Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
in
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf ...
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the
river Afan
, name_etymology =
, image = The_Afon_Afan,_Cymmer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001060.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Afan near Cymmer
, map =
, map_size =
, map_caption ...
, which also gave its name to a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
lordship. Today it is essentially a district of
Port Talbot
Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...
, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby
Blue Flag beach and the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
covering the same area.
History
Little is known about Aberavon before Norman times. Bronze Age remains have been found in the hills behind the town. Roman artifacts have been found near the sea, including when the docks were being built in the 19th century.
About 1090 the invading Normans deposed
Iestyn ap Gwrgant
Iestyn ap Gwrgant (or Jestyn ap Gwrgant) ( eng, Iestyn, son of Gwrgant) (1014 – 1093) was the last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg, which encompassed the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.
Lineage
Iestyn ap Gwrgant was the las ...
, the ruler of Glamorgan. His son, Caradog ab Iestyn, was the only Welsh lord to retain lands in Glamorgan - the area between the
Afan and
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
rivers - and he became the first of the
Lords of Afan. Caradoc built a castle in Aberafan near the present site of St Mary's Church. This wooden castle was burnt down in 1153 and Caradoc's son, Morgan ap Caradoc, rebuilt the castle in stone. In 1147, Cistercian monks founded the nearby
Margam Abbey
Margam Abbey ( cy, Abaty Margam) was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales.
History
The abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester ...
. In 1241, the Lordship passed to Morgan Fychan. His son, Leisan D'Avene, was the first known by a Norman-style surname. In 1304, Leisian D'Avene adopted the town's first charter. By 1373, the town had passed into the hands of
Edward le Despencer, Lord of Glamorgan, and the Lords of Afan had ceased to be.
The English antiquarian
John Leland made an extensive journey through Wales c. 1536-1539, of which he recorded an itinerary. He passed through Aberafan, which he describes as a "poor village" surrounded by barren ground, though he also describes the area as heavily wooded, not much of which remains today. He mentions the use of the river mouth as a port, a "haven for ships" as he puts it. His portrayal of Aberafan as a small, struggling village however suggests that the port was not in great use, especially as traffic to and from Margam Abbey would have ceased following its dissolution in 1536.
Tradition has it that when the English Civil War broke out in 1648
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
tried to seize the town charter as he passed through the town on his way to
Pembroke, but it was hidden from him in a chopping block. Aberafan also endured the
storm surge of 1607 and the Great Flood of 1768, when the river flowed into St Mary's Church.
Aberavon was the birthplace of
Dic Penderyn
Richard Lewis (1807/8 – 13 August 1831), known as Dic Penderyn, was a Welsh labourer and coal miner who lived in Merthyr Tydfil and was involved with the Merthyr Rising of 3 June 1831. In the course of the riot he was arrested alongside Lewis ...
, a key figure in the
Merthyr Rising
The Merthyr Rising, also referred to as the Merthyr Riots, of 1831 was the violent climax to many years of simmering unrest among the large working class population of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales and the surrounding area. The Rising marked the fi ...
of 1831. St Mary's Church is the site of his grave. The castle site was built over between 1876 and 1897 and its foundations now lie underneath the streets around the church. There have been reports of a ghost, a white lady seen floating above the castle ruins. The ghost is speculated to be Jane de Afan, the last occupant of Aberavon Castle.
In the 18th century industry began to appear in the area. Industrialists worked with the Talbot family of
Margam Castle
Margam Castle, Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, is a late Georgian country house built for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. Designed by Thomas Hopper, the castle was constructed in a Tudor Revival style over a five-year period, from 1830 to 1835. ...
to divert the bottom of the Afan river to its present bed, and in 1836 opened a new harbour east of the river Afan with the name of "Port Talbot". The following decades saw significant industrial and population growth for Aberafan and the surrounding areas with people coming from North and West Wales, South West England, and Ireland. A new borough of Aberavon came into being in 1861, though at the time it was still smaller than nearby
Cwmafan
Cwmafan ( cy, Cwmafan; ), sometimes known as Cwmavon in English, is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales, lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It had a population of 5,603 in 2001, increasing slightly to 5,615 at ...
or
Taibach
Taibach or Tai-bach ( en, Little Houses) is a community and suburban district of Port Talbot, Wales. It is a settlement centered on the main A48 road, sandwiched between the river Ffrwdwyllt and Margam. Parts of Margam are within the community b ...
. Although there were small local collieries the area had become known for its metalworking industry.
In the 1950s many of the sand dunes of
Aberavon Beach
Aberavon Beach ( cy, Traeth Aberafan), also known as Aberavon Sands, is a three-mile (5 km) stretch of sandy beach on the north-eastern edge of Swansea Bay in Port Talbot, Wales. With its high breaker waves, it is popular with surfers. Aber ...
disappeared as part of the development of the
Sandfields estate, at this time a 1.25 mile sea wall was built primarily for sea defences. The estate was built to accommodate the growing population, especially the families of workers at the new
Port Talbot Steelworks
Port Talbot Steelworks is an integrated steel production plant in Port Talbot, West Glamorgan, Wales, capable of producing nearly 5 million tonnes of steel slab per annum. This makes it the larger of the two major steel plants in the UK and one o ...
.
From 1832 Aberavon had belonged to the Swansea parliamentary district of boroughs, uniting with
Kenfig
Kenfig ( cy, Cynffig) is a village and former borough in Bridgend, Wales. It is situated inland on the north bank of the Bristol Channel, and just south-west of the M4 motorway. To the east is the town of Bridgend, at approximately , and the c ...
,
Loughor
Loughor () ( cy, Casllwchwr) is a Welsh town in the City and County of Swansea, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community (Wales), ...
,
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
and Swansea to return one member; since 1918 it has had its own
UK parliament constituency. Its most famous MP was
Ramsay MacDonald. Sir
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990.
Howe was Margaret Thatch ...
, who although born locally never represented the town in the House of Commons, chose as his peerage title Lord Howe of Aberavon. Since 1999 it has had its own
Welsh Assembly constituency.
Aberavon hosted the
National Eisteddfod in 1932 and 1966.
Sport
Aberavon RFC
Aberavon RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Aberafan) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town.
The club was founded in 1876 ...
are a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
team, and play in the
Welsh Premier Division
The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season.
Compet ...
.
Aberavon Quins RFC
Aberavon Harlequins RFC (nicknamed "The Mighty Quins") is a Welsh rugby union team located in the Fairfield area of Port Talbot, a few minutes away from the town centre and Aberavon. In 1955, the team gained membership of the Welsh Rugby Unio ...
are a rugby union club based at Harlequin Road and play their rugby in the
WRU Division Two West
The Welsh Rugby Union League 2 West (also called the SWALEC League 2 West for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales.
Competition format and sponsorship Competition
There are 12 clubs in the WRU League 2 West. During the course o ...
league.
Aberavon Green Stars RFC are a rugby club based i
Sitwell Way Aberavon
Afan Lido F.C. is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team, playing in
Cymru South
The Cymru South is a regional football league in Wales, covering the southern half of the country. It has clubs with semi-professional status and together with the Cymru North, it forms the second tier of the Welsh football league system.
The fi ...
.
One of Aberavon's
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
clubs is called the
Aberavon Fighting Irish
Neath Port Talbot Steelers were a rugby league team based in Port Talbot, West Glamorgan. They played in the Welsh Premier division of the Rugby League Conference at Aberavon Green Stars RFC.
History
''Aberavon Fighting Irish'' were formed in ...
and play in the
Welsh Conference Premier.
Aberavon & Port Talbot Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1905. The course closed following WW2 and the land was used for housing.
“Aberavon & Port Talbot Golf Club”
"Golf's Missing Links".
Baglan Industrial Park
The Baglan Bay
Baglan Bay ''( Welsh: Bae Baglan)'' is a part of the Swansea Bay coastline and a district of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan Bay is also the name of a local government community. Baglan Bay is served by the M4 Motorway and the A ...
Industrial Park lies on a stretch of Baglan Moors in the parish of Aberavon south east of the Baglan Energy Park and immediately northwest of Neath Port Talbot Hospital
Neath Port Talbot Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Castell Nedd Port Talbot) is a general hospital located in Port Talbot, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board.
History
The hospital, which was commissioned to replace Neath General Ho ...
. It is sandwiched between the M4 Motorway and Afan Way ( A4241). Current occupants include Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqu ...
, Iceland Food Warehouse, Lidl
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
, KFC, Dreams
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
, Screwfix
Screwfix is a retailer of trade tools, accessories and hardware products based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1979 as the Woodscrew Supply Company, the company was acquired in July 1999 by Kingfisher plc, which also owns B&Q, and is listed o ...
, Pound Stretcher, Pets at Home
Pets at Home is a British pet supplies retailer selling pet products including food, toys, bedding, medication, accessories and pets. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The first stor ...
& Halfords
Halfords Group PLC is the UK's largest retailer of motoring and cycling products and services. Through Halfords Autocentre, they provide vehicle servicing, MOT, maintenance and repairs in the United Kingdom.
Halfords Group is listed on the Lon ...
superstores and a Warburtons
Warburtons is a British baking firm founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 and based in Bolton, a town formerly in Lancashire, England, and now in Greater Manchester. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and it remai ...
bread factory in premises which were previously occupied by Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
.
Government and politics
The electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of Aberavon
Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distr ...
is coterminous with district of Aberavon and is a part of the Welsh parliamentary constituency of Aberavon
Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distr ...
.
Aberavon is bounded by the wards of Sandfields West
Sandfields West ( cy, Gorllewin Traethmelyn) is an electoral ward and a community of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is part of the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. The ward elects three county councillors to Neath Port Ta ...
and Sandfields East
Sandfields East ( cy, Dwyrain Traethmelyn) is an electoral ward and a community of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is part of the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. The ward elects three county councillors to Neath Port Talbot ...
to the southwest; Baglan to the north; Port Talbot
Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...
to the east and Margam
Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into ...
to the south. The ward boundaries can be defined by the roads surrounding it which are the M4 Motorway to the north east; the A4241 to the north west; Afan Way to the southwest and the River Afan
, name_etymology =
, image = The_Afon_Afan,_Cymmer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001060.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Afan near Cymmer
, map =
, map_size =
, map_caption ...
to the south east.
The Aberavon ward can be roughly divided into two parts. There is the residential area to the southeastern part of the ward beside the River Afan
, name_etymology =
, image = The_Afon_Afan,_Cymmer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001060.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Afan near Cymmer
, map =
, map_size =
, map_caption ...
. The north western area consists of areas of industrial estate
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...
land called the Baglan Industrial Park which includes a number of out of town retail premises as well as business and manufacturing premises.
Nearest places
* Sandfields
*Aberavon Beach
Aberavon Beach ( cy, Traeth Aberafan), also known as Aberavon Sands, is a three-mile (5 km) stretch of sandy beach on the north-eastern edge of Swansea Bay in Port Talbot, Wales. With its high breaker waves, it is popular with surfers. Aber ...
*Velindre
Felindre is a rural village in southern Wales. Felindre is located in the far north of Swansea, in the electoral ward of Mawr.
The nearby Lower Lliw Reservoirs are a popular venue for walking and fishing. The water mill in the village was work ...
*Taibach
Taibach or Tai-bach ( en, Little Houses) is a community and suburban district of Port Talbot, Wales. It is a settlement centered on the main A48 road, sandwiched between the river Ffrwdwyllt and Margam. Parts of Margam are within the community b ...
Nearest railway station
*Port Talbot Parkway railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Port Talbot Parkway Rail Station August 2020 01.jpg
, borough = Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot
, country = Wales
, coordinates ...
Notable people
* John James, novelist
See also
* St Joseph's Church, Port Talbot
St Joseph's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Aberavon, Port Talbot, Wales. It was built from 1930 to 1931 for the Benedictines in the Romanesque Revival style. It is located on Water Street on the west side of the River Afan. It is a ...
References
External links
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Aberavon and surrounding area
Largest online collection of historical photos of Aberavon / Port Talbot
{{authority control
Towns in Neath Port Talbot
Communities in Neath Port Talbot
Populated coastal places in Wales