Bridgend Town A.F.C. ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Pen-y-bont) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

football club that played in the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

. Historically, their local rivals were Maesteg Park who disbanded in 2009. In 2013, they merged with local rivals Bryntirion Athletic to form Pen-y-Bont.

History

Bridgend Town were originally formed in the early 1920s playing in the Welsh section of the Southern League. Despite finishing 6th, 14th and 4th, the side disbanded. The club re-emerged in the 1960s playing in the Welsh League and were crowned Division 2 East champions in their first season. The club won the Welsh league in 1969 and did it again four years later, by that time the name of the club had changed to Everwarm FC due to the sponsorship from the local central heating company of the same name. In the 1976/1977 season Bridgend reached the semi-finals of the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...

, losing to

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. The following season Bridgend rejoined the Southern League and were promoted to the Southern Premier Division. In 1979/1980, Bridgend were crowned overall champions of the Southern League, having won the Midland Division of the Southern League, beating Dorchester Town 5–1 in the Championship play-off. Bridgend returned to the Welsh pyramid in 1983, where they finished runner-up in the National Division twice. After being relegated to the

Welsh League The Welsh League was the first club rugby league competition in Wales.Lush (1998), pg. 19 Its inaugural season was in 1908/09 when four additional teams were formed to join Ebbw Vale RLFC and Merthyr Tydfil RLFC, which allowed a league tournam ...

First Division and subsequently the Second Division, the club were eventually promoted back to the First Division in 2002/2003, where they have remained since. Bridgend Town vacated Coychurch Road in 2006 – their home for many years – to make way for associated works related to a new supermarket. They finished with a comprehensive 7–0 win over

Croesyceiliog Croesyceiliog (, ''Cockerel's Cross'') is a suburb of Cwmbran, Wales. Housing Croesyceiliog is primarily a residential district and contains a wide variety of housing from Victorian terraces and even older Welsh cottages to property built betw ...

in their last fixture at the ground. In the 2008–09 season, the club reached the semi-final of the

, losing 2–1 in a tight game to

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

who went on to retain the cup.

Temporary grounds and return to Bridgend

Bridgend Town set up a temporary base at Tyn-y-Wern Fields, University of Glamorgan,

Treforest Treforest ( cy, Trefforest) is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the ...

, having also played at

Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the ...

since vacating Coychurch Road. The club returned to

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

for the 2009–10 season, playing at the home of Bridgend Rugby, the

Brewery Field Dunraven Brewery Field ( cy, Cae'r Bragdy Dunraven) is an 8,000 (1,100 seated) capacity sports stadium in Bridgend, Wales. It is the home ground of the rugby union team Bridgend Ravens. Bridgend Athletic RFC often use the ground for their h ...

. Bridgend Town are one of 24 clubs that have applied for a domestic club licence to compete in a 12-team

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to ...

for the 2010–11 season. The Brewery Field meets FAW Domestic Club Licensing requirements. In December 2008, local company HD Limited announced plans for a "sporting village" at

Island Farm Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs in Britain d ...

, which includes a 15000-seater stadium, a 5000-capacity stadium for

Bridgend Ravens Bridgend Ravens ( cy, Cigfrain Pen-y-bont) (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales. They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional tea ...

and a 2000-capacity stadium for Bridgend Town. In September 2009, an outline application was lodged with Bridgend County Borough Council.

Merger

It was confirmed in 2013 that the club would merge with local rivals Bryntirion Athletic to form Pen-y-Bont given them access to £1,000,0000 of funding. The new club is based at Bryntirion Park and started life in

Division One from season 2013–14. The club's last match was against Pontardawe Town which ended 0–0.

Club honours

League

* Southern Football League **Winners: 1979–80 *

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First Div ...

**Winners: 1968–69, 1972–1973 **Runners-up: 1975–76 (as Everwarm); 1976–77, 1984–85, 1985–86 *

Division Two NCL Division Two The NCL or National Conference League Division Two (known as the Kingstone Press NCL Division Two) League winners {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - , colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" , NCL DIVISION TWO , ...

**Winners: 1996–97

Cups

**Semi finalists: 1976–77, 2008–09 *

Welsh Football League Cup The Welsh Football League Challenge Cup (known for a time as the Nathaniel Car Sales League Cup for sponsorship reasons, and not to be confused with the national Welsh League Cup) was a knock-out competition for all members of the divisions th ...

**Winners: 1987–88 **Runners-up: 1998–99

References

{{Portal bar, Association football, Sports, Wales 1920 establishments in Wales 2013 disestablishments in Wales Defunct football clubs in Wales Southern Football League clubs Welsh Football League clubs Association football clubs established in 1920 Association football clubs disestablished in 2013 Football clubs in Bridgend County Borough Defunct Welsh football clubs in English leagues