About
Before Bridgend, there was a hamlet called Nolton located on the east bank of the River Ogmore and Newcastle, a feudal estate with a Norman Castle and Church, located on the west. Paths from Nolton to Newcastle crossed along various points of the river and up the hill. In the 15th century a bridge was built, and the path that led from Nolton to the bridge was known as ‘Elder Street’, therefore making it one of Bridgend’s oldest streets. A market soon grew up near the bridge, thus making Elder Street one of the key routes connecting surrounding areas to the market and Newcastle.
The first Tabernacle of Welsh Congregational denomination was completed in 1810 at the corner of Elder Street and what is now Adare Street. The Tabernacle Hall, erected in 1805, was once used as a school room. The Tabernacle traces its origins back to the erection of The Meeting House at Newcastle Hill.
