Coychurch Lower () is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Bridgend County Borough Bridgend County Borough () 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. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy ...

, South

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

. Along with the communities of

Brackla Brackla () 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 community of Brac ...

and

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, 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 of Waterton. Traffic leaving the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest 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 ele ...

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 take up the majority of the western half of the community. The population of Coychurch Lower at the 2001 census was 1,206, 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 and Llangan.

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 Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. Thought to be built on the site of a Celtic ''clas'', St Crallo is a 13th-century cruciform church, described by the English historian Edward Augustus Freeman as making "an admiral model for a small colonial cathedral". The church has undergone several restorations, including interior work in 1871 by John Prichard and a reconstruction of the south transept in 1888 by F.R. Kempson. St Crallo 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 Edwin Maxwell Fry, CBE, RA, FRIBA, F RTPI (2 August 1899 – 3 September 1987) was an English modernist architect, writer and painter. Originally trained in the neo-classical style of architecture, Fry grew to favour the new modernist style, ...

. 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 South Wales Police 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