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NOTTAGE
Just a couple of miles from Kenfig, is the charming historic village of Nottage, just a few minutes away from the coast and Porthcawl's seafront. It is a quaint little village of Stone Cottages and Old Inns. At one time, a navigable stream ran from the village down to the sea. Local names such as Sker and Tuskar are testaments to the fact that Vikings were active in the area at some time in the past. We know that they occupied the two islands of Flatholm and Steepholm in the Bristol Channel, from where they would pillage the mainland of Wales and Devon. There are many links between Nottage and St David the patron Saint of Wales, including a holy well in Moor Lane called St David's Well. Look for the oldest building in the village, Elm Tree Cottage. Groes Cottage is believed to stand on the site of the original village cross. In later years it was the village shop and post office. At the end of ‘The Green’ was a wall known as Labourer’s Wall as the unemployed men of the village would meet there awaiting work. The village is closely associated with the Duffryn – Llynfi tramway and the railway that followed. A rail from the old tramway is set into the ground at Primrose Cottage, at the end of Heol y Capel. A tunnel built for the railway, ran underneath the eastern end of the green. The garage next to Ashcott Villa is directly over the old tunnel, and the entrance can still be seen on the south side of the farmyard of Ty Talbot Farm, which dates back to the 16th century.
The large house set in its own grounds behind a stone wall is Nottage Court, originally one of the wheat farms administered by the monks from Margam Abbey close by. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the house was sold to Sir Rice Mansell in 1540. The original beams still support the roof structure and original stone mouldings can still be seen around the doorways and windows. Just outside the walls of Nottage Court, close to the large roundabout is the village’s second well, ‘Ffynon Fawr’ This was reputed to have the clearest and best tasting water of all the wells in the area.
The Legend of Nottage
The Celts believed that the pure waters of wells contained magical healing powers. Because of this, there are several wells in the area, usually close to a nearby tree. In the past, visitors to the well would leave pieces of cloth or rags hanging on the tree believing that it would cure them of their ailments and bring good luck to the sufferer. Trees could be seen holding hundreds of these discarded rags.
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