Place:Pencoed, Glamorgan, Wales

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Pencoed is a heavily urbanized community (or civil parish) and town in the County Borough of Bridgend, Wales. It straddles the M4 motorway northeast of Bridgend and is situated on the Ewenny River. As of the 2011 UK census it has a population of around 9,166.

Pencoed as a town did not develop until the late nineteenth century, around the coal mining industry. The coal mines have now closed.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Pencoed from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"PENCOED, a hamlet in Coychurch parish, Glamorgan; on the South Wales railway, 3¾ miles E of Bridgend. It has a station on the railway, a post-office under Bridgend, and a Calvinistic Methodist chapel. Acres: 2,045. Real property: £1,568. Population in 1851: 490; in 1861: 604. Houses: 135."

A Vision of Britain through Time also notes that it included the hamlets of Hendrebedran, Milton and Pen y Prysg. Wikipedia also discusses these hamlets.

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Glamorgan Lots of leads to other sources and descriptions of former parishes.
• The FamilySearch Wiki on Glamorgan has recently been updated (early 2016) and looks remarkably like Wikipedia. Their map "Glamorgan Parish Map.jpg" enlarges to show all the original parishes. The sub-section "Parishes of Historic Glamorgan" lists all the parishes of Glamorgan and the newer preserved counties and principal areas in both English and Welsh. (Currently this website is still under construction.)

The first three maps are provided by A Vision of Britain through Time

• A map of 1832 showing larger towns and some villages (not as good as the England county maps in this series).
• Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1899.
• A 1930s Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1944.

These maps were found on Wikimedia Commons

• Glamorgan Administrative Map 1947 separating the various types of administrations with colour coding. These division were most likely in place until 1974.
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of West Glamorgan
• A map of the Vale of Glamorgan principal area with the western part of Cardiff included

These maps of Glamorgan post-1974 were found on another site and are very useful for sorting out the up-to-date geography of the area

• A map of West Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of South Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them. The description states that this is "formerly part of Mid Glamorgan".
• A map of Caerphilly, Blaenau and Torfean showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them.