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A brief history of Port Talbot
Port Talbot is an industrial town in the historical county of Glamorgan, South Wales, UK, with a population of around 50,000. Although there were settlements in the area as long ago as the Bronze Age, and the Romans may have had a presence here, the present town grew out of the medieval borough of Aberafan and the surrounding communities of Baglan, Bryn, Cwmafan and Margam. Margam was noted for its fine Cistercian abbey, founded in 1147 by Robert of Gloucester, while Aberafan was the home of the Welsh princes, the Lords of Afan.
Margam Abbey was dissolved in 1535-7, and the estate was then sold over several years, 1540-7, to Sir Rice Mansel of Penrice in Gower, whose descendants lived there until 1941. In 1750 Margam passed through the female line to one of the Talbots of Lacock Abbey, and it was C.R.M. Talbot (1803-90) who, in 1834-6, had Margam Castle built, using Thomas Hopper as his architect. After 1941 the Castle was uninhabited; but in the early nineteen seventies Margam was bought by the local authorities and became a country park, open to the public. Although it suffered a major fire in 1977, the castle has since been partly restored and is used for educational purposes and for filming.
Although the monks at Margam mined coal and Lord Mansel`s Forge was in existence by 1717, the major industrial development of the area began when the English Copper Company set up a works at Taibach in 1770; there was further development near Aberafan in 1820 when the Margam Tinplate Works opened, and at the same time there were also the beginnings of iron production in the lower Afan Valley, resulting in Vigurs and Smith setting up a works there, at what became Cwmafan, In 1835 the English Copper Company moved to Cwmafan, and their works at Taibach was taken over by the Vivian family of the Hafod Works in Swansea. This rapid growth of industry meant that the old medieval harbour, the Bar of Afan, was no longer adequate and c. 1836 C.R,.M. Talbot joined with others to create a new dock complex. The main line of the South Wales Railway reached what was now being called (unofficially) Port Talbot in 1850; Talbot was Chairman and a major shareholder of the railway.
In the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century iron and steel overtook copper as the main local product, and coal also became a major export. By 1898 the docks were again in need of upgrading, this time under the auspices of Miss Emily Talbot. Then, in 1906 the Port Talbot Steelworks was opened; its early years were a period of mixed success, but by 1947 it was being developed into an integrated steelworks of international importance. The population of the town soared, and the early nineteen fifties saw the building of the vast Sandfields estate, intended to house the influx of Workers and their families. At about the same time BP opened a chemical plant at Baglan Bay.
Earlier, in 1921, the two local authorities, the Borough of Aberafan and Margam Urban District Council, merged to form the new Borough of Port Talbot. Later after a short period, 1974-1996, as part of the County of West Glamorgan, the borough joined with its neighbours, Neath and Pontardawe, to become Neath Port Talbot County Borough.The building of the M4 in 1966 and of the Aberafan Centre in the early nineteen seventies meant that most of the old town of Aberafan was swept away, but the borough continues to adapt to changing times.
Although for many people Port Talbot means industry, it has a long and distinguished history of culture and invention. The monks of Margam Abbey were famous as patrons of music and poetry, as were the descendants of the Lords of Afan at Baglan and elsewhere. However, the obvious example of this is the acting tradition that has produced such major figures as Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen, to name only the best-known of those coming from the town. The culmination of that tradition to date has been Michael Sheen`s 72-hour community play, The Passion, performed at Easter. 2011, and the film and novel that recorded it, The Gospel of Us.
Port Talbot is an industrial town in the historical county of Glamorgan, South Wales, UK, with a population of around 50,000. Although there were settlements in the area as long ago as the Bronze Age, and the Romans may have had a presence here, the present town grew out of the medieval borough of Aberafan and the surrounding communities of Baglan, Bryn, Cwmafan and Margam. Margam was noted for its fine Cistercian abbey, founded in 1147 by Robert of Gloucester, while Aberafan was the home of the Welsh princes, the Lords of Afan.
Margam Abbey was dissolved in 1535-7, and the estate was then sold over several years, 1540-7, to Sir Rice Mansel of Penrice in Gower, whose descendants lived there until 1941. In 1750 Margam passed through the female line to one of the Talbots of Lacock Abbey, and it was C.R.M. Talbot (1803-90) who, in 1834-6, had Margam Castle built, using Thomas Hopper as his architect. After 1941 the Castle was uninhabited; but in the early nineteen seventies Margam was bought by the local authorities and became a country park, open to the public. Although it suffered a major fire in 1977, the castle has since been partly restored and is used for educational purposes and for filming.
Although the monks at Margam mined coal and Lord Mansel`s Forge was in existence by 1717, the major industrial development of the area began when the English Copper Company set up a works at Taibach in 1770; there was further development near Aberafan in 1820 when the Margam Tinplate Works opened, and at the same time there were also the beginnings of iron production in the lower Afan Valley, resulting in Vigurs and Smith setting up a works there, at what became Cwmafan, In 1835 the English Copper Company moved to Cwmafan, and their works at Taibach was taken over by the Vivian family of the Hafod Works in Swansea. This rapid growth of industry meant that the old medieval harbour, the Bar of Afan, was no longer adequate and c. 1836 C.R,.M. Talbot joined with others to create a new dock complex. The main line of the South Wales Railway reached what was now being called (unofficially) Port Talbot in 1850; Talbot was Chairman and a major shareholder of the railway.
In the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century iron and steel overtook copper as the main local product, and coal also became a major export. By 1898 the docks were again in need of upgrading, this time under the auspices of Miss Emily Talbot. Then, in 1906 the Port Talbot Steelworks was opened; its early years were a period of mixed success, but by 1947 it was being developed into an integrated steelworks of international importance. The population of the town soared, and the early nineteen fifties saw the building of the vast Sandfields estate, intended to house the influx of Workers and their families. At about the same time BP opened a chemical plant at Baglan Bay.
Earlier, in 1921, the two local authorities, the Borough of Aberafan and Margam Urban District Council, merged to form the new Borough of Port Talbot. Later after a short period, 1974-1996, as part of the County of West Glamorgan, the borough joined with its neighbours, Neath and Pontardawe, to become Neath Port Talbot County Borough.The building of the M4 in 1966 and of the Aberafan Centre in the early nineteen seventies meant that most of the old town of Aberafan was swept away, but the borough continues to adapt to changing times.
Although for many people Port Talbot means industry, it has a long and distinguished history of culture and invention. The monks of Margam Abbey were famous as patrons of music and poetry, as were the descendants of the Lords of Afan at Baglan and elsewhere. However, the obvious example of this is the acting tradition that has produced such major figures as Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Sheen, to name only the best-known of those coming from the town. The culmination of that tradition to date has been Michael Sheen`s 72-hour community play, The Passion, performed at Easter. 2011, and the film and novel that recorded it, The Gospel of Us.