A Blue Plaque Scheme was introduced by Bridgend Town Council to recognise significant contributions made to the area and commemorate notable people, places and events within the Bridgend Town Council wards of Morfa, Oldcastle and Newcastle.

In order to develop the Blue Plaque Scheme, the Town Council consulted with representatives from Bridgend Civic Trust and Bridgend Historical Society to consider recipients for three blue plaques for 2018-19.

Blue Plaque Scheme

Blue Plaque Scheme

The Countess & Mayor presenting the Blue Plaque for Dowager Countess of Dunraven, Caroline Wyndham.

The three plaques installed to date are dedicated to:

  • Sir Morien Bedford Morgan, originally from Caroline Street Bridgend who is noted as the ‘Father of Concorde’.

  • Dowager Countess of Dunraven, Caroline Wyndham, who in 1857 paid for a pipe-line to be laid to provide free clean water on the corner of Court Road/Derwen Road and later paid for the ‘Randall Memorial’ drinking fountain to be erected.

  • St John’s House, a protected Grade II Listed building within the Newcastle Conservation area.

The next four blue plaques to be installed in 2022 will be dedicated to:

  • A Tudor Plaque commemorating 500 years of the granting of a Royal Market Charter to Bridgend by King Henry V111 in 1516
  • John Thomas: Originally, from Bridgend and born on St David’s Day in 1826, John Thomas was harpist to Queen Victoria and to her successor, King Edward VII.
  • Dilwyn Lewis: Born in Bridgend and raised in the cottage homes, Dilwyn Lewis was a clothes designer turned clergyman who oversaw the restoration of the ancient church of St Mary Major in Rome.
  • Caroline Williams: Born in 1823 at a house on Newcastle Hill, Caroline Williams had a passion for the advancement of women. Throughout her life she did much to better the education for women and funded the first Women’s Scholarship ever given at a Welsh University College.

Bridgend Town Council welcome suggestions from individuals or organisations relating to notable people, places and events that could be considered for a blue plaque. The aim of the Blue Plaque Scheme is to commemorate a range of people, places or events within the Bridgend Town Council wards of Morfa, Oldcastle and Newcastle throughout all historical periods.