Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Ogmore. The River Ewenny also flows through the town. The population was 49,597 in 2021. Bridgend is within the Cardiff Capital Region which in 2019 had a population of approximately 1.54 million.
Historically a part of Glamorgan, Bridgend has greatly expanded in size since the early 1980s – the 2001 census recorded a population of 39,429 for the town.
History
Prehistoric and Roman
Several prehistoric burial mounds have been found in the vicinity of Bridgend, suggesting that the area was settled before Roman times. The A48 between Bridgend and Cowbridge has a portion, known locally as "Crack Hill", of Roman road and the 'Golden Mile' where it is believed Roman soldiers were lined up to be paid. The Vale of Glamorgan would have been a natural low-level route west to the Roman fort and harbour at Neath () from settlements in the east like Cardiff and Caerleon ().
Norman invasion
In the decades after the Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England in 1066, the Normans looked westwards to create new seats for lords loyal to William the Conqueror. Groups of Norman barons arrived in Wales, and in the south and east created what would later become the Welsh Marches, while the north and west remained largely unconquered.
At Coity, the local Welsh chieftain Morgan Gam already had a stronghold. Sometime in the 11th century, Norman Lord Payn de Turberville approached Morgan to turn over control of Coity Castle to Turberville. Morgan Gam agreed, on condition that Turberville either fought Morgan for the land, or took Gam's daughter Sybil's hand in marriage. Turberville married Sybil and became Lord of Coity, and rebuilt the castle.
Newcastle Castle (on Newcastle Hill, overlooking the town centre, 1106) and Ogmore Castle (1116) were built by Robert Fitzhamon and William de Londres, respectively. About north-east of Ogmore Castle, Maurice de Londres founded the fortified Benedictine Ewenny Priory in 1141.
These three castles provided a "defensive triangle" for the area – a quadrilateral if Ewenny Priory is included.
Early development Bridgend developed at a ford on the River Ogmore, which was on the main route between east and west Wales. Just north of the town is the confluence of three rivers, the Ogmore, the Llynfi, and the Garw. South of Bridgend, the River Ewenny merges with the River Ogmore and flows into the Bristol Channel. In the 15th century, a stone bridge was built as a permanent connection between the two sides of the Ogmore (and was later rebuilt). Originally, this bridge had four arches, but in the 18th century, a massive flood washed two of them away. The rest of the bridge still stands and remains a focal point of the town: aesthetic restoration took place in 2006.
Bridgend grew rapidly into an agricultural town. It became an important market town, a status it retained until the late 20th century.
Industrial era The discovery of coal in the South Wales Valleys north of Bridgend had a massive impact on the town. The first coal mining operations opened north of Bridgend in the 17th century; the Llynfi Valley was the first to be industrialised. Bridgend itself never had coal deposits and remained a market town for some time, but the valleys of the three rivers grew into an important part of the South Wales coalfields. Ironworks and brickworks (notably at Tondu) were also established in the same period by John Bedford, although the ironworks faltered after his death and ceased operating entirely in 1836.
The Great Western Railway arrived and Bridgend was at the junction between the main London to Fishguard line and the branch to the three valleys. Frequent coal trains took coal down the valleys; and when the Vale of Glamorgan railway opened, coal could be sent directly to port at Barry or via other branch lines to Porthcawl.
Several quarries opened in and around Bridgend town centre; some remnants of these can still be seen today near Brackla. An engine works was opened in the town and a larger farmers' market also opened in the town centre, where it remained until the 1970s.
In 1801, the population of what is now Bridgend County was around 6000. By the beginning of the 20th century this had risen to 61,000. By this time Bridgend was a bustling market town with prosperous valleys to the north, a thriving community and good links to other towns and cities.
Second World War In the Second World War, Bridgend had a prisoner of war (POW) camp at Island Farm and a large munitions factory (ROF Bridgend – known as the "Admiralty") at Waterton, as well as a large underground munitions storage base at Brackla (known as the 8Xs). This was an overspill of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.
At its peak, the arsenal had 40,000 workers, many of them women. Large numbers of them were transported by bus from the Rhondda and the valleys.
The factory complex had three sites in Bridgend, all linked together by a large network of railways. Many reminders of the factory sites remain to this day.Brackla Ordnance Site .
In March 1945, 87 POWs from Island Farm escaped through a tunnel, but all were recaptured. While Bridgend was as important during the war as any other part of Wales, and although it was photographed by the Luftwaffe, it was never blitzed, although the area immediately around Bridgend did suffer bombing raids. The admiralty ceased full-scale production in December 1945 after five years. Two of the munitions-storage magazines in the Brackla ROF site were converted to a regional government headquarters during the Cold War as part of the UK continuity of government plans. It is now in the hands of a private company.
After the war Bridgend remained a solid market town after the war. In 1948, Newbridge Fields (a short distance from the town centre) hosted the 1948 National Eisteddfod.
In 1960, the River Ogmore burst its banks and flooded the town centre. Subsequent floods and extreme weather led the Welsh Water Authority to develop concrete flood defence walls along the banks of the River Ogmore in the town centre. The town centre has not been flooded since. During this time, Bridgend was chosen to become the headquarters for South Wales Police. This action was ideal as geographically, Bridgend stands equidistant to Swansea to the west and Cardiff to the east.
The Beeching cuts of the 1960s had the loss of passenger rail links in the Vale of Glamorgan and to the northern valleys. The Vale of Glamorgan link to Barry via Rhoose was reinstated in June 2005.
In the 1970s, Bridgend began to see the catalyst of arguably its biggest growth period. The "missing section" of the M4 motorway was constructed around the town, plans were afoot to change the Waterton Admiralty into an industrial estate, and the water supply was improved including new sewage treatment works near Ogmore. Two major multinational corporations, the Ford Motor Company and Sony, set up factories in or on the outskirts of the new Bridgend Industrial Estate (former Waterton Arsenal).
The development of the Brackla Housing Estate in the 1980s, housing developments at Broadlands to the south-west of the town centre and the continuing expansion of Brackla to the north-east have caused Bridgend's population to swell dramatically. Due to this, traffic congestion and a perceived shortage of parking facilities within the town have become important issues in the area. In 1997, a new link road/bypass was built to link the town centre directly to the M4 motorway, as well as redirect traffic around the town centre.
A new Securicor-operated prison (HM Parc Prison) was built near Coity in the late 1990s. The prison opened in November 1997.
The McArthur Glen Designer Outlet opened in 1998.
New millennium
Objective 1 investment in regeneration and public realm improvements has led to the pedestrianisation of the town centre and the restoration of some buildings.Town Centre Streetscene Bridgend County Council Some local traders have argued that this has damaged trade because of reduced access for taxis and people with disabilities.Angry trader calls for town centre 'shutdown' to bring back traffic WalesOnline 25 June 2009 Car parking provision and pricing have also been a concern to retailers with calls for free or reduced-price parking to increase town centre visits.
To counteract the dominance of Tesco in the area, Asda were granted planning permission for a new superstore near the town centre. The store was opened on 31 March 2008 by the local MP, and players from Bridgend Ravens.
In 2004, an award-winning new bus station was constructed and traffic movements around the town centre were altered. Local committees, together with the council, started to use the pedestrianisation of the town centre to its advantage, culminating in several fairs including Continental Markets, Celtic Festivals, a small Mardi-Gras, and seasonal markets and events. Bridgend Council estimated in 2009 that these events have brought 900,000 visitors to the town and generated around £53 million for the local economy. Report to Town and Community Council Forum, 14 April 2009
About £2.5 million of European funding was used to create a "riverside café culture" by constructing a walkway along the River Ogmore,River Ogmore Walkway & Bridge, Bridgend Bridgend County Borough Council which was completed in March 2009.
Future developments
Construction on a 1500-home sustainable "village" at Parc Derwen near Coity began in 2011. The scheme was a collaboration between several house-builders and public bodies including the National Assembly, and was planned with strict guidelines regarding architecture and the environment. Concerns exist from Coity in particular that this development may impact on their village's identity.Bypass drives 'village for the 21st century' ahead WalesOnline 26 February 2008
Studies were carried out by the local council with a view to improving retail provision in the town centre. Attracting bigger high-street chains to the town, such as Marks & Spencer, Next, and Debenhams is seen as key to this.Can high street giants revive Bridgend? 28 February 2008
At Elder Yard, a derelict Grade II-listed building in the heart of the town centre, which in 2009 was due to be converted to a restaurant and provide the impetus for other town improvements, including a public courtyard and extra retail and leisure provision.Unveiled – the master plan for town centre WalesOnline, 6 August 2009
Politics
As of July 2024, the local Member of Parliament is Chris Elmore (Welsh Labour), the Member of the Senedd for Bridgend is Sarah Murphy (Labour) along with the regional members for the South Wales West region: Luke Fletcher (Plaid Cymru), Thomas Giffard (Conservative), Altaf Hussain (Conservative) and Sioned Williams (Plaid Cymru).
Local government Bridgend County Borough Council is led by the Welsh Labour Party, which has been running a majority administration since the May 2022 local elections, where the Labour party gained ten seats to finish on 27 out of a possible 51 seats. At those elections Independents won 21 seats, Plaid Cymru 2 and the Conservatives 1. A few weeks after the elections Labour lost the ward of Bridgend Central in a by-election to an independent candidate reducing the Labour group to 26 and increasing the independent group to 22.
Following the 2012 election, the council was made up of 39 Labour councillors, 10 Independents, 3 Liberal Democrats, 1 Conservative and 1 Plaid Cymru. The Youth Mayor of Bridgend County Borough as of 2017 is Niamh Gwilym, and the Deputy Youth Mayor is Leigh Williams.