Newcastle (Bridgend)

ASK people how many Newcastles there are in Britain, and I guess many would answer two, citing the football-mad one in Tyne & Wear and the market town in Staffordshire, namely Newcastle-under-Lyme.
But the Newcastle electoral ward in Bridgend, South Wales, is a reminder that "Newcastle" was a common if unimaginative name for military buildings all over the British Isles.
The ward is named after a Norman castle, which apparently began in 1106 as a ringwork, ie an earthen/wooden ditch-and-bank on a hill overlooking Bridgend, a town that developed around a ford on the River Ogmore.
It is believed the current ruins date back to the late 1100s, when a more permanent stone castle was built, possibly on the orders of Henry II.

Newcastle ruins, Bridgend

Looking through the main gate

Not much survives of the internal structure, which is probably why entry is free. But I found the site to be quite atmospheric, perhaps because of its very basic nature.

Looking back from inside the castle, with the parish church of St Illtyd in the background