Bryncethin (which means dark hill or dun hill) is a small village in the County Borough of Bridgend, South Wales, located just north of Junction 36 of the M4 Motorway and approximately 3 miles north of the county town of Bridgend. The population of the ward taken from the United Kingdom Census 2011 was 1,319. The area was mainly farmland until its ample quantities of high quality clay and workable seams of steam coal led to the construction of a brickworks and the sinking of the Bryncethin Colliery by The Barrow-in Furness Iron and Coal Company. This led to an increase in the population of the village and to the construction of housing for the workforce. Both industries are now long gone and much effort is being made to provide recreational facilities on the site of the former colliery and clay pits.