowbridge was a small castra in Roman Wales within the Roman province of Britannia Superior. Today the contemporary settlement, Cowbridge, has a population of roughly 3,600. Its name in Latin is unknown, although it is the strongest candidate for Bovium (corrected from the ablative Bomio) of the Antonine Itinerary. Its remains have been discovered beneath Cowbridge in the Welsh county of Vale of Glamorgan, previously Glamorganshire. A Roman bath house or Thermae, abandoned by the early 2nd century, has been discovered which had bricks stamped by the 2nd Legion, suggesting perhaps some kind of early military establishment on the site. There were certainly funerary monuments of persons of status at this early period, including a fine sculpted lion. The settlement later became a ribbon development of typical timber and stone strip buildings within ditched enclosures fronting a north-south Roman road. Industry included agricultural processing and large scale iron working. Occupation continued into the 4th century.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cowbridge (Roman town) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cowbridge (Roman town)
High Street,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.4617 ° E -3.4473 °
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Address

Costa

High Street 14
CF71 7AG , Cowbridge with Llanblethian
Wales, United Kingdom
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Vale of Glamorgan UK ward location Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan UK ward location Cowbridge
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Bear Inn, Cowbridge
Bear Inn, Cowbridge

The Bear Inn, today known as The Bear Hotel, is an inn on Cowbridge High Street in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. The block stone building has a blue plaque on the front, marking its historical significance. It became a Grade II listed building on 12 May 1963.The inn is dated to the medieval period, around the 12th century. It was once probably a three-unit, lateral chimney, hall-house, later converted into a storeyed house. It has undergone much alteration over the years, and little remains of the original except the fireplaces, one of which is in poor condition. The fireplace lintels of carved stone are notable. The hall fireplace has two shields, one bearing a reversed lion rampant and the other a trefoil. The hall contains heavy ceiling beams, dated to the late 16th century. The plastered ceiling in the inner room is dated to the early 18th century. On the first floor there are plain-chamfered ceiling beams and roof trusses, although this is obscured. In the 18th century the first floor was converted into an assembly room, and subsequently the High Sheriff for the county often met with noblemen of the county at the Bear Inn. The Glamorganshire Agricultural Society was established in 1772 at the inn. In this era, the inn served as a stopping point for those in need of changing horses, while other similar establishments, such as the Cowbridge Arms, Royal Oak, and Spread Eagle did not offer such a service. The northern side of the house once had wing attached to it during the medieval period but this no longer exists. In the early 19th century, Christopher Bradley was succeeded by Michael Glover as inn host. In the early 20th century, the county Court occasionally sat at the Bear Inn when it had such needs in Cowbridge. Nearby is the Cowbridge Grammar School.