Old Hall Cowbridge

Project Introduction

As a result of the recent Placemaking Plan for Cowbridge, we have now identified a number of opportunity areas in the town. One of these is the Old Hall and Gardens, considering the future use of the Old Hall and exploring it’s potential.

The Old Hall currently hosts Vale Courses and runs a number of vocational creative courses for adults. The main corridor is used as a gallery space operated by the local arts group, which is a valuable asset to the local arts community. The hall also has a pop-up shop fronting High Street, popular with creative practitioners, and several rooms that are privately let for small businesses, other council departments, and the wider community.

Despite this vibrant activity, the Old Hall has vast untapped potential, and the Council wishes to explore a number of initiatives to support the current activity, but also looking more ambitiously towards the future of the building and it’s functionality.

Developing the Project Brief - How can I get involved?

Step 1 - A Call for Memories

The site of Old Hall and its gardens has long reflected the town's history, embodying prosperity, hardship, and considerable change over the centuries. Located within the medieval Town Walls, the site began as a collection of burgage plots before becoming a mansion house with landscaped gardens for the locally renowned Edmondes family. In the mid-20th century, the house briefly served as a Grammar School before falling into decline, being partially demolished and redeveloped into a Community College in the 1970s.

We invite you to share your memories and photographs of Old Hall—whether as students of the Grammar School or Community College, users of the building, visitors to its gardens, or participants in events held within. We welcome all memories and would be especially grateful for photographs of the interior of Old Hall before its partial demolition in the 1970s. Your memories will help us capture Old Hall's social and cultural significance and reveal how the building has, and continues to, shape the lives of local people.

Step 2 - Your Ideas for the Future of Old Hall

Between December and January, we will be conducting stakeholder and community consultations to gain insight into how Old Hall is currently used—what works well, what doesn't, and the community's wants, needs, and aspirations for its future. We are particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on how Old Hall can better serve the community, especially in terms of expanding its arts, education, and cultural offerings.

The link on the right offers an opportunity to share your views, with all feedback helping shape our evolving Project Brief. The questionnaire will be live between December xx - January 17th, 2025.

What next?

After this briefing consultation concludes in January 2025, we will review all feedback to shape the project brief and explore architectural design options for Old Hall's redevelopment. Your input will play a key role in informing our plans, activities, and response to community needs and aspirations.

In February and March 2025, we will then launch design consultations, where we will host a series of in-person drop-in sessions at Old Hall, complemented by an online offer here, to gather your thoughts and feedback on the evolving design options.

Project Introduction

As a result of the recent Placemaking Plan for Cowbridge, we have now identified a number of opportunity areas in the town. One of these is the Old Hall and Gardens, considering the future use of the Old Hall and exploring it’s potential.

The Old Hall currently hosts Vale Courses and runs a number of vocational creative courses for adults. The main corridor is used as a gallery space operated by the local arts group, which is a valuable asset to the local arts community. The hall also has a pop-up shop fronting High Street, popular with creative practitioners, and several rooms that are privately let for small businesses, other council departments, and the wider community.

Despite this vibrant activity, the Old Hall has vast untapped potential, and the Council wishes to explore a number of initiatives to support the current activity, but also looking more ambitiously towards the future of the building and it’s functionality.

Developing the Project Brief - How can I get involved?

Step 1 - A Call for Memories

The site of Old Hall and its gardens has long reflected the town's history, embodying prosperity, hardship, and considerable change over the centuries. Located within the medieval Town Walls, the site began as a collection of burgage plots before becoming a mansion house with landscaped gardens for the locally renowned Edmondes family. In the mid-20th century, the house briefly served as a Grammar School before falling into decline, being partially demolished and redeveloped into a Community College in the 1970s.

We invite you to share your memories and photographs of Old Hall—whether as students of the Grammar School or Community College, users of the building, visitors to its gardens, or participants in events held within. We welcome all memories and would be especially grateful for photographs of the interior of Old Hall before its partial demolition in the 1970s. Your memories will help us capture Old Hall's social and cultural significance and reveal how the building has, and continues to, shape the lives of local people.

Step 2 - Your Ideas for the Future of Old Hall

Between December and January, we will be conducting stakeholder and community consultations to gain insight into how Old Hall is currently used—what works well, what doesn't, and the community's wants, needs, and aspirations for its future. We are particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on how Old Hall can better serve the community, especially in terms of expanding its arts, education, and cultural offerings.

The link on the right offers an opportunity to share your views, with all feedback helping shape our evolving Project Brief. The questionnaire will be live between December xx - January 17th, 2025.

What next?

After this briefing consultation concludes in January 2025, we will review all feedback to shape the project brief and explore architectural design options for Old Hall's redevelopment. Your input will play a key role in informing our plans, activities, and response to community needs and aspirations.

In February and March 2025, we will then launch design consultations, where we will host a series of in-person drop-in sessions at Old Hall, complemented by an online offer here, to gather your thoughts and feedback on the evolving design options.