Pencoed (pronounced "Pen-coyd", in English meaning 'end or head of the wood'), is a town in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom, mid-way between Wales's two largest cities of Cardiff and Swansea.
Lying on the Ewenny River it has a population of around 11,000 (latest figures show 11,832). It is believed that there was a Norman castle in what is now the town, but Pencoed did not develop until the late nineteenth century, around the coal mining industry. The coal mines have now closed.
The town nestles in the Ewenny valley, straddling the M4 motorway at junction 35. About a mile to the north of the town, lies the comparatively different relief of the South Wales Valleys. To the south lies the rolling countryside of the Vale of Glamorgan and the rugged north coast of the Bristol Channel.
The town consists of three distinct areas, which were once four small hamlets. To the north is Penprysg ('end of the brush wood'), a hilly region backing on to the low ridge (100 m) of Cefn Hirgoed ('long wooded ridge'). To the west is Hendre ('old town') which rises from the railway line in the centre of the town to the common land at Ystadwaun ('flat moorland'). The central part of the town, which lies on the flat valley floor east of the railway, consists of Pencoed itself and Felindre (Mill Town). There are numerous streams rising and running through the town and two main rivers the Ewenny Fawr (the Big Ewenny) and the Ewenny Fach (the Small Ewenny). At the centre of the town, close to Pencoed railway station, is the war memorial (known locally as the Monument), the shopping centre and the local Community Hall (Pencoed Miners' Welfare Hall). The town is well provided with sports facilities, schools, pubs and clubs. A new development 'Earlswood Parc' was announced in 2002 and now has been completed, incorporating various 'Westbury' built homes and Bocam business park.
The current Mayor is Councillor Jim Hancock OBE.
Pronunciation of the name Pencoed is always the cause of some argument within the town. The standard Welsh pronunciation of the name is "Pencoyd", although many locals pronounce it "Pencawd" / "Pencode"; this may be due to the standard "Valley Dialect" where most O's are pronounced as Or's (as pronounced in Glamorganshire Welsh).
Pencoed hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1998.
Read more about Pencoed: Twinning