Place:Newcastle, Glamorgan, Wales

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Newcastle from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"NEWCASTLE, two hamlets, a parish, and a hundred, in Glamorgan. The hamlets are Higher Newcastle and Lower Newcastle; they lie on the river Ogmore and the South Wales railway, within and around the town of Bridgend; and they take their name from an ancient castle, the outer walls and a Norman doorway of which still exist. [Higher Newcastle] includes the villages of Aberkenfigg, Angeltown, and Penyvae. Real property: £3,443; of which £2,000 are in mines. Population in 1851: 822; in 1861: 1,357. Houses: 236. The increase of population arose from the extension of collieries, and of coke and iron-works. Real property of [Lower Newcastle]: £1,873. Population in 1851: 714; in 1861: 887. Houses: 192.

"The parish consists of the two hamlets, and is in Bridgend [registration] district. Post-town: Bridgend. Acres: 2,870. Population in 1861: 2,244. Houses: 428. The property is subdivided. The living is a vicarage, united with the [perpetual] curacies of Bettws, Laleston, and Tythegston, in the diocese of Llandaff. Value: £360. Patron: the Bishop of Llandaff. The church stands on a conspicuous site in Bridgend; and is good."

Newcastle is now a suburb of Bridgend located west of the town centre in Bridgend County Borough. Higher Newcastle is north of Lower Newcastle and extends beyond the M4 motorway which crosses the top of Bridgend.

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Glamorgan Lots of leads to other sources and descriptions of former parishes.
• The FamilySearch Wiki on Glamorgan has recently been updated (early 2016) and looks remarkably like Wikipedia. Their map "Glamorgan Parish Map.jpg" enlarges to show all the original parishes. The sub-section "Parishes of Historic Glamorgan" lists all the parishes of Glamorgan and the newer preserved counties and principal areas in both English and Welsh. (Currently this website is still under construction.)

Maps

The first three maps are provided by A Vision of Britain through Time

• A map of 1832 showing larger towns and some villages (not as good as the England county maps in this series).
• Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1899.
• A 1930s Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1944.

These maps were found on Wikimedia Commons

• Glamorgan Administrative Map 1947 separating the various types of administrations with colour coding. These division were most likely in place until 1974.
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of West Glamorgan
• A map of the Vale of Glamorgan principal area with the western part of Cardiff included

These maps of Glamorgan post-1974 were found on another site and are very useful for sorting out the up-to-date geography of the area

• A map of West Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of South Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them. The description states that this is "formerly part of Mid Glamorgan".
• A map of Caerphilly, Blaenau and Torfean showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them.Aberkenfig

Angeltown Penyvae Higher Newcastle Lower Newcastle