About
Bridgend originated as a market town. It is thought that during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a market for ‘corn, butter and cheese’ was held under the arches of the Old Town Hall, with the livestock market held nearby. In 1836 the Bridgend Market Act was passed allowing for the creation of a purpose-built market on the site of the old tennis courts in Caroline Street. The Act included the erection of a new slaughterhouse and cattle market, the latter opening on a site near Wyndham Street / Adare Street. In 1837 the Cambrian newspaper reported ‘we congratulate the good folks of Bridgend, in having now, what they wanted long ago, a good and commodious Market’.
The next iteration of the market came in 1906, when the market building was completely demolished and reconstructed on the same site, incorporating a fully covered roof and movable stalls. In 1908 the Grand Eisteddfod was held in the market hall on Boxing Day. The market buildings continued in the ownership of Dunraven Estates Ltd until 1955, when they were acquired by the Bridgend Urban District Council. The market remained in operation on the Caroline Street site until 1972 when the buildings were demolished and the market itself moved to a new, indoor location at The Rhiw. In honour of the history of the site, in 1996, the original 130-year-old market bell was re-installed into the shopping centre after it was re-discovered in a council depot.
