EWENNY, a parish in Bridgend district, Glamorgan; on the river Ewenny, and on the Julian way, near the South Wales railway, 2 miles SSE of Bridgend. It includes the villages of Cortown and Wallace, and part of the hamlet of Lampha; and has a post-office under Bridgend. Acres, 1, 975. Real property, £2, 099. Pop., 273. Houses, 59. The property is divided among a few. Part of the land is an extensive marsh, bounded by the river Ewenny. A Benedictine priory, afterwards a cell to Gloucester abbey, was founded near the edge of the marsh, in 1140, by Maurice de Londres; and given, at the dissolution, to the Carnes. The buildings and the precincts were surrounded by lofty walls and other strong defences, which were designed for protection against the military raids of the period, and which, to a considerable extent, still exist; and the chief gateway was defended by a portcullis, and is in good preservation. The church had originally the form of a Greek cross, but has lost the north transept, and also the nave-aisles; is a massive structure, of early Norman character; has a low but very massive tower; and contains tombs of the Carnes and the Turbervilles. A modern mansion, the seat of the Turbervilles, who acquired the manor by marriage with the Carnes, adjoins the church, and occupies the site of the ancient manor-house. A very fine Norman arch, originally an entrance to one of the conventual buildings, stands on the grounds An ancient square camp is on a hill. The parish is a meet for the Cowbridge harriers. The living is a donative in the diocese of Llandaff. Value, £40. Patron, Capt. T. Turberville The church is the nave of the old priory.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))