Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th century as a coal mining village servicing the Parc Slip Colliery.

The village has several railway lines and provided access to collieries in Wern-Tarw and the Ogmore and Garw valleys, along with maintenance facilities.

Such mine waters have a very high burden of coal and rock solids and also contain heavy metals such as nickel, iron and copper in acidic solution.

For many years the river also suffered from pollution from a paper mill at Maesteg [1] Sir Robert Price took over leases around Tondu Farm previously granted to William Bryant, the liquidator of John Bedford's business.

Sir Robert had ambitions as an ironmaster and began to develop an ironworks alongside the Dyffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway at Tondu in the late 1830s.

The discovery, and an unprecedented period of growth in the iron trade during the mid-1840s, prompted Sir Robert to develop his works at Tondu and open-up the Tywith coal and ironstone mine near present-day Nantyffyllon, Maesteg.

However, because of the progress made during the years 1843–1847, the Tondu Ironworks and associated mines formed a significant pocket of production in mid-Glamorgan with some potential.

[3] In 1856 the Brogdens re-opened Price's coal and ore mine at Tywith, and, during the mid-1860s, developed collieries at Park Slip, Aberkenfig, Garth, Maesteg and Wyndham and Tynewydd in the Ogmore Valley - all managed from Tondu.

The liquidator made a number of attempts to make the business viable until it was taken over by North's Navigation Collieries (1889) Ltd.[2][4] On the day of the annual St. Mary Hill Fair, 26 August 1892, a huge explosion shook the Parc Slip Colliery; 112 men and boys died with just 39 survivors: some remained trapped underground for a week before being rescued.

Robert had gone into partnership with Colonel North there and John also joined the business, managing the Iquique Gas Company on the border of Chile and Peru.

This involved Tondu with some very important war work, including the development of incendiary flares that were dropped on targets by Pathfinder aircraft.

These aircraft, including the famous Mosquito, would fly ahead of the main bomber force and locate and mark the targets with the flares.

The Tondu House Mansion was demolished in 1963 by its owners Merthyr Mawr Estate, due to its poor and dangerous condition, leaving only one residential cottage standing amongst its outbuildings.