Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Bwrdeistref Sirol Bro Morgannwg (Welsh) | |
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 Coat of arms | |
 Vale of Glamorgan shown withinWales | |
| Coordinates:51°27′N03°25′W / 51.450°N 3.417°W /51.450; -3.417 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Wales |
| Preserved county | South Glamorgan |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | Barry |
| Government | |
| • Type | Principal council |
| • Body | Vale of Glamorgan Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | 2 MPs |
| • MSs | 2 MSs |
| Area | |
• Total | 331 km2 (128 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 15th |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 135,743 |
| • Rank | 11th |
| • Density | 410/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcode areas | |
| Dialling codes | 01656 |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-VGL |
| GSS code | W06000014 |
| Website | valeofglamorgan |
TheVale of Glamorgan (Welsh:Bro Morgannwg[ˈbroːmɔrˈɡanʊɡ]), locally referred to asThe Vale, is acounty borough in thesouth-east ofWales. It bordersBridgend County Borough to the west,Cardiff to the east,Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and theBristol Channel to the south. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmostunitary authority in Wales. Attractions includeBarry Island Pleasure Park, theBarry Tourist Railway, Medieval wall paintings inSt Cadoc's Church, Llancarfan,Porthkerry Park,St Donat's Castle,Cosmeston Lakes Country Park andCosmeston Medieval Village. The largest town isBarry. Other towns includePenarth,Llantwit Major, andCowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.
The area is the southernmost part of the county ofGlamorgan. Between the 11th century and 1536 the area was part of the Lordship of Glamorgan.
In medieval times, the village ofCosmeston, near what is todayPenarth in the south east of the county, grew up around afortified manor house constructed sometime around the 12th century by the De Costentin family.[3] The De Costentins, who originated on the Cotentin peninsula in northern France,[4] were among the firstNormaninvaders of Wales in the early 12th century followingWilliam the Conqueror's invasion of neighbouring England in 1066. The village would have consisted of a number of small stone round houses, or crofts, withthatched roofs.[5]
Clemenstone, to the west, was the seat of several high sheriffs ofGlamorganshire, including John Curre who was known to have occupied the estate in 1712. William Curre, known to have lived in Clemenstone in 1766, was also an occupant ofItton Court inMonmouthshire.[6] In the early 19th century, Lady Sale née Wynch, wife of SirRobert Sale, spent much of her early life on the Clemenstone Estate.[7]
In 1974, the Vale of Glamorgan Borough was created, with a population of 103,000.[8] The Vale of Glamorgan was a second tierdistrict, part of the new county ofSouth Glamorgan,[8] under theLocal Government Act 1972. It created several problems in local governance, between theSouth Glamorgan County Council,Cardiff City Council and theVale of Glamorgan Borough Council owing to their conflicting interests. It was a turbulent time for governance in the city of Cardiff, as for the first time in its history it had to share authority with the county council, which was larger and better resourced.[9] In April 1996, the Vale of Glamorgan became acounty borough (unitary authority) of Wales.[10]
Located immediately to the west of Cardiff between theM4 motorway and theSevern Estuary, the county borough of Vale of Glamorgan covers 33,097 hectares (130 square miles) and has 53 km (33 mi) of coastline. Thephysiographical district from which the modern administrative area derives its name is the slightly larger, generally low-lying area which extends from the River Kenfig in the west, eastwards as far as theRhymney. ThePennant Sandstone scarp forms its northern boundary.[11]The largest centre of population in the borough isBarry (51,502 inhabitants). Other towns includeCowbridge (6,180),Dinas Powys (7,799),Llantwit Major (10,621) andPenarth (22,083).[12] Much of the population inhabits villages, hamlets and individual farms. The area is low-lying, with a maximum height of 137.3 metres (450 ft) above sea level at Tair Onen to the east of Cowbridge.[13]
The borough bordersCardiff to the north east,Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north,Bridgend to the north west and theBristol Channel to the south.
The yellow-grey cliffs on theGlamorgan Heritage Coast (which stretches betweenGileston andOgmore-by-Sea) are unique on theCeltic Sea coastline (i.e.Cornwall,Wales, Ireland andBrittany) as they are formed of a combination ofLiassiclimestone, shale andCarboniferous Limestone. The rocks were formed between 360 and 200 million years ago when the whole area lay underneath a warm, shallow sea at the start of theJurassic period. Thus today the cliffs contain traces of Jurassic sea creatures, such as ammonites. Thecalcium carbonate (limestone) in the soil allows crops to be grown which would be difficult elsewhere in Wales. The Liassic limestone and Carboniferous Limestone are also used in the Vale as building materials; in previous centuries it was taken bysloops across the Bristol Channel to North Cornish ports such as Bude,Boscastle andPort Isaac to fertilise Cornwall's poorslate soils; the hard Devonian slate was brought back from Cornwall as a roofing material for houses in the Vale.
As the Glamorgan Heritage Coast faces westwards out to the Atlantic, it bears the brunt of onshore (westerly and south-westerly) winds: ideal for surfing, but a nuisance for ships sailing up theBristol Channel toCardiff. As in North Cornwall and South-West Ireland, the fierce Atlantic gales created ideal conditions fordeliberate shipwrecking, which until 100 years ago was very common along the coast.[citation needed]Nash Point,Southerndown andOgmore-by-Sea have some of the highest shipwreck victims on the coast of Wales; as recently as 1962 an oil tanker, the BP Driver, crashed into Nash Point during a violent westerly storm, was torn to shreds by the reefs and eventually sank, although the crew were saved by various Bristol Channel lifeboats and helicopters.[14]
The Vale of Glamorgan was determined to be the wealthiest area in Wales in a 2003 survey conducted byBarclays Bank that measureddisposable income.[15] Chemical industries are located to the east of the port of Barry[16] while further inland the main activity is agriculture, especially beef and dairy cattle, with marketing facilities at Cowbridge.[17]
The Vale of GlamorganUK parliament andSenedd constituencies (which do not includePenarth andSully which are in the constituency ofCardiff South and Penarth) sway betweenLabour control andConservative Party control in both theSenedd and Westminster. The UK parliament constituency was created in 1983 and the Welsh Assembly (later Senedd) constituency in 1999. There is substantial Labour support in the east of the constituency and in the town ofBarry, and substantial Conservative support in the agricultural area in the west.
Since 1996 local government is led byVale of Glamorgan Council. The Labour Party had a large majority initially, though between 1999 and 2012 the Conservatives were the largest group.[18] Since 2017, there has been no overall political majority on council.
All except one (Rhoose) of the Vale'scommunities elects a community (or town) council,[19] the lowest tier of local government.
The principal football club in the Vale isBarry Town United F.C., of theCymru Premier who play their home games atJenner Park Stadium in Barry. The club was founded in 1912 and enjoyed success in the 1990s, when they won theLeague of Wales and theWelsh Cup. The club experienced declining fortunes in the following decade and were relegated toWelsh Football League Division Two, but were promoted toDivision One after winning the league in the 2014–15 season. In 2014 it was announced that Jenner Park stadium would undergo a £350,000 plus development with the laying of a synthetic pitch.[20] There are several other smaller football clubs in the county such asLlantwit Major F.C., established in 1962,[21] which competes in theCymru South,[22] and Penarth Town AFC in theVale of Glamorgan League.[23]
Rugby has a strong presence in the county, though none of its clubs compete in the higher leagues. As of the 2015–6 season,Penarth RFC competes in theWRU Division Three South East,Llantwit Major RFC inWRU Division Four South East, andOld Penarthians RFC andCowbridge RFC in theWRU Division Five South East. Several of the clubs are feeders forCardiff Blues.[24]There are cricket grounds inCowbridge andSully and several golf clubs, including theGlamorganshire,Southerndown andWenvoe Castle clubs.
Owing to its close proximity to Cardiff, most of the major roads in the county boroughoriginate in the capital.
Running east–west, theA48 runs through the centre portion of the Vale of Glamorgan betweenCardiff andBridgend, passing along the northern edge ofCowbridge. TheM4 motorway also runs east–west along the northern edge of the Vale, linking the area to major cities such as London, Bristol,Newport, andSwansea. Junctions 33 (Cardiff West) and 34 (Llantrisant) provide direct access to the Vale of Glamorgan.
The M4 is economically important to the county borough as it "facilitates the movements of goods and people" from the region to other areas of the UK, enabling local firms "access to domestic and international markets." The county borough benefits from its location in theM4 technology corridor, according to the Welsh Government.[25]
TheVale of Glamorgan Line is the county borough's principal rail connection. The line runs betweenCardiff Central andBridgend, with spurs toBarry Island andPenarth. All services on the line are operated byTransport for Wales, linking the Vale directly to other areas of the capital region, includingCardiff Queen Street,Pontypridd, andMerthyr Tydfil.[26] Railway stations in the Vale of Glamorgan are:
TheSouth Wales Main Line passes through the Vale, but trains do not stop. The nearest stations on the South Wales Main Line are (from east to west): Cardiff Central;Pontyclun;Llanharan;Pencoed; Bridgend. Most services are operated by Transport for Wales, but Bridgend and Cardiff are additionally served byGreat Western Railway services between Swansea andLondon Paddington. Cardiff Central is further served by Great Western Railway services to destinations inSouth West England andCrossCountry services tothe Midlands.
TheBarry Tourist Railway is a shortheritage railway and museum on Barry Island.[27]
Bus services in the Vale of Glamorgan are principally operated byNew Adventure Travel (NAT) andCardiff Bus.[28][29][30]
The Vale of Glamorgan Council operates a community 'on-demand' transport service in rural communities called Greenlinks.
Cardiff Airport is in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Rhoose.
In 2019, Cardiff Airport claimed to have a £135 million direct economic benefit to the region.[31] Destinations from Cardiff Airport at the time includedAlicante,Amsterdam,Anglesey,Dublin, andDoha. A "Masterplan" for the airport sets out the Welsh Government's ambition to grow the airport's passenger numbers and freight operations by 2040.[32]
MOD St Athan is also situated in the Vale of Glamorgan.
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The Vale of Glamorgan is twinned with:
and has friendship agreements with:
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of the Vale of Glamorgan.
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As of the2021 United Kingdom census, the county borough's ethnic groups are as follows:[35]
| Ethnic group | Percentage |
|---|---|
| White | 94.6% |
| Mixed | 2.3% |
| Asian | 2.1% |
| Black | 0.5% |
| Other | 0.5% |
As of the2021 United Kingdom census, the county borough's religious make-up is as follows:[35]
| Religion | Percentage |
|---|---|
| No religion | 47.9% |
| Christianity | 44.1% |
| Islam | 0.9% |
| Other | 0.5% |
| Hinduism | 0.3% |
| Buddhism | 0.3% |
| Sikhism | 0.1% |
| Judaism | 0.1% |
| not stated | 5.7% |
| National | |
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| Geographic | |
| Other | |
