Old workings just to the north of Traeth yr Afon - geograph

Merthyr Mawr is a village and

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 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 ...

, Wales. The village is about miles from the centre of

town. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 267. The community occupies the area west of the Ewenny River, between Bridgend and Porthcawl. It takes in the settlement of Tythegston and a stretch of coastal sand dunes known as Merthyr Mawr Warren. It is in the historic county of

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 ...

Buildings and landmarks of note

Merthyr Mawr House is an early 19th-century mansion built by

Sir John Nicholl Sir John Nicholl (16 March 1759 – 26 August 1838) was a Wales, Welsh Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament and judge. As a judge he was noted "for inflexible impartiality and great strength and soundness of judgement". ...

and set in an extensive park. The park is designated at Grade II* on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

. Within the park is the Iron Age hillfort known as Chapel Hill Camp, and within the embankments is the now roofless 15th century chapel of St Roque (or Roch), which houses two early medieval inscribed stones.Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Historic Landscapes: Merthyr Mawr
accessed 11 May 2013 Merthyr Mawr is largely an estate village for the House. It now contains several cottages retaining

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

s and well maintained gardens. At the south end of the village is the parish church of St Teilo, which was built in 1849–51 to a design by Benjamin Ferrey and John Pritchard, on an ancient medieval site. A collection of stones from the former churchyard and the surrounding area are displayed in a shelter in the churchyard. Nearby are the Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes.

Candleston Castle Candleston Castle (historically sometimes Candlestone Castle) is a 14th-century fortified manor house, in ruins since the 19th century. It is southwest of Merthyr Mawr, Glamorgan, Wales, now Bridgend County Borough and just northwest of Ogmor ...

is on the edge of the area of dunes. Mike Young Productions children's cartoon studio is located in Merthyr Mawr. The River Ogmore flows through the village and a famous

sheep dip Sheep dip is a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide that shepherds and farmers use to protect their sheep from infestation against external parasites such as itch mite (''Psoroptes ovis''), blow-fly, ticks and lice. History Sheep ...

ping bridge crosses it on the outskirts of the village. The former POW Camp

Island Farm Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis Powers, Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs ...

is less than a mile away. The Ewenny River forms the southern boundary of both the community and the borough. The villages of

Ewenny Ewenny () is a village and community 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 boundary between the ...

and

Ogmore-by-Sea Ogmore-by-Sea (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Aberogwr'', meaning "Mouth of the River Ogmore") is a seaside village in St Brides Major (community), St Brides Major community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the western limit of the Glamorg ...

are both on the southern bank of the Ewenny, along with

Ogmore Castle Ogmore Castle () is a Grade I listed castle ruin located near the village of Ogmore in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, east of Ogmore-by-Sea, and south of the town of Bridgend. It is situated on the south bank of the Ewenny River and the east ban ...

Scheduled Monuments

There are large number of archaeological sites in the Community area, showing habitation from

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times, and intensive occupation since Roman times. Thirteen sites are

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

s, which gives them legal protection from disturbance:- * Tythegston Long Barrow (, SS864792). A Neolithic chambered tomb toward the east end of a long mound. *Mynydd Herbert Round Barrow (, SS851798) A

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

burial cairn 2m high covered in stones, possibly cleared from nearby fields, in the corner of a field 1 km north of Tythegston. * Chapel Hill Camp (, SS889780) A small

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort on a low hilltop. The ruins of St Roques chapel, lying within the enclosure, gives its name to the hill. Candelston Castle 2009

The Ogmore River by New Inn Bridge - geograph

* Merthyr Mawr Warren (, SS863770) An area of dunes within which numerous prehistoric burial sites and other findspots have been uncovered, especially during sand and gravel extraction. *Cae Summerhouse Camp (, SS864779). A settlement site with intensive 1st to 4th century occupation in a defended enclosure, covering the

& Roman periods. *Merthyr Mawr pre-Norman Stones (, SS882775) A series of locally found early medieval stone pillars, slabs and crosses, now housed in a shelter within Merthyr Mawr St Teilo churchyard. *Vervil Dyke (, SS889774) A bank and ditch runs between the rivers Ogmore and Eweny. Traces of a parallel bank imply a settlement enclosure of early medieval date. *Cross in Tythegston Churchyard (, SS857788) An 11th-century sandstone slab set in a modern socket, in St Tudwg's churchyard, Tythegsto. * St Roque's Chapel (, SS888780) A ruined medieval chapel, sited inside Chapel Hill Camp, within the park of Merthyr Mawr House. *Conbelani Stone in St Roque's Chapel (, SS888780) An inscribed pillar cross, originally on the river bank at Merthyr Mawr. Another cross pillar, the Goblin Stone, is also in the ruined chapel. *

(, SS871772) A lightly fortified 14th century manor house overlooking Merthyr Mawr Warren, which continued in occupation until the 19th century. *Merthyr Mawr Churchyard Cross (, SS882774) An octagonal 14th century cross pillar with part of its original finial, set in three steps of sandstone. *New Inn Bridge (, SS891783) A Stone bridge in the parish, but near Bridgend. It has 4 arches, and is dated to the 16th century or older. Two openings allow sheep washing, giving an alternate name of 'Dipping Bridge'.

National nature reserve

The sand dune system known as Merthyr Mawr warren is a scheduled National Nature Reserve. It contains the highest sand-dunes in Wales and is notable for its floristic and animal communities including rare plants. It has also been the site of many archaeological finds.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Bridgend County Borough National nature reserves in Wales Communities in Bridgend County Borough Registered historic parks and gardens in Bridgend County Borough

Buildings and landmarks of note

Scheduled Monuments

National nature reserve

See also

References

External links