Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by a comprehensive school.
Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling and refounded by Sir Leoline Jenkins, it had close links with Jesus College, Oxford. The school took both boarders and day boys. Famous old boys include actor Anthony Hopkins and poet Alun Lewis.
The main school buildings were located in Church Street, Cowbridge. Derelict for some years, they have now been converted into residential accommodation. The school also occupied part of Old Hall, now an adult education centre.
Cowbridge Grammar School was founded in 1608 by Sir John Stradling and owned by Jesus College, Oxford from 1685 to 1918. Sir Leoline Jenkins, Secretary of State to Charles II, purchased the school and bequeathed it to Jesus College in his will. It became Cowbridge Comprehensive School in 1973-4. What used to be the grammar school's main building, dating from 1852, was converted into residential accommodations beginning in 2006 and completed in 2008.
In 1881, Edward Treharne, who represented the school, was chosen to play in the first international game for the Wales rugby union team.
The Grammar School Old Boys' Association, in conjunction with the school's successor, Cowbridge Comprehensive, held a series of activities in September 2008 to mark the 400th anniversary of "the start of quality education" in Cowbridge.
The following old boys are listed in date order
Evan Seys (1604–1685) — Attorney general to Cromwell; MP for Glamorgan and Gloucester; Recorder of Gloucester; Exclusionist and Proto-Whig
Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625–1685) — Secretary of State to Charles II; MP for Hythe and for the University of Oxford; Judge of the High Court of the Admiralty; second founder of the school; Principal of Jesus College, Oxford
John Pettingall (1707/8–1781) — Antiquarian and clergyman
David Durell (1728–1775) — Old Testament Scholar; Principal of Hertford College, Oxford; Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford
George Cadogan Morgan (1754–1798) — Scientific writer (notably on electricity); republican and dissenting minister
Sir John Nicholl (1759–1838) — Lawyer and politician: Tory MP, Privy Councillor, King's Advocate, Dean of the Arches, Judge of the High Court of the Admiralty
Sir William Nott (1782–1845) — General for the East India Company; Commander in the first Afghan War 1838-42; Resident at Lucknow
Evan Evans (1813–1891) — Master of Pembroke College; Oxford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford
William Thomas (Islwyn) (1832–1878) — Methodist minister and Bard (Welsh-language poet)
Sir Lewis Morris (1833–1907) — Writer and poet; a founder of the University of Wales; radical Liberal
Edward Treharne (1862–1904) — Pioneering Welsh rugby international and medical man
Sir (William John) Andrew Jones (1889–1971) — Colonial administrator (Chief administrator of Northern Territories, Gold Coast)
Glanville Williams (1911–1997) — Professor of English Law at Cambridge
Alun Lewis (1915–1944) — Poet and soldier
Sir Idwal Pugh (1918–2010) — Second Permanent Secretary at Department of the Environment; Ombudsman; Director & Chairman of banks and building societies
J.M.W. Bean (1928–2012) — Mediaeval historian
Sir Thomas Philip Jones (1931–2000) — Deputy Secretary at Department of Energy; Chairman of the Electricity Council; Company Director
Keith Rowlands (1936–2006) — Welsh rugby international; First Chief Executive Officer of the International Rugby Board
Richard Grassby (born 1936) — Early modern historian
Sir Anthony Hopkins (born 1937) — Actor/filmstar
Patrick Hannan (1941–2009) — Journalist, author and presenter
William Tudor John (born 1944) — Deputy Chairman of Nationwide Building Society since 2007; Chairman of Lehman Brothers (Europe) 2000–2008
David Richard Hughes (born 1951) — Newspaper executive and chief leader writer, Daily Telegraph
Hedley Benyon (born 1936) - Former president of Rugby Canada
