Port Talbot (, ) 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, t ...
in the
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 te ...
of
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 ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, situated on the east side of
Swansea Bay
Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tid ...
, approximately from
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...
. The
Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town and is one of the biggest steelworks in the world but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 37,276 in 2011.
History
Modern Port Talbot is a town formed from the merging of multiple villages, including
Baglan,
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 ...
, and
Aberafan. The name 'Port Talbot' first appears in 1837 as the name of the
new docks built on the south-east side 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 ...
by the Talbot family. Over time it came to be applied to the whole of the emerging conurbation.
The earliest evidence of humans in the Port Talbot area has been found on the side of Mynydd Margam where Bronze Age farming ditches can be found from 4,000 BC. There were Iron Age hill forts on Mynydd Dinas, Mynydd Margam, Mynydd Emroch and other nearby hills. Mynydd Hawdef contains remains of an ancient Iron Age village. The Margam deer herd was first introduced by the Romans.
Ffynnon Pedr is a
holy well
A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...
which flows from the hillside through a stone culvert in Margam. This may have been a water supply for Margam Abbey, to the east.
The Cross of Brancuf an early Christian Sculptured Stone which stands in the church of St Catharine at Baglan. It is an intricately sculptured cross-slab with a Latin cross and an inscription recalling Brancuf. Originally it stood in the old St Baglan's church but that fell into ruin in the late 19th century and the slab was removed to St Catharine's. St Baglan (Bagelan), son of King Ithael Hoel of Brittany, was a 6th-century hermit and follower of
St Illtud. He founded the first church at the town that now takes his name. In the vestry of St Catharine's church a cross-slab dating from the 8th–10th century CE. It is intricately decorated with a Celtic-style cross formed out of knotwork (cord-plait knotwork) and interlacing; the ends of each arm are probably of a Latin design. Also, there is a Latin inscription: FECIT BRANCUF or perhaps BRANCU which when translated reads 'was made by Brancuf'. However, the person known as Brancuf is unknown.
The English antiquarian
John Leland made an extensive journey through Wales c.1536–39 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. His portrayal of Aberafan as a small, struggling village 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.
The area of the parish of
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 ...
lying on the west bank of the lower Afan became industrialised following the establishment of a copperworks in 1770. The Afan was diverted and a dock was opened in 1839 named for the Talbot family,
local landowners who were related to the pioneer photographer,
William Henry Fox Talbot. The Talbots were patrons of Margam Abbey, and also built
Margam Castle.
Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot (1803–1890), a
Liberal Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Mot ...
from 1830 until his death, saw the potential of his property as a site for an extensive
ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''.
Ironworks succeeded bloomer ...
, which opened in early 1831.
![Coast Defence Radar Station - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Coast_Defence_Radar_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_715191.jpg)
The remains of a
Chain Home Low early warning radar station are situated in
Margam Country Park, dating from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
(). Designed to guard against enemy surface craft and submarines in the Bristol Channel, the station comprises three squarish concrete buildings with flat roofs, set on the Margam ridge facing south-east and overlooking the Channel. The most north-westerly building retains the framework of a steel gantry, the base for a rectangular radar transmitter/receiver array, known as a 'bedstead array' from its wires and framework, and is believed to be a unique survivor within the British Isles.
In 1970 a new deep-water harbour was opened by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
and the
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...
. This harbour was capable of discharging
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...
vessels of 100,000
deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, pro ...
(DWT), a tenfold improvement on the old dock. By the early 21st century, due to further modification and dredging, the harbour is capable of harbouring vessels of over 170,000 DWT.
Governance
The borough of Port Talbot was created in November 1921, incorporating Margam,
Cwmafan and Aberafan.
It was therefore 85 years after the phrase 'Port Talbot' was first used that it became officially recognised as the town's name.
Port Talbot was part of the historic county of
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Mot ...
. The 1974 county council re-organisation split Glamorgan into three new counties, and Port Talbot became one of the four districts of
West Glamorgan
, HQ= County Hall, Swansea
, Government= West Glamorgan County Council (abolished 1996)
, Status=
, Start= 1974
, End= 1996
, Arms= ''Coat of arms of Wes ...
.
Following the demise of
West Glamorgan
, HQ= County Hall, Swansea
, Government= West Glamorgan County Council (abolished 1996)
, Status=
, Start= 1974
, End= 1996
, Arms= ''Coat of arms of Wes ...
County Council in 1996, Port Talbot borough council was merged with
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the 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 population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...
and part of
Lliw Valley
, HQ= Penllergaer
, subdivision_type= Borough
, Start= 1 April 1974
, End= 31 March 1996
, Replace= SwanseaNeath Port Talbot
, Civic=
, Motto= Nid d ...
Districts to create the new
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
of
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. The Civic Centre is located in Port Talbot, and the town is represented by three of the 64 councillors that make up the county council.
The centre of the town is covered by the
Port Talbot ward for local council elections.
Physical geography
![Holy Cross Church, Port Talbot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Holy_Cross_Church%2C_Port_Talbot.jpg)
The town is built along the eastern rim of Swansea Bay in a narrow strip of coastal plain surrounding the River Afan estuary. Swansea is visible on the opposite side of the bay. The local beach is known as
Aberafan Sands and is situated along the edge of the bay between the River Afan and the
River Neath
River Neath ( cy, Afon Nedd) is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay. ...
. The other beach in Port Talbot is Margam Sands, popularly known as ''Morfa Beach''. The north-eastern edge of the town is marked by the River Neath. A landmark in the town is the
Port Talbot Steelworks.
Human geography
With heavy industry and an urban motorway, Port Talbot was reported as having the worst air pollution in Wales in 2005 with a
PM10 particulate level of 30μg/m
3 (micrograms per cubic metre). By 2018 the air quality had improved to meet the
WHO's recommended limit of 10μg/m
3.
63% of Port Talbot population in 2000 was between the ages of 15 and 64. Male unemployment in 2000 was around 9%, with female unemployment around 6% in 2000.
Social deprivation
In 2010, 26.2% of children and young persons (under the age of 20) 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 were living in
relative poverty
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, higher than the 22.2% Welsh average.
According to the
Office of National Statistics between April 2012 to March 2013 25,400 (7.8%) between the ages of 16–64 were economically inactive, 60,100 (70.3%) between the ages of 16–64 were economically active. The unemployment rate was 7.8% and the employment rate was 64.9%.
Geology
Port Talbot has a variety of bedrock and drift types.
Bedrock geology
South East of Port Talbot is dominated by
Pennant sandstone which forms this high relief area including Mynydd Margam, Mynydd Dinas and the other mountains. The pennant sandstone is made up of two formations which are the Rhondda Member and Brithdir Member. The sandstone formed in
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferou ...
swamps 300 million years ago. Pennant sandstone is a micacous sandstone which has a brown colouration with areas of red staining where iron from
pyrite
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...
in coal has weathered creating a rust colouration.
Lower land areas are predominantly Pennant sandstone within the
South Wales Coal Measures Group
The South Wales Coal Measures Group is a lithostratigraphical term referring to the coal-bearing succession of rock strata which occur in South Wales within the Westphalian Stage of the Carboniferous Period. The Group name is also applied to ...
.
Drift geology
There is a variety of drift deposits in Port Talbot. Sandfields area of Port Talbot is built upon blown sand and
tidal flat deposits. These were deposited by the wind via
aeolian processes
Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets). Winds may erode, transport, and deposit mate ...
and the water by
fluvial processes
In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluv ...
. Velindre area of Port Talbot is built upon an alluvial fan deposit. This deposit formed during the last glacial period 14,000 years ago. Baglan Road in Port Talbot is built upon glacial till from the
Devensian period. Till, also known as
boulder clay
Boulder clay is an unsorted agglomeration of clastic sediment that is unstratified and structureless and contains gravel of various sizes, shapes, and compositions distributed at random in a fine-grained matrix. The fine-grained matrix consists o ...
, is a mix of unconsolidated sediment with a range of grain sizes. This forms as the fronts of glaciers rapidly deposit material due to melting. Cwmafan in Port Talbot is built upon
alluvial
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
and
glaciofluvial deposits, formed from glacial
meltwater
Meltwater is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found in the ablation zone of glaciers, where the rate of snow cover is reducing. Meltwater ca ...
. Baglan Moors, Fairfield and Port Talbot town centre are built upon tidal flat deposits (tides were higher 12,000 years ago allowing sandy deposits to accumulate).
Economic geology
Coal seams within the Pennant sandstone run north west-south-east and east–west. The coal seams arise from the South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation, South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation, Rhondda Member and Brithdir Member. Pennant sandstone is an excellent construction rock and road stone.
Structural geology
Faults have an orientation of North West-South East, east–west and north–south. All are normal faults which form extension processes. There are also many marine fossils bands.
Bio-stratigraphy/palaeontology
Marine fossils found in Port Talbot region include species of bivalves, gastropods and brachiopods. Terrestrial fossils include fern tree branches, trunks, leaves and roots. Traces of organism footprints can also be found.
[British Geological Society Map, Swansea and Port Talbot region]
Engineering geology
The
drift geology average thickness is between . Several
landslips occur in the highlands including many bole holes historically made for the construction of the M4 motorway,
steelworks
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finis ...
and coal mines.
Hydro-geology
Rivers in the region are fault guided meaning that they flow is highly influenced by a structural weakness called a fault. Several natural springs occur in the highland regions with a neutral to slightly acidic ph values. Natural
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
levels varies from below the Taibach area of Port Talbot to over . Rivers in the region including the River Afan (Aberafan), River Neath (Baglan Bay),
Ffrwdwyllt (Taibach), Arnallt Brook (Taibach), Baglan Brook (Baglan) and other rivers are fast flowing and are highly influenced by their mouths (end of the rivers, tidal region). A spout can be found in Baglan Park in the Baglan region of Port Talbot. Many open and uncovered reservoirs exist in the region. Water has been channelled into ditches in industrial areas of Port Talbot.
Marine geo-science and oceanography
![Swansea Bay - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Swansea_Bay_-_geograph.org.uk_-_564136.jpg)
Port Talbot sea floor topography ranges from within Swansea Bay. There are many patches within the bay including the
North Kenfig patches, green grounds, outer green grounds, madjoe and stalheim. These patches are created from faults, hollows, general topography and other factors. Sea depth around Port Talbot is with increasing depth with increasing distance from the coast. There are two beaches within Port Talbot: Aberafan and Morfa. The sand at both beaches is yellow and semi-shell rich. The
tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ...
in the area has a harmonic prediction which means it can be
predicted easy and has repeatable tide heights every year. The outer bay area and sea area near Port Talbot Pier has a tidal stream with no harmonic prediction. A tidal stream (or tidal current) is an alternating horizontal movement of water associated with the rise and fall of the tide caused by tide-producing forces. This means that the tide cannot be accurately predicted due to additional factors like currents, rip current, river mouths and precipitation. There are also two major dumping grounds within the bay. These are areas where sand is
collected for the
construction industry
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and co ...
. Port Talbot docks is a deep water harbour which allows large
cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
s to dock into the area.
Port Talbot is bounded on the south-west by Swansea Bay, which is part of the Bristol Channel. The following information on tidal conditions within the bay, sedimentation, morphology and bathymetry have been obtained from the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Environmental Statement. Swansea Bay receives freshwater inputs from the following key rivers; Rivers Tawe, Neath, Afan, Kenfig, Ogmore and Clyne, as well as direct atmospheric sources and catchment runoff. The volume of freshwater entering the bay is also further increased by a number of effluent discharges. Swansea bay is a large south and south-easterly facing bay backed by a developed coastal plain with pockets of sparsely settled coastline, backed in part by steeply rising hills inland. There is a varied coastline between development, including estuaries (of the rivers Tawe, Neath, Afan and Kenfig), sandy bays, dunes and low limestone cliffs and pavements. The bay supports varied marine life and a range of commercial fishing activities including trawling, set netting, rod and line fishing, whelk potting and mussel seed harvesting and is a designated bivalve mollusc production area for mussels (Mytilus spp.). The tidal characteristics through the Bristol Channel are determined by a progressive tidal wave which increases in amplitude as the channel narrows into the Severn Estuary. As this progressive wave moves past the shallow side-embayment of Swansea Bay the tidal
behaviour changes into a standing wave, exhibited by near coincident times of high water at Swansea and Port Talbot. Higher wave climate is associated with the outer parts of the bay where the shelter provided by the surrounding land diminishes, and the influence of the Bristol Channel (and associated Atlantic weather conditions), strengthens. Swansea Bay experiences a hyper-tidal range (i.e. greater than 6 m), with a mean spring tidal range of between 8.46m (Mumbles Head) and 8.60m (Port Talbot). In contrast, the mean neap tidal range within the bay is around 4m, still considerably greater than spring tidal ranges experienced in most locations elsewhere in the UK.
The variability of tidal currents across Swansea Bay demonstrates four main areas:
− i. Offshore, approximately beyond the 10 m below CD (-15 mODN) contour dominated by
rectilinear flows;
− ii. Inshore west, from Mumbles Head to Swansea Docks, dominated by the Mumbles
headland;
− iii. Inshore middle, between Swansea Docks and Port Talbot – relatively calm area with
flows moving in and out of the bay; and
− iv. Inshore east, south from Port Talbot – shore aligned flows moving towards and from
Porthcawl Point.
• The strongest currents are in the offshore area. Here flows are typically rectilinear and are
aligned to the axis of the Central Bristol Channel. Peak ebb currents tend to be greater than
peak flood, indicating some asymmetry in the tide.
• Tidal flows across the inshore area from Mumbles Head to Swansea Docks are typically weaker and exhibit a rotary pattern formed around the headland. Locally, flows past Mumbles Head are stronger, diverging across the bay on the flood tide and converging back
into the channel on the ebb. The residual pattern in the tide is an anti-clockwise circulation in the lee of the headland.
• For the inshore area between Swansea Docks and Port Talbot, which includes the River
Neath, tidal flows are again generally weak and can be prone to wind driven effects.
• For the area identified as inshore east, there is a further flow divergence centred on Port Talbot. Flood flows from around Port Talbot are generally to the north-east whilst flows south of Port Talbot diverge towards the south-east to become aligned to the coast and towards Sker Point. On the ebb tide, tidal flows to the south of Port Talbot are reversed to a north�westerly direction.
Sedimentation
• Between the River Neath and Port Talbot in the eastern side of Swansea Bay, fine and medium sands are found across Aberafan Sands and the shallow subtidal region is largely characterised by sand and slightly gravelly sand.
• A geophysical and geotechnical survey of the Port Talbot approach channel (Fugro, 1995b) identified that a surficial layer of mud and muddy sand is present along the channel (with occasional pockets of clay). Within the channel this surficial layer varies in thickness from approximately 1.5 m thick at the seaward end of the channel to less than 0.5m below the seabed at approximately 1.5 km from the harbour entrance. This surficial layer is then underlain by medium sands, the base of which is found at 2 to 5 m below the seabed surface. It should be highlighted that this survey was undertaken prior to a capital deepening of 2.6 m along the approach channel which occurred in 1996, and therefore the base of the maintained channel is expected to be medium sands.
• Outside the approach channel (along its length), the subtidal benthic survey suggests that seabed sediments predominantly consist of slightly gravelly sands.
• To the south of Port Talbot, on the eastern foreshore of the bay, the seabed sediments across Margam and Kenfig Sands comprise a thin veneer of sand, which overlies hard deposits of peat and clay.
• Within the offshore central region of Swansea Bay, around the 10 m below CD bathymetric contour the seabed sediments are coarser, comprising predominantly sandy gravels and gravels.
• Along with sediments that are found on the seabed there are also sediments that are carried in suspension, either permanently or for short periods. Suspended sediments tend to be finer and can be carried over long distances by the tide and take a long time to fall out of suspension when conditions allow. They also have an exchange with the seabed through periods of deposition during calm events or erosion in response to higher energy events. Sources of suspended sediment may be local, or more remote from a specific area, and will
also include contributions from rivers.
Morphology and Bathymetry
• Swansea Bay is defined by its shallow waters with its overall physical character changing markedly according to the tides – a wide intertidal zone of mudflats is exposed at low tide in the west, and maximum depths in the inner bay are of less than 10 metres.
• Devonian and Carboniferous sandstones and mudstones are overlain by thick Holocene deposits of sand, gravel and mud – dredged to maintain port access into Swansea, the River Neath (Briton Ferry) and Port Talbot.
• The seabed gradually deepens to a maximum of 20 metres in its outer extent, but this varies due to the presence of significant sand bars, banks and submerged rocks.
• Scarweather Sands, Hugo Bank and Kenfig Patches guard the south-eastern entrance to the bay, their associated shoals, changing depths, overfalls and unpredictable eddies creating challenges to navigation.
• The varied sand and rocky sediments of the seafloor, as well as the sheltered, warm conditions arising from the bay’s topography and southerly aspect, support a rich marine life.
• Subtidal region is stable at a decadal level.
Education
There are four
comprehensive school
A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is re ...
s situated within the Port Talbot area:
*Ysgol Cwm Brombil
*St. Joseph's Catholic School & Sixth Form Centre
*Ysgol Bae Baglan
*
Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro Dur – the Bro Dur campus in is Port Talbot
Glan Afan Comprehensive School
Glan Afan Comprehensive School () was a mixed comprehensive school which served the town of Port Talbot, Wales, and its surrounding areas for 120 years. It was opened in 1896 as Port Talbot Intermediate School under the provisions of the Welsh In ...
and Sandfields Comprehensive School closed in 2016.
A campus of
Neath Port Talbot College
Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC) was a further education institution established as two campuses in Port Talbot and Neath in Wales, United Kingdom.
The college allowed study of many courses including GCSEs, AS Level/A levels, AGCEs, AVCEs, ...
is located in the Margam area. The Margam campus was previously called Afan College.
The
University of South Wales has a campus at
Baglan Energy Park
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 ...
called the ''Hydrogen Centre'', which includes a Renewable Hydrogen Research and Development Centre.
Arts and culture
South Wales Miners' Museum
The
South Wales Miners' Museum
The South Wales Miners' Museum is a museum of the coal mining industry and its workforce in the South Wales Coalfield. It is located at Cynonville within the Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre in the Afan Forest Park, near the small village of Cy ...
is located in Cynonville,
Cymmer.
Margam Stones Museum
The nearby
Margam Stones Museum has early Christian inscribed stones and Celtic crosses, including four from the area now under the Steelworks. A Roman milestone, an 8th-century pillar, and two Celtic crosses from the 10th century were all rescued from the steelworks site by the Talbot family and taken to Margam, where they are now in the museum, in the care of
Cadw
(, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...
.
[Sign boards at the Margam Stones Museum, undated, viewed in the Museum in June 2012]
The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence
The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence
The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence is a private museum located in Port Talbot, Wales, United Kingdom. The Baked Bean Museum Of Excellence was officially closed on 30th June 2023.
Founding
The museum is owned by Barry Kirk, who changed his ...
is a
private museum
A private museum is a collection, usually on a very limited topic and operated by individual enthusiasts, collectors, clubs or companies.
Overview
Unlike a public or governmental museum, a scientific monitoring and systematic documentation is n ...
in Port Talbot.
Banksy mural
In December 2018 the artist
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...
confirmed that he produced a
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...
painted on the corner of a garage close to Port Talbot steelworks. On one side it depicts a boy playing in what appears to be snowfall, but the other side shows the snowfall is ash falling from a bin fire. In May 2019, the mural was moved to a gallery in the town's Ty'r Orsaf building.
''The Passion''
In April 2011, actor
Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...
led a 72-hour
National Theatre Wales
National Theatre Wales (NTW) is a theatre company known for its large-scale site-specific productions and its grassroots work with diverse Welsh communities. It is the English-language national theatre of Wales, and refers to Theatr Genedlaeth ...
production of a modern retelling of
The Passion. The play began at 5:30 am on
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...
with a seafront scene, inspired by John the Baptist's baptism of Jesus, which was watched by hundreds who had heard about it by word of mouth.
By the time the first main part of the play was performed on
Aberafan Beach at 3:00 pm, organisers estimated up to 6,000 people had gathered to watch.
On Saturday, there were sequences in Llewellyn Street, the Castle Street underpass,
Aberafan Shopping Centre, the Seaside Social and Labour Club in
Sandfields and nearby Abbeyville Court.
On
Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...
, the production returned to Aberafan Beach as part of the finale. A trial was performed on Civic Square before a procession from Station Road, with the final scene, "the cross", at Aberafan seafront. By the time the procession had reached the seafront close to where it had begun 72 hours earlier, organisers estimate over 13,000 people had come to watch on the small roundabout.
In April 2012,
Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...
returned to attend the world premiere of the feature-length film ''
The Gospel of Us
''The Gospel of Us'' is a 2012 Welsh drama based on the Owen Sheers novel of the same name and the three-day Passion play that Michael Sheen acted in at his home town of Port Talbot in April 2011. Directed by Dave McKean, the film stars Shee ...
'' based on The Passion. The premiere was held at the
Apollo Cinema
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
(now the
Reel Cinema) on the Aberafan seafront close to where The Passion took place. Tickets for the premiere sold out weeks before the showing; all six screens showed the film simultaneously. The film was also shown daily from Easter Sunday to the following Thursday prior to its UK-wide release the next day.
Media
The area is served by several radio stations:
The Wave (96.4 FM),
Greatest Hits Radio South Wales
Greatest Hits Radio South Wales (formerly Swansea Sound) is Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, East Carmarthenshire an ...
(1170 MW),
Easy Radio
Easy Radio is an Independent Local Radio station that broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and East Carmarthenshire. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 102.1 FM and DAB from studios near the St Hilary transmi ...
(102.1 FM),
Heart South Wales
Heart South Wales is an regional radio station that broadcasts to South and West Wales from studios in Cardiff Bay. The station is owned and operated by Global Radio and forms part of the expanded Heart radio network of stations.
Background Re ...
(106.0 FM) and
Nation Radio
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by tho ...
(107.3 FM), all of which are available on
DAB
DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to:
Dictionaries
* '' Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies
* ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949
Places
* Dą ...
. Radio Phoenix also operates a 24-hour hospital radio service for the patients & staff 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 ...
in
Baglan Moors.
In 2005 the area was granted its first radio station when
Afan FM
XS (formerly Afan FM) was a community radio station serving the Neath Port Talbot county borough. The station was owned and operated by Neath Port Talbot Broadcasting CIC and aired a mix of dance & alternative music and local information, targe ...
, the inspiration of a group of local young people, was awarded a five-year licence by
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
to serve Port Talbot and Neath. Afan FM broadcast from the AquaDome leisure complex on
Aberafan Seafront. Following a December 2009 fire at the AquaDome, Afan FM moved to Aberafan House, adjacent to the town's shopping centre. Afan FM closed in December 2011 was shut down following after an unexpected tax bill.
The town has been served by several newspapers. The ''
Port Talbot Guardian'' was a weekly paper published by
Media Wales
Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd.
History
The ''Western Mail'' was fo ...
, part of the
Trinity Mirror group, but ceased publication in October 2009. The Swansea-based daily ''
South Wales Evening Post
The ''South Wales Evening Post'' is a tabloid daily newspaper distributed in the South West region of Wales. The paper has three daily editions – Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire – and is published by Media Wales, part ...
'' and the weekly ''Courier and Tribune'' are distributed in the town and are published by
Media Wales
Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd.
History
The ''Western Mail'' was fo ...
, part of the
Reach plc group.
The Welsh-language song competition ''
Cân i Gymru
''Cân i Gymru'' (English: ''A Song for Wales'', ) is a Welsh television show broadcast on S4C annually. It was first introduced in 1969 when BBC Cymru wanted to enter the Eurovision Song Contest. It has taken place every year since, except in 1 ...
'' is usually filmed in Port Talbot. TV programmes such as ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' and ''
The Sarah Jane Adventures'' have filmed in the town.
The 2017 crime drama television series ''
Bang
Bang or bangs may refer to:
Products
* M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang
* Bang, a model car brand
* Bang (beverage), an energy drink
Geography
* Bang, Lorestan, a village in Iran
* Bangs, Ohio, Unite ...
'' is set in Port Talbot.
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
has recounted how he was inspired to create the movie ''
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
'' after hearing a transistor radio play the song ''
Aquarela do Brasil
"Aquarela do Brasil" (, 'Watercolor of Brazil'), written by Ary Barroso in 1939 and known in the English-speaking world simply as "Brazil", is one of the most famous Brazilian songs.
Background and composition
Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do Bra ...
'' on the beach at Port Talbot.
Transport
Railway
![PortTalbotParkway-platform 2 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/PortTalbotParkway-platform_2_01.jpg)
Port Talbot is served by the
South Wales Main Line at
Port Talbot Parkway railway station.
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
and
Transport for Wales
Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) cons ...
serve the station with services westbound to and and
West Wales Line and eastbound to , and
London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
. Trains also run via and to and
Manchester Piccadilly
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...
.
The new £5.6 million Integrated Transport hub was completed in 2017, linking Port Talbot Parkway with new bus and taxi links. This also included extensive upgrades to the railway station and surrounding area.
Bus
Port Talbot
bus station
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...
, located adjacent to the
Aberafan Centre
The Aberafan Shopping Centre is the only indoor shopping complex in Port Talbot, Wales. It currently has a floorspace of and houses over sixty stores on two levels, as well as the central library for Port Talbot. It was built in the 1970s by Star ...
in the centre of the town is the main bus transport hub, it is a
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
stop. Local bus services are provided by
First Cymru and South Wales Transport. The bus station's layout is very distinctive for the fact that buses always have to perform a 270° clockwise turn to exit the station. A
Sustrans
Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network.
Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...
cycle route has recently been constructed at this bus station as part of the
connect2 scheme connecting the Afan Valley with Aberafan beach. A second bus station opened in the town in 2017, at Port Talbot Parkway railway station.
M4 motorway
The
M4 motorway
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...
passes through the town from southeast to northwest, crossing a central area on a concrete viaduct, junctions 38 to 41 serve Port Talbot, with junctions 40 and 41 being in the commercial heart of the town. This busy urban stretch of the M4, with tight bends, two-lane carriageways, short narrow slip roads and concrete walls on both sides, was the first length of motorway in Wales when it opened to traffic in 1966. The road has a speed limit of enforced with
automatic number-plate recognition
Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit tel ...
speed cameras in both directions. The stretch through Port Talbot town centre is a particular traffic congestion blackspot and there have been calls to close the slip roads at junctions 40 and 41 to improve traffic flow. However some commuters oppose this plan since it would add more time to their journey. A new
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
relief road, the
Port Talbot Peripheral Distribution Road (PDR), was completed in 2013. It serves as a
distributor road through Port Talbot to the southwest of the M4, beginning at M4 Junction 38 and ending near Junction 41.
Port Talbot docks
The
Port Talbot Docks complex consist of an inner set of floating docks and an outer tidal basin. Construction of the tidal basin began in 1964 and the whole basin covers about . The tidal basin is capable of handling ships of up to 170,000
DWT and is used mostly for the import of
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...
and coal for use by nearby
Port Talbot Steelworks. The inner floating docks were constructed in 1898 and were closed in 1959. They were re-opened in 1998 for commercial shipping and in March 2007 for the import of some steel products and are capable of handling ships of up to 8,000 dwt. There have been proposals for the development of an
intermodal freight terminal at the port.
Economy
![High Street, Port Talbot - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/High_Street%2C_Port_Talbot_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1041928.jpg)
On 20 November 2007, the
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and was itself disbanded ...
(BERR) granted consent for the world's largest
biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...
power station to be built at Port Talbot. This is expected to provide enough electricity (from wood from environmentally-managed forests, mostly in North America) to supply half the homes in Wales with electricity.
Potential future development currently centres around the
peripheral distributor road to the south (the dual carriageway road in the Margam and Taibach areas was finished in 2013),
Baglan Industrial Park
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 di ...
and
Baglan Energy Park
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 ...
to the west, Port Talbot Docks to the southwest,
Margam Country Park to the east and the Afan Valley to the north. In March 2009
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council announced a regeneration project for Port Talbot town centre and docks, with a master plan for new homes, offices, light industry, retail developments and improvements to the railway station.
In January 2021, permission was granted for a new £200m adventure resort to open in the Afan Valley. The resort will include ski slopes, zip wires, tree top high-wire courses, Bear Grylls Survival Academy, an aqua adventure park, an equestrian centre, mountain biking, BMX and skate parks, a luxury spa, central plaza with shops and restaurants, 100 bed hotel and 500 luxury lodges.
Youth organisations
Port Talbot is home to a number of youth organisations. They are operated by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
and a range of other charitable organisations.
Cadet organisations
The 499 (Port Talbot) Squadron Air Training Corps, Sea Cadets, Port Talbot Detachment and Dyfed and Glamorgan Army Cadet Force operate in Port Talbot.
Sea rescue
Port Talbot
coastguard celebrated its centenary in 2008. The crew are the mud rescue team for the Swansea Bay area and are one of the seven rescue teams in the Gower Sector. Port Talbot inshore lifeboat is operated by the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
and operates in the docks, at Aberafan Beach and in the navigable sections of the local rivers.
Sport
Rugby
The town is part of the
Ospreys
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
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 it ...
region, by which it is represented at the top level of the sport. Other teams include:
*
Aberavon RFC, (founded in 1876) who play in the Rugby Union Welsh Premier Division
*
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 Union ...
, (founded in 1891) who play in the
WRU League 1 West
The Welsh Rugby Union Division One West (also called the SWALEC Division One West for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented for the 1995/96 season. The league was formed in 2006 when the WRU divided the old Divis ...
*
Aberavon Green Stars RFC
Aberavon Green Stars Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Aberavon, Wales, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. The club was formed by an Irish community
and to this day the ...
*
Corus (Port Talbot) RFC
Corus Rugby Football Club was a Welsh rugby union clubs based in Port Talbot. It is now known as Tata Steel RFC, the club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.
The club was historically known as The S.C.O.W ...
*
Taibach RFC
*
Neath Port Talbot Steelers
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 i ...
, a club which plays in the
Rugby League Conference
The Rugby League Conference (RLC) (also known as the Co-operative Rugby League Conference as a result of sponsorship from The Co-operative Group), was a series of regionally based divisions of amateur rugby league teams spread throughout England ...
Football
Cymru South teams are
Trefelin B.G.C.,
Afan Lido F.C.
Afan Lido Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Lido Afan ) is a football team based in Port Talbot, Wales, playing in the Cymru South.
History
Afan Lido F.C. were founded in 1967 shortly after the opening of the Afan Lido Sports Centre in Aber ...
and Goytre United are based in the town.
Port Talbot Town who were relegated from the Cymru South join
Baglan Dragons F.C.
Baglan Dragons Association Football Club is a Welsh football team based in Baglan, Port Talbot, Wales. They play in the Cymru South, which is in the second tier of the Welsh football league system.
History
The club were formerly known as ' ...
who were promoted to the
Ardal Leagues.
Other teams in the town are Afan United and Tata Steel FC.
Other sports
*Port Talbot Wheelers cycling club
*TS Multisport, running and
triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
club of employees from the
Tata Steel plants in Port Talbot and
Llanwern
*Port Talbot Town Cricket Club founded in 1963 and playing in the South Wales Premier Cricket League
Margam Forest to the northeast of the Port Talbot is used as a venue for a stage of the annual
Wales Rally GB. In the past, the rally route has traversed
Margam Country Park.
Afan Forest Park to the north of the town has a number of dedicated
mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
trails including the 'Penhydd', 'Y Wâl', 'Skyline', 'White's Level' and 'W²'.
The Aberavon beach is popular for surfing and kite surfing. A local life-saving club operates during the summer months.
Notable people
*
William "Mabon" Abraham (1842–1922, b. Cwmafan), trade unionist and politician
*
Bennett Arron, writer, comedian, actor and author, was brought up in Port Talbot
*
Martyn Ashton
Martyn Ashton (born 2 December 1974) is a former British and World Champion mountain bike trials rider, stunt rider and team manager. He had been riding professional trials since 1993, and has been described as a mountain biking legend, and cred ...
, British
mountain bike trials former world champion and multiple British champion, lives in Port Talbot.
*
Keith Barnes
William Keith Barnes AM (born 30 October 1934), also known by the nickname of "Golden Boots", is a Welsh-born Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was a ...
, Australian
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 ...
player, born in Port Talbot
*
Captain Beany
Captain Beany (born Barry Kirk on 23 September 1954) is a Welsh eccentric and charity fundraiser in Sandfields, Port Talbot, South Wales.
Biography
Kirk worked in the computer department of the British Petroleum chemical plant in Baglan, Nea ...
, celebrity charity fundraiser, and celebrity lookalike.
*
Robert Blythe, Welsh actor, was brought up in Tan y Groes Street. Played Fagin Hepplewhite in the BBC comedy ''
High Hopes''.
*
Di Botcher
Diane Botcher (born 2 June 1959) is a Welsh actress. She has starred in several British television sitcoms and dramas, including the Sky comedy drama '' Stella'', BBC comedies '' Little Britain'' and ''Tittybangbang'' and the ITV period drama ...
, Welsh comedy actress.
*
Rob Brydon
Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey'' ...
, actor and comedian who was brought up in
Baglan, Port Talbot.
*
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
was born in
Pontrhydyfen
Pontrhydyfen (or Pont-rhyd-y-fen) is a small village in the Afan Valley, in Neath Port Talbot county borough in Wales (). The village sits at the confluence of the River Afan and the smaller Afon Pelenna, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the l ...
, Port Talbot as Richard Jenkins and had his early education in Port Talbot where he met his mentor,
Philip Burton.
*
Gabrielle Creevy
Gabrielle Creevy is a Welsh actress, known for the leading role of Bethan Gwyndaf in the BBC series '' In My Skin''. For her performance in the role, she won a BAFTA Cymru award.
Early life and career
Creevy is from Port Talbot and lived in a ...
, actress who is from Port Talbot
*Leondre Devries, part of the singing duo
Bars and Melody
Bars and Melody (often abbreviated as BAM) are a British R&B and rap duo consisting of rapper Leondre Devries and singer Charlie Lenehan, who took part in the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2014. During their audition, they were autom ...
who came third on ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'' in 2014.
*
Alan Durban
William Alan Durban (born 7 July 1941) is a Welsh former international footballer and manager, whose career was at its peak between the 1970s and 1990s. He played in the Football League for Cardiff City, Derby County and was player-manager of ...
, footballer
*
Ivor Emmanuel
Ivor Lewis Emmanuel (7 November 1927 – 20 July 2007) was a Welsh musical theatre and television singer and actor. He is probably best remembered, however, for his appearance as "Private Owen" in the 1964 film '' Zulu'', in which his char ...
, musical theatre and television singer and actor from Pontrhydyfen, Port Talbot.
*
Peg Entwistle
Millicent Lilian "Peg" Entwistle (5 February 1908 – 16 September 1932) was a British stage and screen actress. She began her stage career in 1925, appearing in several Broadway productions. She appeared in only one film, '' Thirteen Women'', ...
,
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
actress whose 1932 suicide from atop the
Hollywood Sign
The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...
in Los Angeles tagged her as "The Hollywood Sign Girl" was born at 5 Broad Street, Port Talbot on 5 February 1908.
*
Professor Sir Christopher Evans, businessman, originally from Port Talbot
*
Rebecca Evans, soprano, from Pontrhydyfen, Port Talbot
*
William Evans (1883–1968), writer
*
Brian Flynn, Welsh footballer, influential in Wales' semi-final run at
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
*
Bernard Fox, actor, born Bernard Lawson
*
Rhod Gilbert
Rhodri Paul Gilbert (born 18 October 1968) is a Welsh comedian and television & radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award (as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards w ...
, comedian, lives in Port Talbot
*
Lateysha Grace
Lateysha Naomi Henry (born 25 November 1992), known professionally as Lateysha Grace, is a Welsh television personality, businesswoman and model. She began her television career after appearing on the MTV reality series '' The Valleys'' (2012 ...
, television personality
*
Regan Grace, professional rugby league player for
St. Helens and
Wales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an indepen ...
*
Richard Hibbard
Richard Hibbard (born 13 December 1983) is a Wales international rugby player currently playing for the Dragons.
Hibbard was born in Neath, Wales. He’s married with 3 children. A hooker, he started playing rugby at age grade levels at clubs ...
, rugby union player (Wales and Lions international)
*
James Hook James Hook may refer to:
* Captain Hook, the villain of J. M. Barrie's play and novel ''Peter Pan''
* James Hook (composer) (1746–1827), English composer and organist
* James Hook (priest) (1771–1828), English priest, Dean of Worcester
* Jame ...
, rugby union player,
Ospreys
The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
and Wales fly-half
*
Sir Anthony Hopkins, actor, was born and raised in Margam, Port Talbot.
*
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 ...
, politician, was born in Port Talbot and spent his early years there. When he was made a life peer in 1992 he chose the title Baron Howe of Aberavon.
*
Chris Jenkins British, European and World champion powerlifter.
*
Clive Jenkins
David Clive Jenkins (2 May 1926 – 22 September 1999) was a British trade union leader. "Organising the middle classes", his stated recreation in '' Who's Who'', sums up both his sense of humour and his achievements in the British trade union m ...
(1926–1999), trade unionist
*
Joseph Kappen
Joseph William Kappen (30 October 1941 – 17 June 1990), also known as the Saturday Night Strangler, was a Welsh serial killer who committed the rape and murder of three teenage girls in Llandarcy and Tonmawr, near his home town of Port T ...
,
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
from Port Talbot who murdered a number of girls in the area in the 1970s
*
Lloyd Langford
Lloyd Langford (born 6 August 1983) is a Welsh comedian, comedy writer and voice artist.
Early life and education
Langford was born in Baglan, Neath Port Talbot. He studied film and television at the University of Warwick; he chose this be ...
, former blacksmith turned comedian was raised in Port Talbot.
*
Richard Lewis Richard, Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky or Dick Lewis may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Richard Field Lewis Jr. (1907–1957), American radio network owner
* Dick "Rocko" Lewis (Richard Henry Lewis III, 1908–1966), American entertainer
* Rich ...
, Esports journalist, born and raised in Port Talbot.
*
Ronald Lewis (1928–1982), actor
*
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister and medical doctor who was influential in the Calvinist wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminste ...
(1899–1981, b. Cardiff), Calvinistic Methodist minister who ministered Bethlehem Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Sandfields, Aberafan from 1926 to 1938 prior to teaching at
Westminster Chapel
Westminster Chapel is an evangelical free church in Westminster, central London. The church is in Buckingham Gate, on the corner of Castle Lane and opposite the junction with Petty France. Buckingham Gate is just off Victoria Street and near ...
in London
*
Michael Locke, aka 'Pancho' of TV series ''
Dirty Sanchez'', was born and brought up in Baglan, Port Talbot
*
Allan Martin, rugby union player (Wales and Lions international)
*
Christopher Painter, composer, born in 1962
*
Colin Pascoe, former Swansea City,
Sunderland and Wales international.
*
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 ...
, was born as Richard Lewis in Aberafan in 1803, in the centre of what is now Port Talbot but before the town was named as such in 1840. He is buried at
St Mary's Church, Aberavon, near the centre of the town. He was convicted of assault on an army soldier and executed.
*
Paul Potts
Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music ...
, an opera singer and the winner of ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'' in 2007, lives in Port Talbot
*
Linda Sharp
Linda Kay Sharp (born March 14, 1950) is an American former collegiate women's basketball coach. Her coaching career spans 31 seasons with stints on all levels from elementary, junior high and high school to the collegiate and professional ranks, ...
, champion surfer from Aberafan, won the European surfing championships twice, the British surfing championships ten times and the Welsh surfing championships 19 times.
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Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...
, Welsh actor was born in
Newport but he was brought up in Port Talbot
*
Rhys Taylor
Rhys Francis Taylor (born 7 April 1990) is a Welsh professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for Bradford (Park Avenue). He has played for Wales up to under-21 level.
Early life
He attended Glan Afan Comprehensive School, Port T ...
, footballer born in Neath on 7 April 1990.
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George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy
Thomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, (29 January 1909 – 22 September 1997) was a British politician who served as a member of parliament (MP) and Speaker of the House of Commons from 1976 to 1983. He was elected as a Labour MP.
Bo ...
was born in Tydraw Street, Port Talbot and was speaker in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
.
*
Andrew Vicari
Andrew Vicari (born Andrea Antonio Giovanni Vaccari; 20 April 1932 – 3 October 2016) was a Welsh painter working in France, who established a career painting portraits of prominent people. Despite being largely unknown in his own country, ...
, painter was born in Port Talbot.
*
Freddie Williams, from Margam, was the
1950 and
1953 Speedway World Champion. As of
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, Williams is the only Welshman to win the championship.
Special environmental protected sites
Port Talbot has several protected sites, including
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI),
Special Areas of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
(SAC) and a
Ramsar wetland site
This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scienti ...
.
*Baglan Moors (An important site for
lapwings
Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...
and other birds and for amphibians)
*Caeau Ton-y-fildre (SSSI)
*Cefn Gwrhyd, Rhydyfro (SSSI)
*Cilybebyll (SSSI)
*Coed Cwm Du, Cilmaengwyn (SSSI)
*Coedydd Nedd a Mellte (SAC)
*Cors Crymlyn / Crymlyn Bog (Ramsar, SSSI, SAC)
*Craig-y-llyn (SSSI)
*Crymlyn Burrows (SSSI)
*Cwm Gwrelych and Nant Llyn Fach Streams (SSSI)
*
Dyffrynnoedd Nedd a Mellte, a Moel Penderyn (SSSI)
*Earlswood Road Cutting and Ferryboat Inn Quarries (SSSI)
*Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir (SSSI)
*Fforest Goch Bog (SSSI)
*Frondeg (SSSI)
*Gorsllwyn, Onllwyn (SSSI)
*Gwrhyd Meadows (SSSI)
*Hafod Wennol Grasslands (SSSI)
*Kenfig / Cynffig (SAC), National Nature Reserve)
*Margam Moors (SSSI)
*Mynydd Ty-isaf, Rhondda (SSSI)
*Pant-y-sais (SSSI)
*Tairgwaith (SSSI)
See also
*
Aberafan
*
Bryn
*
Cwmafan
*
Goytre
Goytre ( cy, Goetre) is a village near the town of Port Talbot, Wales.
The village lies in the valley of the Nant Ffrwdwyllt, between the communities of Taibach, Cwmafan, Bryn and Margam.
The former St Peter's Church (Church in Wales) was a ' ...
*
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 ...
*
Pontrhydyfen
Pontrhydyfen (or Pont-rhyd-y-fen) is a small village in the Afan Valley, in Neath Port Talbot county borough in Wales (). The village sits at the confluence of the River Afan and the smaller Afon Pelenna, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the l ...
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Sandfields
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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 ...
References
External links
*
Port Talbot Historical Societywww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Port Talbot and surrounding area
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Ports and harbours of Wales
Towns in Neath Port Talbot
Communities in Neath Port Talbot
Rally GB
Swansea Bay (region)
Populated coastal places in Wales
Port cities and towns in Wales