The Bro Cynffig Chronicles Project
The 'Bro Cynffig' Chronicles is an exciting project, which plans to record and tell the history of the Cynffig area, through the words, drawings and activities of its children.
Every school in the Pyle, Cornelly, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr area is participating in the project by drawing upon the support of community groups and local people to help gather the evidence needed to document the area's rich historical background. This information will then be shared with all through the creation of history trails, journals and via this website.
Click here to find out more about how you can help.
History trail leaflets
Now available as a free download - Click here!
Ask your gran!
Don't forget to ask your gran and all other members of your family to help. They might not have read this web site, so ask them for us. Help them get in touch and we will do the rest.
Poems about Kenfig Castle
This is the story of how, in 1913, a fire destroyed all the shops near our school.
A walk through the history of Cornelly.Part 2 Parhad : Lon y New House ir rheilffordd . New House to the railway
A walk through the history of Cornelly. Croesheol Corneli ir New House. Cornelly cross to the New House
Children in years 1 and 2 looked at the old school log book to find out why children didn't go to school in 1894 to 1901
Class 4 have been finding out about local farming stories that made news in the 19th Century.We found a lot of them amusing
Chronicle book available early November
If you prefer to see the children's work in a hard copy format, why not buy a copy of our book " The Bro Cynffig Chronicles - The history of Cynffig told by its children "
It shows what the children have discovered about the history of the area. Filled with their drawings and writings, the book, 76 pages, bound and in full colour, is packed with little gems of local history, some never before seen in print.
Books can be obtained directly from the participating schools or by contacting the web site. All proceeds from the book will go to the schools and for the continued support of community projects.
Buy the book for just £5
Click here to see the Poster!
Take the Mental Artihmetic Test...
This is part of a mental arithmetic test from the 1950, that the pupils of children of Pil primary school have found.
Can you answer the questions? Remember it must be in your head. For the complete test and the answers look at the Pil school web pages inside
- Write in figures: Twenty-eight thousand and twenty eight
- Add together 99, 199 and 299
- Add together the greatest and the least of these: 5, 0.5, 5.5, 0.5
- How many children can each receive 1/3 pint of milk from 6 gallons
- Find the cost of 480 articles at 21/2d. each
- A pencil is 71/2 inches long. If 1/8 inch is using every day, what is the length of the pencil at the end of 20 days?
- A man works from 6am to 2pm. His journey to work takes 40 minutes and from work another 50 minutes. How long is he away from home?
- What is the next number in the series 6, 8,12, 20 ….?
- The distance round a square is 3 feet 8 inches. What is its area in square inches?
- If 2 men together can dig a garden in 6 hours, how long would it take 3 men working together?
- A bucket full of water weight 10 lbs, and when half full weighs 6 lbs. What is the weight of the bucket?
- John had 5s. 4d. and Mary had 3s 10d. What should John give Mary so that they have the same amount?
- A gallon and a half of paint cost 56s. What will a quart and a half cost?
- When I multiplied 11 by a certain number, it was increased by 66. What number did I multiply by?
- What length of boarding 6 inches wide would be required for a floor 15 feet long and 12 feet wide?
- Vikings at Comprehensive school!
There is evidence that during the 10th century there was a
Viking settlement somewhere in the Cynffig area. Could this be at a spot once known as "The Danes Vale", where
Cynffig Comprehensive School now stands?
- Lawless frontier town...
In the Medieval town of Kenfig, if they didn't like or
agree with the laws of the land the Portreeve of the town (a sort of Mayor) and the Constable of the Castle
could just declare them null and void and get rid of them.
- The wolves that roamed Cornelly!
Cornelly was once called Lupelluston after the family who
were the Lords of the Manor. In Latin Lupelluston means "wolf" and to reassure the villagers, the family built a
chapel dedicated to St Wenduin the patron saint of sheep.
- Hang them high...
The last hanging in the area was in 1532, when a man named
Llewellyn ap Griffiths was hanged for murder.
- Stand and deliver...
The main road through Pyle was once a favourite spot for
highwaymen. In 1741 Miss Jane Blainey travelling from Merthyr Mawr was attacked by two of them at Pyle Hill.
Thanks in part to the eagle eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy who saw the robbers riding off, one of the men was
caught and sentenced to death.
- Bang goes the roof...
In 1867 an explosion blew off the roof of a house in Heol
Las, North Cornelly when the 6-year-old accidentally ignited a keg of gunpowder. The boy died of his injuries but
his mother, brothers and sisters, who were in the room below at the time, miraculously survived uninjured.
- Costa Del Kenfig...
In the 20's and 30's it was common practice amongst
families in the district to spend the summer living in tents on Kenfig dunes. The men would stay home during
the working week and then join their wives and children at the weekend.
- Our own Dad's Army...
During the Second World War, Stormy Aerodrome was a
military base with armed guards on its perimeter. But that didn't stop it from being captured. A daring raid
was made to take over the camp and entry was gained by concealing men in empty barrels on a brewers dray.
Fortunately this was not some cunning Nazi plan, but our local Home Guard on a military exercise proving that
they too were a force to be reckoned with.
- Any old iron...
Bedford Road Cefn Cribwr is named after John Bedford who
built an iron works there in 1790. The ruins can still be seen today at Bedford Park
- Burning issue...
When Mynydd Cynffig Junior School caught fire and was
badly damaged everyone had to be evacuated from the building. Once all the children were safely out and marshalled
in the schoolyard, they kept up their moral as the firemen fought the blazing inferno back, by singing -