Bridgend (or Pen-Y-Bont-Ar-Ogwr as it is known in Welsh) has its origins in the 14th century and could be found on the east bank of the Ogwr River. It started out as a market town serving the county and its agricultural hinterland. As such it did not suffer the impact of industrialisation in the way that other places of a roughly comparable size such as Penarth and Neath did. Being located in the Vale of Glamorgan (Bro Morgannwg) meant that the principal industry has always been agriculture. Even by 1871 its population was a mere 4000, by contrast Swansea's was 51,000 and Cardiff's 60,000. Bridgend's best export was a green-coloured building stone called Quarella. This fine sandstone can be seen in public buildings all over the region. It was the arrival of the railways in the 1850s that enabled Quarella to be carried all over Wales. The great Victorian engineer Isombard Kingdom Brunel built Bridgend's railway station in 1850 and the west-bound platform is to his original design. Modern Bridgend has grown. From a population of a mere 13,500 in 1951 to 139,200 it is now the principal town of a county borough that also contains the settlements of Maesteg and the seaside town of Porthcawl. The arrival of the Ford carworks in the 1970s and other industries has meant this former market town has evolved and broadened its employment base while developing a more rounded economy. Access to the Bridgend Industrial Estate is a 4-minute drive away from Cae Court.
