Lower Cosmeston Farm Development

The authors of this blog-site are deeply perturbed to hear about the Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) development proposals in regard to Lower Cosmeston Farm. The WAG Local Development Plan has identified the site of Lower Cosmeston Farm and a number of its surrounding fields, for the building of 576 new homes as well as provision for a new school, community facilities and open space. This colossal development-if allowed to proceed, would irrevocably and detrimentally transform the character of the Cosmeston area, and would also have severe implications for many of the surrounding communities. There are many points of concern regarding Lower Cosmeston Farm's archaeological, historical and natural environment that need to be addressed.

As preservationists, we find these proposals to be clumsy, short sighted and wholly inappropriate. The sheer amount of destruction to this Greenfield site, which consists of both arable and pastoral landscapes-also home to a massive amount of biodiversity as well as the historic environment, can in this instance never be offset by the gains that building new houses can bring. It quite simply is not a worthwhile trade.

(The landscape directly adjacent to Lower Cosmeston Farm)

It is not just the countryside surrounding Lower Cosmeston Farm however which is under threat-that would be bad enough, but the ancient farm buildings which comprise Lower Cosmeston Farm themselves are under direct threat as the whole complex has been earmarked by the Welsh Assembly Government for destruction. 

The buildings of Lower Cosmeston Farm are a part of the post-medieval evolution of the medieval village of Cosmeston as they embody Cosmeston's transition from a shrunken medieval village decimated by the disasters of the fourteenth century, to its post-medieval revival as a small but prosperous hamlet-the habitation of which remains to this day.

Most visitors to Cosmeston are wholly unaware of the significance, or even the existence of the post-medieval farm complex at Lower Cosmeston. This is partly because the post-medieval buildings of Lower Cosmeston Farm are not accessible to the general public, and partly because the post-medieval period at Cosmeston was in the past seen by many archaeologists and historians as a less interesting area of study compared with the medieval remains located opposite.

Whereas however, the buildings within Cosmeston are all reconstructions which are built on top of their original foundations-the buildings at Lower Cosmeston Farm are the real thing. The buildings at Lower Cosmeston Farm represent a rare survival of an intact post-medieval farmstead, one of very few within the Penarth area to have survived into the twenty-first century. Lower Cosmeston Farm characterizes and contributes as much to the historical environment as the reconstructed remains within Cosmeston medieval village.

(The early seventeenth century farmhouse)

The post-medieval farmhouse at Lower Cosmeston is an early seventeenth century building which was mentioned in the Glamorgan Hearth Tax of 1670. Although much altered and currently in use as a stable, the farm house is structurally intact and retains a great deal of its architectural features such as its stone spiral staircase, fireplaces with lintels, bread ovens and wooden corbels.

(Fireplace with lintel)

The farm house at Lower Cosmeston Farm has been recognized by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments Wales as a rare surviving example of a single-unit, end-entry hearth passage house which was deemed important enough to be listed within an inventory of ancient monuments complied by the RCAHMW and published in 1988 within the book ‘Glamorgan Farmhouses and Cottages’. RCAHMW criteria also states that any building older than C 1700 is automatically eligible for consideration regarding scheduling. In short, there is recognition that this building has an intrinsic value which cannot be replaced. Two of the outbuildings are of late eighteenth-century date and survive in excellent condition retaining their original hand crafted timber roof structures. The basic layout of Lower Cosmeston Farm was noted on the Bute estate map of 1824 and has for the most part remained unchanged since.

(Lower Cosmeston Farm as appears on the Bute estate map dating to 1824 where it is marked as 'little Cosmeston')

There is a lot more to heritage than just the celebrated castles and monastic ruins of this region. Much of our heritage in Wales consists of seemingly ordinary vernacular architecture. While many of these remains cannot boast the architectural finesse and grandeur of the great castles and abbeys of South Wales, they are no less interesting or important. They have the capacity to tell a narrative of the social, political and economic evolution of this small corner of South Wales. Such structures represent an often overlooked part of the demographic which was not composed of the rich and powerful, but those who comprised the backbone of the rural community in a time before mass industrialization and exodus to the cities.

Lower Cosmeston Farm is just as important to our understanding and appreciation of the origins of our local community as the medieval village of Cosmeston. Would the WAG propose to demolish Cosmeston medieval village and replace it with a housing development? Lower Cosmeston Farm must be afforded the same level of respect as the medieval village of Cosmeston, and the same level of legal protection as other building(s) of the same age and historical character within the Vale of Glamorgan.

(Would it be acceptable to propose the destruction of Cosmeston medieval village?)

In addition to the architecture, within the fields directly surrounding Lower Cosmeston Farm is a fossilized medieval landscape which contains archaeology. If ever excavated, this archaeology would be worthy of long-term study such as we have seen with the medieval village of Cosmeston. More appropriately, any new archaeological remains should be offered protection as a Scheduled Monument as we see with the archaeology at nearby Cogan medieval village.

The fields at Lower Cosmeston Farm, as well as being archaeologically rich also support a wide range of biodiversity such as bats, toads, fireflies (or Glow-worms), and many other animal, insect and plant species including the protected plant species Broad leaved Spurge. This fragile and finite ecosystem-something which within this modern climate of mass housing development is becoming scarcer and scarcer within the locality by the year, is intrinsic to the rural character of the Cosmeston area. The land surrounding Lower Cosmeston Farm is also currently in use for agriculture producing the  food we eat.

(A biodiversified and historically rich landscape)

The pros of development in this instance quite simply do not outweigh the cons. The local community stands to lose far more than it will ever gain by the loss of this lush natural landscape with its biodiversity, eco-system, and its historical and archaeological heritage. The local community will experience a huge increase in pollution which will result from the inevitable increase in traffic. Those who commute to Cardiff daily from Penarth, Sully, Barry and beyond, can expect those miserable traffic queues we all know and hate to be greatly exacerbated should this development come to fruition.

There has to be more to progress than just building houses-heritage and the natural environment also deserve status and recognition within the epithet of ‘progress’, rather than simply just being a euphemism for destruction which it frequently is. The time has come in the twenty - first century where we need a more creative and pragmatic approach to house building rather than continuing to endorse the same tired, dismissive and outdated ‘development over all else’ ethos that we’ve seen time and time again. We need a more sustainable vision for the future which will enhance and protect the natural and historic environment, not destroy it. Houses can be built at plenty of other locations-this unique community and landscape has taken centuries to evolve and if destroyed cannot be replaced. Once it is gone it is gone forever. 

For our thoughts on the LDP Heritage Assessment of Lower Cosmeston Farm, please read our latest article. 

http://glamorganhistoryandarchaeology.blogspot.com/2020/04/archaeological-and-heritage-assessment.html

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2019

The right of Jonathan and Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic means, including social media, or mechanical, or by any other means including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.