Bridgend
Bridgend photos (100 available)
Bridgend maps (2 available)
Map of Mid Glamorgan
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Bridgend memories
Read and share memories of Bridgend and Mid Glamorgan inspired by Frith photos
granny
I remember going to see granny and grandpa every
evening with my father george John. She lived in Barry
in south wales. My grandpa was a lay reader.
I am doing my family history, and my granny was born in Coity
her father and mother used to have a chemist shop in Caroline
st . Can anyone help.
Contributed by wendy john
Mum and Me in Bridgend !
I have the original post card of this picture, bought in 1950 by my Mum. I was delighted to see it was one of the Frith Prints. It's hard to see that we are on it, as the Frith watermark is right on us (not on the Frith print I purchased of course), but there is a blonde person lifting a push bike onto the pavement, and we are walking away just to the left of that person. I was five years old, with my hair in plaits. Mum is wearing a checked jacket.
We lived there while I was a kid. My Dad was the local window cleaner, and I had lots of family in and around the town.
read more here
Contributed by Janet Grice
Going home for lunch
I am on this photo. I am one of the three girls in Grammar School uniform. The time on the clock, I believe, is 12.40 so we must have been going home for lunch. Not many people used to go home for lunch but we used to walk together. Hazel Jones (in the middle of the group) was about to cross the road to go over the old stone bridge to Sunnyside Rd. But Lorna Jones (on the left) and I used to walk all the way up Newcastle Hill to Cefn Glas. We got plenty of exercise in those days! My name then was Marilyn John. I was 12 years old at the time. ...read more here
Contributed by Marilyn Jones
Mid Glamorgan memories
Going home for lunch
I am on this photo. I am one of the three girls in Grammar School uniform. The time on the clock, I believe, is 12.40 so we must have been going home for lunch. Not many people used to go home for lunch but we used to walk together. Hazel Jones (in the middle of the group) was about to cross the road to go over the old stone bridge to Sunnyside Rd. But Lorna Jones (on the left) and I used to walk all the way up Newcastle Hill to Cefn Glas. We got plenty of exercise in those days! My name then was Marilyn John. I was 12 years old at the time. ...read more here
A memory of Bridgend contributed by Marilyn Jones
Extracts From Bridgend & Mid Glamorgan books
The Welsh name for Bridgend is 'Yr Hen Bont'. This photograph was taken from the new bridge looking towards the old bridge, which is built of the local Quarella stone and dates from the early 15th century. It was partly destroyed on 21 August 1775 by a large flood - two of the original small arches were replaced by the single large span we can see here, giving it an asymmetrical appearance. The cottage with the bay window at the right-hand end of the bridge is St John's, or Bridge Cottage, dating from 1460; it was once used as a courtroom pending the completion of the new town hall. It was demolished in 1966 amid much local protest.
An extract from from"South Wales Photographic Memories".
To the left of the castle stands Coity Church. It is noted for two 14th-century monuments to de Turberville children, and a legged oak gabled coffer upon which are carved scenes from the Passion. The earliest castle ruins date from the 12th century, and include the keep and curtain wall of the inner ward. The bulk of the ruins, however, are from the 14th century and Tudor periods.
An extract from from"Welsh Castles".
The church is just visible to the left of the picture. Coity Castle is roughly two miles to the north-west of Bridgend; a somewhat unusual feature is that the castle was not built on the highest ground on this site - there is higher ground nearby. The earlier parts of the castle date from the 12th century, but most of the ruins are 14th-century and Tudor. There is a local legend telling how Payn de Turberville acquired the castle following the Norman conquest of Glamorgan. The most common way for faithful men to be rewarded for services rendered was by the giving of lands. William the Conqueror in 1066 promised land to his followers, and this practice continued as Norman lordlings pressed north and west. Payn was fully expecting to take possession of Coity when he arrived here; but instead of surrendering the place immediately, the local chieftain, Morgan, responded by riding out equipped for battle. However, Morgan took the precaution of riding out in the company of his lovely daughter, Sybil. Morgan offered Payn a simple choice: fight or marry Sybil and inherit Coity by peaceful means. Payn chose to marry Sybil, and thereby swore allegiance to Caradoc ap Jestyn. Payn's descendants were to live at Coity until the end of the 14th century, when the line of de Turberville died out. The church is noted for two 14th-century de Turberville monuments.
An extract from from"South Wales Photographic Memories".
St Illtyd's is built in the Decorated style and dates from the early 14th century; the nave was rebuilt and a north aisle added in 1849 at a cost of £1,200. The church has a 16th-century crenellated tower with gargoyles and low pinnacles, a clock and a peal of eight bells. The original six bells were recast and two new ones added in 1904 by Richard Knight Pritchard.
An extract from from"South Wales Photographic Memories".
This asylum opened in 1864 with 350 patients. By 1875 the population had risen to 557, and there were complaints that it was overcrowded. By 1879 the situation had deteriorated sufficiently for beds to be placed in the corridors, and by 1881 the population had doubled to 661, with about 100 of the patients having to 'board out' - care in the community is nothing new!
An extract from from"South Wales Photographic Memories".