Bridgend

Bridgend, town and urban area (from 2011 built-up area), Bridgend county borough, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), southern Wales. It is situated on the River Ogmore, a short distance upstream from the Bristol Channel, and is the administrative centre of the county borough.

The town has grown up on the site of medieval riverside twin villages (Oldcastle and Newcastle) with a 12th-century castle and 15th-century hospice; a stone bridge was built over the river about 1435. Historically, Bridgend has been the market town for the western Glamorgan lowland and the valleys immediately north. In addition the town’s industrial base was expanded after World War II with the conversion of a wartime ordnance factory into a large industrial estate, and the Ford Motor Company opened an automobile engine factory southeast of the town. Pop. (2001) town, 13,950; urban area, 39,429; (2011) town, 14,912; built-up area subdivision, 46,757.