Aberavon
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Aberavon () is a town and
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
in
Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhon ...
county borough,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
lordship. Today it is essentially a district of
Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), 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 d ...
, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby
Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...
and the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
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, 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 (; ) 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 population of 19,2 ...
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. 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 –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 statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
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, a key figure in the Merthyr Rising 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 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 or Taibach. 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 disappeared as part of the development of the Sandfields estate, at this time a 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. From 1832 Aberavon had belonged to the Swansea parliamentary district of boroughs, uniting with Kenfig,
Loughor Loughor (; ) is a town in Swansea, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically in Glamorgan, it lies on the estuary of the River Loughor (). The town has a community (Wales), community council under the name Llwchwr. The town is bordered by ...
,
Neath Neath (; ) 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 population of 19,2 ...
and Swansea to return one member; from 1918 to 2024 it had its own UK parliament constituency. Starting in 2024 it was part of the Aberafan Maesteg constituency. Its most famous MP was
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
. Sir
Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to ...
, 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 The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...
in 1932 and 1966.


Sport

Aberavon RFC Aberavon Rugby Club () 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 as Afan Football ...
are a
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
team, and play in the
Welsh Premier Division The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Admiral 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. 2025–26 se ...
. Aberavon Quins RFC are a rugby union club based at Harlequin Road and play their rugby in the WRU Division Two West league. Aberavon Green Stars RFC are a rugby club based in Sitwell Way Aberavon. Afan Lido F.C. is a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team, playing in
Cymru South The Cymru South is a regional association football, football league in Wales, covering the southern half of the country. It initially had clubs with semi-professional status. Together with the Cymru North, it forms the second tier of the Welsh fo ...
. One of Aberavon's
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
clubs is called the Aberavon Fighting Irish 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 () 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 A48 road which traverse ...
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. It is sandwiched between the
M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest 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 ele ...
and Afan Way ( A4241). Current occupants include
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
, Iceland Food Warehouse,
Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...
,
KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...
,
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 5–20 minutes, althou ...
, Screwfix, Pound Stretcher,
Pets at Home Pets at Home Group PLC (sometimes shortened to Pets) is a British retailer selling pets (not limited to rabbits, rodents and fish), pet food, toys, bedding and medication. Founded in 1991, the company operates 453 stores across the UK, as wel ...
&
Halfords Halfords Group PLC is a UK 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 London Stock E ...
superstores and a
Warburtons Warburtons Limited 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 ...
bread factory in premises which were previously occupied by
Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
.


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 t ...
of
Aberavon Aberavon () 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 district of Por ...
is coterminous with district of Aberavon and is a part of the Welsh parliamentary constituency of
Aberavon Aberavon () 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 district of Por ...
. Aberavon is bounded by the wards of Sandfields West and Sandfields East to the southwest; Baglan to the north;
Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), 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 d ...
to the east and
Margam Margam is a suburb and community (Wales), community of Port Talbot in the Wales, 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 l ...
to the south. The ward boundaries can be defined by the roads surrounding it which are the
M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest 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 ele ...
to the north east; the A4241 to the north west; Afan Way to the southwest and the
River Afan The River Afan () is a river in Wales whose valley formed the territory of the medieval Lords of Afan. The Afan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river. The valley is traversed by the A4107 road. Settlements in the area include Cwma ...
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 The River Afan () is a river in Wales whose valley formed the territory of the medieval Lords of Afan. The Afan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river. The valley is traversed by the A4107 road. Settlements in the area include Cwma ...
. The north western area consists of areas of
industrial estate An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or 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 par ...
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 * Velindre * Taibach


Nearest railway station

* Port Talbot Parkway railway station


Notable people

* John James, novelist


See also

* St Joseph's Church, Port Talbot


References


External links


www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Aberavon and surrounding areaLargest 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