Oldcastle (Welsh : Hengastell) is an area and electoral ward of the town of Bridgend, Wales, to the south of the town centre. The ward elects councillors to Bridgend Town Council and Bridgend County Borough Council.
Oldcastle is located immediately south of Bridgend town centre. The area is bordered to the west by the River Ogmore. Oldcastle originally spread along Nolton Street and Cowbridge Road (and was also known as Nolton). [1]
The Oldcastle name is believed to refer to Nolton Castle (rather than the nearby Newcastle Castle), whose remains were recorded in the 16th-century on the southeast of a bend in the River Ogmore. [2] With the 'new' castle dating from at least 1106, the 'old' castle is presumed to have been in existence before 1100 and would have been an earth and timber structure. [3]
The modern area also includes the Bridgend campus of Bridgend College.
The Oldcastle electoral ward extends south to include the areas of Whiterock and Hernston. The ward is bounded by the River Ewenny (and the Vale of Glamorgan) to the south, The Rhiw, Brackla Street and Pen-y-Banc in the north, coterminous with the boundaries of Bridgend town to the east and west. [4] According to the 2011 UK Census the population of the ward was 4,799 (with 3,930 aged 18 or over). [5]
Oldcastle is one of three wards to Bridgend Town Council (with Morfa and Newcastle), electing up to six of the nineteen Bridgend town councillors. [6]
Prior to 1996 Oldcastle was a ward to Ogwr Borough Council, electing two (Conservative) councillors.
Oldcastle is also a county ward to Bridgend County Borough Council, electing two county councillors. [7] Since the 1995 elections the ward has generally been represented by the Labour Party, though had Liberal Democrat representation between 2004 and 2012. [7] In February 2015 the Oldcastle (Labour) councillors were two of six councillors suspended from the council for voting against a merger proposal with the Vale of Glamorgan Council. [8]
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, 20 miles (32 km) west of Cardiff and 20 miles (32 km) 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.
The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996.
Bridgend is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Chris Elmore of Labour.
Ogmore was a constituency created in 1918, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
St. Brides Major is a village within the community also called St Brides Major in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales.
The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Principal Areas of Wales.
Bridgend County Borough Council is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales.
Ogmore Vale is a village in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales on the River Ogmore. The village's main source of income came from coal mining. Up until the year 1865, the Ogmore valley was a quiet, isolated, rural hill farming community of less than ten farms and a few cottages. Today, along with Nantymoel and Price Town it makes up the community of Ogmore Valley.
Bryncethin is a small village and electoral ward in the County Borough of Bridgend, South Wales, located just north of Junction 36 of the M4 Motorway and approximately 3 miles north of the county town of Bridgend. The population of the ward was 1,319 in 2011.
Cornelly is a community and electoral ward in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As of 2011 the population of the Cornelly ward was 7,059.
Llangeinor is a small village located in the Garw Valley around 5 miles (8 km) north of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,243. The entire village is now protected as part of a conservation area.
Ynysawdre is a small community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig in Wales, and comprises the two villages of Tondu and Brynmenyn. The name Ynysawdre is also usually used for a small section of Tondu. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 3,698, reducing to 3,367 at the 2011 Census.
Coity is a village in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales, part of Bridgend town urban area. Coity is part of the community of Coity Higher and is notable for being home to Coity Castle, one of the best-preserved castles in Glamorgan. Other buildings of note in the village include St Mary, a 14th-century church, and Ty Mawr, a fine 16th-century house.
Laleston is a village and a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales, directly west of Bridgend town centre. The village takes its name from the Norman Lageles family who settled in the area. Buildings of note in the village include St David's Church, which still possesses features dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries, the Great House which was built in the early 16th century and Horeb Welsh Presbyterian Church (1831).
Newcastle is an area and electoral ward of the town of Bridgend, Wales. The area includes the medieval Newcastle Castle. The ward elects councillors to Bridgend Town Council and Bridgend County Borough Council.
Llandow, is the name of an electoral ward in the west of the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It covers its namesake community of Llandow as well as the neighbouring communities of Colwinston and Llangan. Since 1995 the ward has elected a county councillor to the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
Morfa is an electoral ward in the town of Bridgend, Wales. The ward elects councillors to Bridgend Town Council and, until 2022, Bridgend County Borough Council.
Litchard is a village and residential district north of Bridgend, Wales. It is also an electoral ward in the Coity Higher community, as well as a former ward to Bridgend County Borough Council.