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Ogwr History Month
Throughout September you will be able to enjoy a variety of free history talks, walks and displays across Bridgend County Borough.
Ogwr History Month has been organised in partnership with the Ogwr Heritage Network, and has been funded by the UK government. There are also several Open Days in partnership with the CADW Open Doors festival.
All activities in the History Month are free, but many of the activities have capacity limitations. This means you do have to book tickets in advance.
*Tickets and activities are subject to availability, and talks may be subject to change. Any changes will be communicated on social media and directly to ticket holders.
What's On
| September | Time | Venue | Events | More information / Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Monday 2nd | 3pm - 5pm | Maesteg Library | Lego Club – build a bit of history in Lego! | MORE INFO |
Tuesday 3rd | 11am | Maesteg Library | History talk* and display by Richard Williams and Amanda Powell: ‘Coal and Community in Wales’. A photo display on St John’s Colliery is on show all day. | MORE INFO |
Wednesday 4th | 1:45pm | Porthcawl Library | History talk* by Peter Rees: 'Child Evacuation to Wales in the Second World War'. | MORE INFO |
Friday 6th | 2pm | Awel y Môr, Porthcawl | History talk* by Phil Cope: ‘Paul Robeson in Wales’. | MORE INFO |
Saturday 7th | 10am - 1pm | The Mem, Nantymoel | History Open Day by the Ogmore Valley Local History Society, in partnership with CADW Open Doors. | MORE INFO |
Saturday 7th | 10am | William Trigg Centre, Blaengarw | History walk and talk by Gerald Jarvis: ‘The story of Daniel James’. The walk meets outside the William Trigg Centre in Blaengarw. | MORE INFO |
Sunday 8th | 11am - 3pm | St John’s House, Bridgend | Open Day at St John’s House, the oldest habitable dwelling in Bridgend, with stories of a Victorian service maid. In partnership with CADW Open Doors. | https://awenboxoffice.com/whats-on/open-day-st-johns-medieval-house/ |
Monday 9th | 3pm - 5pm | Maesteg Library | Lego Club – build a bit of history in Lego! | MORE INFO |
Monday 9th | 2pm | Pyle Library | History talk* by Dr. Elin Jones: ‘Hanes yn y Tir, yn trafod yr hanes yn ein tir ni’. This talk is in Welsh. | . |
Monday 9th | 7.30pm | Three Horse pub, Cefn Cribwr (and online) | History talk by Rob Evans’, with Cymdeithas Hanes Bro Ogwr: ‘Travelling with Gerald of Wales 800 years ago.’ This talk is in Welsh, and is also available on Zoom. | MORE INFO |
Tuesday 10th | 11.30am | Pyle Library | History talk* by John Richards: 'The Romans in South Wales'. | <p>MORE INFO</p> |
Tuesday 10th | 6.45pm | Bridgend Library | History talk* by Martin Johnes: ‘Welsh Not: Education and the Anglicization of 19th Century Wales’. | MORE INFO |
Wednesday 11th | 1.45pm | Porthcawl Library | History talk* by Rhian Rees - ‘The role of women in Medieval Wales’. | MORE INFO |
Thursday 12th | 2pm | Pencoed Library | History talk* by Norena Shopland: ‘Women in Welsh coal mining’. A display on Welsh Pit Girls is on display all afternoon. | MORE INFO |
Friday 13th | 10.30 - 12.30 | The Mem, Nantymoel | History displays: ‘Glamorgan’s Blood’ and ‘Welsh Pit Girls’ mining exhibitions. | |
Saturday 14th | 10.15am | Mawdlam | Kenfig Castle History Walk* with Graham Loveluck-Edwards. Traverse the lost castle and streets of historic Kenfig. | MORE INFO |
Tuesday 17th | 7pm | Three Horseshoes pub, Cefn Cribwr | History talk* by Graham Loveluck-Edwards: ‘Historic pubs of Wales’. | MORE INFO |
Wednesday 18th | 10am - 12.30pm | Y Nyth, Bryngarw Country Park | History displays: ‘Glamorgan’s Blood’ and ‘Welsh Pit Girls’ mining exhibitions. | MORE INFO |
Wednesday 18th | 1.30pm | Y Nyth, Bryngarw Country Park | History talk* by Dr James January-McCann: ‘Collecting Welsh Place Names’, tracing the history and development of local place names in the Bridgend area. | MORE INFO |
Friday 20th | 2pm - 4.30pm | Awel y Môr, Porthcawl | History exhibition by VisionFountain: ‘Behind the Picket Lines’. This is a multimedia exhibition about the 1984-85 mining strikes, and includes a Virtual Reality activity. | |
Saturday 21st | 10.30am | Bridgend and St John’s House | Bridgend Town History Walk* with Graham Loveluck-Edwards. Visit the landmarks and stories of historic Bridgend. | . |
Saturday 21st | 2pm | Bedford Park and Signal Box | Historic Walk and Talk with Cefn Gwyrd, in partnership with CADW Open Doors. The walk starts at the Bedford Ironworks car park and finishes at the Cefn Junction Signal Box. | . |
Saturday 21st | 10am -4pm | Tabernacl Chapel, Porthcawl | Open Day at the Tabernacl Chapel Porthcawl, in partnership with CADW Open Doors. There will be chapel tours, children’s activities and a 1930s Porthcawl photo exhibition. | . |
Saturday 21st | 10am -4pm | Tabernacl Chapel, Porthcawl | Open Day at the Tabernacl Chapel Porthcawl, in partnership with CADW Open Doors. There will be short history talks and history displays featuring famous people from the Garw Valley. | . |
Sunday 22nd | 10am | Starting from Bryngarw Park car park | History bike ride* with Amanda Powell and Richard Williams: ‘Coal and Community circular bike ride to the Garw Valley’ – please bring your own bicycle and safety gear. | MORE INFO |
Sunday 22nd | 10am - 3pm | Y Nyth, Bryngarw Park | History exhibition: ‘Coal and community in Wales’ and mining displays. | MORE INFO |
Monday 23rd | 2pm | Bridgend Library, Bridgend | History talk* by Dr. Elin Jones: ‘History grounded – finding history in the ground all around your local area’. | MORE INFO |
Tuesday 24th | 1.30pm | Pyle Library, Pyle | History talk* by David Pilling: ‘The revolt in South East Wales in 1294-5 - the actions of Morgan ap Maredudd and Meurig ap Dafydd, the Welsh leaders in Glamorgan and Gwent’ | . |
Wednesday 25th | 1.45pm | Blaengarw Workmen’s Hall, Blaengarw | History talk* by Will Millard: ‘Hidden Wales – the stories of the BBC series’, including local stories and video footage. | MORE INFO |
Thursday 26th | 2pm | Pyle Library, Pyle | History talk* by Debra John: ‘Amy Dillwyn’, telling the story of the Welsh novelist, feminist campaigner and early female industrialist. | MORE INFO |
Friday 27th | 11am | St John’s House, Bridgend | History talk* by Phil Cope – ‘Holy Wells of Wales’, focusing one some of Wales’s secret treasures, its historic holy wells. | . |
Saturday 28th | 11am-3pm | St John’s House, Bridgend | Open Day at St John’s House, the oldest habitable dwelling in Bridgend. In partnership with CADW Open Doors. With a special opportunity to meet the medieval archers! | MORE INFO |
Saturday 28th | 10am – 4pm | Tabernacl Chapel, Bridgend | Open Day with Cymdeithas Hanes Bro Ogwr and Cant a Mil Welsh Book Shop. The day includes a local History Exhibition on Owain Glyndŵr’s Siege of Coity Castle, and short history talks every hour on the hour. | . |
Saturday 28th | 11am-3pm | Porthcawl Museum | Open Day at Porthcawl Museum, in partnership with CADW Open Doors. | MORE INFO |
Sunday 29th | 11am-3pm | St John’s House, Bridgend | Open Day at St John’s House, the oldest habitable dwelling in Bridgend. In partnership with CADW Open Doors. Meet the Medieval archers. | More Info |
Monday 30th | 7pm | Three Horseshoes pub, Cefn Cribwr | History talk* by freelance reconstruction illustrator Chris Jones-Jenkins: ‘An Introduction to historic reconstruction drawings in the Local Area’. This talk is in partnership with Bridgend and District Local History Society. | More Info |
Inspired to learn more?
Find out more about your local history or support your local history society.
Glamorgan Family History Society secretary2@glamfhs.org.uk
Llynfi Valley History Society neilperry382@btinternet.com
Garw Valley Heritage Society jarvismob@tiscali.co.uk
Bridgend and Local District History Society committee.brid.hist.soc@gmail.com
Cefn Gwyrdd masoncj4@hotmail.com
Ogmore Valley Local History Society ovlhs@ovlhs.co.uk
Cymdeithas Hanes Bro Ogwr arw.cleaves@gmail.com
Porthcawl Museum and Historical Society porthcawlmuseum@hotmail.com
St John’s House, Bridgend saintjohns@hotmail.com.uk
Awen Cultural Trust – Heritage Library and Archive history@awen-wales.com