Baglan is a village in

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 ...

, adjoining

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 ...

, named after

Saint Baglan Saint Baglan was a 6th-century hermit who lived at Baglan in Wales. Life Baglan is said, on doubtful evidence, to have been a Breton prince, the son of Ithel Hael. He studied at Saint Illtud's monastic school at Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Majo ...

. It is also a

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 ...

and

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

in the

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. In 2001, the population was 6,654. rising to 6,819 in 2011. Baglan is on the side of a steep

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

and surrounded by two hills,

Mynydd-y-Gaer Mynydd-y-Gaer is a hill that sits on the boundaries between the South Wales communities of Baglan (south-western quarter), Cwmavon (south-eastern quarter) and Briton Ferry, (northern half), all within Neath Port Talbot county borough. The sum ...

to the north and Mynydd Dinas to the east. The moors and

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 ...

are to the southwest. The village contains a number of historical buildings such as Baglan House, St. Catharine's Church, and St. Baglan's Church. The first St. Baglan's Church is now a shell after a fire in 1954. St. Catharine's Church was designed by Welsh architect

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard ...

, an exponent of the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style and dedicated in 1882. Baglan House was one of the seats of the Villiers family,

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

s of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. Baglan railway station is on the

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line (), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the co ...

with trains to

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Early history

The earliest evidence of settlement here dates back to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

with there being a tumulus called Twyn Disgwylfa on Mynydd Dinas and a round barrow within the hillfort of

Buarth-y-Gaer Buarth-y-Gaer () is an Iron Age hillfort or enclosure on the summit of Mynydd-y-Gaer, above sea level. It is in Briton Ferry community, near Neath, in Neath Port Talbot, South Wales. A large hilltop enclosure is bounded by a single bank and ditc ...

just outside the boundary of Baglan. There is also an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

called Craig Ty-Isaf on the surrounding hill

. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

road (Via Julia) very possibly passed through the village, although the statement that there was once a Roman

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

at the junction of Old Road and Albion Road Approach is erroneous (the milestone in question is actually from

Pyle Pyle () is a village and community (and electoral ward) in Bridgend county borough, Wales. This large village is served by the A48 road, and lies less than one mile from Junction 37 of the M4 motorway, and is therefore only a half-hour journ ...

). Later, a

Dark Age The ''Dark Ages'' is a term for the Early Middle Ages (–10th centuries), or occasionally the entire Middle Ages (–15th centuries), in Western Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which characterises it as marked by economic, int ...

(Early Christian period) church was founded here, as can be seen from a few local Early Christian stones, especially the Cross of Brancu (dated 9th - 10th century) which is in the vestry of St Catharine's church. The inscription on the Cross of Brancu(f) could be a dedication to Brancuf, or reads as Brancu f(ecit). i.e. was made by Brancu or may be Brancu followed by a

chi-rho The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of the Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi (letter), chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek (Romanization of ...

monogram. (the name Brancu is preceded by a simple Latin cross in any case). According to tradition the church was founded by the aforementioned St Baglan. In the medieval period, the church (dedicated to St Baglan) was rebuilt seemingly on the same site. The church burnt down in 1954 although ruins still exist at the top of the churchyard of St Catharine's church. There was 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 ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

within 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 ...

boundary which is known by the name 'Plas Baglan'. This is sited above the Baglan Brook and is heavily overgrown (and not readily accessible). Although more usually thought of as a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

than a castle, it is a "strongly fortified site, a castle rather than a moated site ... a masonry castle that existed by the 13th century". It did, however, become a manor house and had literary associations in the 15th and 16th centuries. Several house platforms from the medieval period also exist on the hills behind the village.

Sport

Baglan is home to four sporting associations; Baglan Rugby Football Club, Baglan Dragons Football Club, Baglan Cricket Club. Also home to Tyn-Y-Twr Bowling Club, Captain Phillip Reese David.

Notable people

* Michael Williams, who was created ''Baron Williams of Baglan'', ''of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

'' on 23 July 2010. * Comedian

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He gained prominence for his roles in film, television and radio. He was appointed Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order ...

was born in Baglan. * Actor

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1992), ''Don't Fool wi ...

grew up in the village. * Comedian Lloyd Langford was born in the village

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Communities in Neath Port Talbot Villages in Neath Port Talbot

Early history

Sport

Notable people

See also

Notes

External links