In the early 1800s Glyncorrwg was like the rest of the Afan valley, a community of scattered farms and cottages. It is the only site in the Afan valley that appears on early maps.

Most of Glyncorrwg was built by 1900 with a population of 1300.

It was not until the arrival of the South Wales Mineral Railway in 1863 which linked Glyncorrwg with Briton Ferry that change occurred. It was the first of the upper Afan villages to decvelop and by 1861 around 330 people lived in the area. The railway company sank a coal pit and built 65 houses for the workers of Norton and Baxter with the terraces of Glyncorrwg named after the company’s directors.

Glyncorrwg today.

The development of Glyncorrwg was followed by Cymmer and Aber/Blaengwynfi as can be seen from the 1876 Ordnance Survey maps of each area. With the growth in population and the need to house coal miners, other workers and their families, so there was an increased need for a range of public amenities.