 cowbridge () is a market town in the vale of glamorgan in wales, approximately  west of cardiff. cowbridge is twinned with clisson in the loire-atlantique department in northwestern france. ==history== ===roman times===  the town lies on the site of a roman settlement identified by some scholars as the fort of bovium (cow-place). recent excavations have revealed extensive roman settlement;the welsh academy encyclopedia of wales. cardiff: university of wales press 2008. the town lies alongside a roman road. there are 17th century references to a 'cow-bridge' over a tributary of the river thaw (which flows through the town) but cowbridge's welsh name, y bont-faen, means literally 'the stone bridge'.wyn owen, h. and morgan, r. (2008) dictionary of the place-names of wales. llandysul: gomer. ===middle ages=== the town centre is still arranged on its medieval plan, with one long street divided into "burgage plots". it is one of very few medieval walled towns in wales, and substantial portions of the walls, together with the south gate, are still standing. on 13 march 1254, cowbridge received its first borough charter from richard de clare,the welsh academy encyclopaedia of wales. john davies, nigel jenkins, menna baines and peredur lynch (2008) pg174. isbn 978-0-7083-1953-6 the lord of glamorgan. richard de clare was one of the most powerful barons of the day, having huge estates stretching across much of south wales and also lands in southern and eastern england. from 1243 de clare was actively extending his authority in glamorgan; in 1245 he seized the manors of llanblethian, ruthin and talyfan from richard siward, and the lordships of miskin and glynrhondda from hywel ap maredudd. in llanblethian he founded the town of cowbridge and in miskin he founded the castle and town of llantrisant. the largely medieval church of the holy cross was initially a chapel of ease to the parish church at llanblethian. in 1307 earl gilbert de clare, grandson of richard de clare, began work on the stone fortifications of st quintins castle
Cowbridge Market_towns_in_Wales Post_towns_in_the_CF_postcode_area Towns_in_the_Vale_of_Glamorgan