Our History

Our village of Cefn Cribwr

Cefn Cribwr is a small village located near the county town of Bridgend in South Wales.

Cefn folk are known as the “Riders” a name that comes from gangs of men known as the Cefn Riders who have become legendary figures in local folklore.

Cefn Cribwr is a sprawling village running along the top of a spur or ridge whose height & shape give it a commanding position in the area. From anywhere in Cefn the surrounding countryside can clearly be seen and its earliest occupants spotted the potential as a position easy to defend; with the ancient Britons building a fort in Cefn which was known as Castell Kribor.

From the top of the ridge the people of Cefn were able to look about them and feel quite secure. Any stranger visiting the area would be eyed with silent hostility and suspicion & at worst attacked so fiercely they would think twice before venturing near again.

The soil on the ridges was so poor that it was impossible for any large community to remain and so bands of tougher men descended upon the lowlands taking what they required.  No farm or building was safe, sheep and cattle began to disappear in large quantities. From this small step to plain thuggery the Cefn Riders roamed far & wide, attacking strangers and packmen.

Travelling mostly on foot but sometimes on horseback the Riders became greatly feared as far afield as Merthyr and the Vale of Glamorgan; showing little mercy to their victims and the Riders often indulged in a favourite pastime of leaping on a traveller’s back & forcing them to carry them some way along the journey.

Bedford Park, in Cefn Cribwr is now an area of 40 acres (160,000 m2) of ancient woodland and meadows, glades and open spaces, although it was once an area of intense industrial activity following the building of a blast furnace here in 1780 by the Birmingham Industrialist John Bedford.  He also sank pits to mine the raw materials of ironstone and coal as well as founding a forge and brickworks. The ironworks were never as successful as Bedford had hoped and began to decline after his death in 1791. Coal mining and brick making, however, continued throughout the 19th Century and industrial activity at Bedford Park ceased after World War I. Cefn Cribwr Ironworks in Bedford Park is now protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is one of the most complete of its kind in Britain. Many parts of the ironworks and related buildings can still be seen.

With mining a significant source of employment in more recent times, the community centre (opened 1924), locally known as the 'Green Hall' was originally conceived as a Miners' Welfare Hall and was supported by colliery owners and colliers. Many political meetings were held there.  Labour politician and former Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald spoke there in the closing weeks of the General Strike of 1926.

The community has benefited from the industry of previous generations with several public footpaths and cycling routes being formed along the line of the old Dyffryn, Llynfi and Porthcawl Railway which linked the ironworks to the coast.

Today, Cefn Cribwr has a population of around 1500 people and Rugby is thriving in the Village with the senior side performing exceptionally well in the league this year and the new Athletic Club which was opened on 16 May 2014, providing a superb facility for the whole community.