Coychurch Lower is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Bridgend County Borough Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. It ...

, South

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Along with the communities of

Brackla Brackla ( cy, Bracla) is a large housing estate and community in the east of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Along with the communities of Bridgend and Coychurch Lower, it makes up the town of Bridgend. At the 2001 census the communi ...

and

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, it makes up the town of Bridgend. Coychurch Lower is the eastern district of Bridgend, and takes in the village of Coychurch and the area known as Waterton. Traffic leaving the

M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

for Bridgend at Junction 35 travels through Coychurch Lower along the A473 road, passing through an area of business parks and out-of town shopping zones, which takes up the majority of the western half of the community. The population of Coychurch Lower at the 2001 census was 1206, increasing to 1,365 at the 2011 census. The community of Coychurch Lower was created in 1974 when the civil parishes of Wales were abolished. In 1996, in a major change to the boundaries of Bridgend, Coychurch Lower gained much of the community of

Ewenny Ewenny ( cy, Ewenni) is a village and community (parish) on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Over the years the village has grown into the neighbouring village of Corntown to such an extent that there is no longer a clear boundar ...

and

Llangan Llangan ( cy, Llanganna) is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located approximately outside the market town of Cowbridge. As a community it contains the settlements of St Mary Hill, Treoes and Llangan itself. I ...

Landmarks

Coychurch Lower has several buildings of note. In the village of Coychurch is the church of St. Crallo, one of the largest churches in Glamorgan. Thought to be built on the site of a Celtic ''clas'', St Crallo is a 13th-century cruciform church, described by English historian

Edward Augustus Freeman Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician during the late-19th-century heyday of Prime Minister William Gladstone, as well as a one-time candidate for Parliament. ...

as making "an admiral model for a small colonial cathedral". The church has undergone several restorations, including interior work in 1871 by

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard wa ...

and a reconstruction of the south transept in 1888 by F.R. Kempson. St Crallo's also contains several monuments, including a 14th-century figure of a praying monk and a memorial to Welsh lexicographer Thomas Richards. Also in Coychurch is the Mid Glamorgan Crematorium, one of the last commissions of Maxwell Fry. The building is notable for its stained glass windows, described as one of the most important recent displays in the county. Other buildings of note include the headquarters of the

South Wales Police South Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu De Cymru) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Const ...

and Coed-y-Mwstwr, a 19th-century country house in the Tudor style.

Notes

External links

Map showing the community boundaries of Coychurch Lower
{{Bridgend Bridgend Communities in Bridgend County Borough