History on your doorstep
Cowbridge Town Hall has many stories to tell.
At the heart of the building lie two rows of prison cells first built around 1560 during the reign of Elizabeth 1st. They remained in use until early in the 19th Century, housing at various times a mix of petty criminals, the destitute, an occasional alien, and the first local woman to be transported to the Antipodes.
There was also a condemned cell for the few prisoners awaiting execution. Towards the end of the 19th Century most of the prison, also known as a house of correction, was transformed into the Town Hall as we know it today, but the cells remained as they were, merely used for storage.
Beginning in the 1980s the cells were filled with donated items reflecting the story of the town and surrounding area. One cell contains local fossils and archaeological finds, some from the time when there was a Roman military base in Cowbridge.
Another cell contains many items that tell the story of the town as an agricultural market town, including a recently donated ‘sheep gate’ from the now closed market site. A market town needed a good supply of inns and ale houses. The museum has recently been given a token issued by the landlord of the Pelican Inn.
One cell is devoted to the story of Cowbridge in war time, with a detailed display about the important local airfields at St Athan and Llandow, and photographs of refugees. We have two very peaceful pictures by painted by locally-detained German prisoners of war. From earlier times there is a military button from the uniform of the Glamorgan local militia.
After being closed to the public during the worst of the pandemic, the museum will be open again on a regular basis in the New Year; on the first Saturday of each month between 10.00am and 4.00pm. Visits can be made at other times by arrangement.
The museum staff are all volunteers. New volunteers would be most welcome. For further information please email: or telephone 01446 773248.
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