Margam Country Park is a

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...

estate in Wales, of around 850 acres (3.4 km²). It is situated in

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 ...

, about 2 miles (3 km) from

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 ...

in south

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 ...

. It was once owned by the Mansel Talbot family and is now owned and administered by the local council,

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (or simply Neath Port Talbot Council) is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 Principal areas of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the ...

. Situated within the park are three notable buildings:

Margam Abbey Margam Abbey () was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales. History The abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and was dedicated to ...

, a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery;

Margam Castle Margam Castle, Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, is a late Georgian country house built for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. Designed by Thomas Hopper, the castle was constructed in a Tudor Revival style over a five-year period, from 1830 to 1835. ...

, a neo-Gothic

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

that was once the seat of the Mansel Talbot family; and the 18th-century

Orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

. The park is designated Grade I on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

Country park

Margam Park owes its location and beginnings to the monastery, which was acquired by Sir

Rice Mansel Sir Rhys Mansel (c. 1487 – 1559), also Sir Rice Mansel, also Sir Rice Manxell, also Sir Rice Maunsell, Vice-Admiral, was High Sheriff of Glamorgan, a Commissioner of Peace and served as Chamberlain of Chester to King Henry VIII of England. ...

in 1540 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1537. A Tudor mansion was later built on the site of the former monastic ranges by Sir Rice Mansel as a county residence. In 1661, the first mention of a garden is referenced, including walled areas and by 1727 the estate's gardener drew up a catalogue of the plants at the gardens. 1793 saw the completion of the Orangery, the masterpiece of eighteenth century architect

Anthony Keck Anthony Keck (1726–1797) was an 18th-century English architect with an extensive practice in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Wales. Life Keck was born at Randwick, Gloucestershire in 1726. He designed in the "austere ...

, and by the late 18th century the gardens were fenced off from the park to keep out the deer, and a main gate was erected. An 1814 estate map shows that a working park had been realised, with a 'Great', 'Little' and 'Upper' Parks, and by 1830 the construction of a new manor house, to become Margam Castle, had begun. Before the end of the decade, plans show the inclusion of several new buildings and features, including the Temple of the Four Seasons, the stone facade and the gardener's cottage. The Margam Estate was acquired by

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Loca ...

in July 1973, and the next year, after a Local Government re-organisation, the Park fell under the ownership of

West Glamorgan County Council West Glamorgan County Council () was the county council of the county of West Glamorgan in south-west Wales, from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. History The county was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering ...

. The park was opened to the public in 1977. in 1985 a

sculpture park A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by a ...

was established by the

Welsh Sculpture Trust Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

which exhibited work by internationally famous sculptors including

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadin ...

and

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

. The sculpture park has since closed. The estate is noted for its

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

population. Also on the estate are

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, which have existed on the site since at least

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

times. The majority are

fallow deer Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus ''Dama'' of subfamily Cervinae. There are two living species, the European fallow deer (''Dama dama''), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamic ...

(numbering around 230);

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

(about 60) and the non-native

Père David's deer The Père David's deer (''Elaphurus davidianus''), also known as the ''milu'' () or elaphure, is a species of deer native to the subtropical river valleys of China. It grazes mainly on grass and aquatic plants. It is the only extant member of t ...

(about 30) were introduced in the 1990s, the latter as part of a breeding programme.

Venison Venison refers primarily to the meat of deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, including the internal organs. Venison, much like beef or pork, is categorized into spe ...

from the management of the deer herd is sold to the public. Aviaries on the estate house a number of rescued

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

. The rare breed

Glamorgan cattle Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the south of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying bo ...

are raised on the estate. Nant Cwm Philip Stream 1

The Coed Morgannwg Way, the Ogwr Ridgeway Walk and the St Illtyd's Walk long-distance paths all begin/finish around Mynydd y Castell within Margam Country Park. An inland section of the

Wales Coast Path The Wales Coast Path () is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the world to cover the entire len ...

runs through the park along the

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

above the motorway, and there are a number of shorter (less than three miles (5 km)) walks

waymarked Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

in the park. There are no major rivers in the park, but there are lakes and ponds, and it is possible to fish some of the ponds. Nant Cwm Philip is a 2.68 km long stream that sits in the Cwm Philip valley and is surrounded by mixed woodland. It feeds into the Margam Park fish pond. The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

Margam Park Railway conducts visitors around the grounds in the summer. The Orangery has a licence for civil marriages. Events on the estate are held through the summer: ranging from fairs selling particular goods to car rallies. The Margam Country Show is held in August. In 2003, the park was host to the

Urdd National Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( or ) is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest yo ...

. In a 2013 the park came first in a national vote to find the public's favourite

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

ed park from a field of 1,448 qualifying open spaces. The park is designated Grade I on the

. Access is free but there is a charge for car parking and for some events. The park has been used for the

Wales Rally GB Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international rallying, motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship ( ...

. The park was used as a filming location for two episodes of

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

in 2007 ("

The Sontaran Stratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem" is the fourth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as The Doctor. The episode was broadcast ...

" and "

The Poison Sky "The Poison Sky" is the fifth episode of the Doctor Who (series 4), fourth series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 3 May 2008. The episode features both former companion Martha Jones and t ...

"), and in 2023 for the episode "

Rogue A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior or strikes out on an independent and possibly destructive path. Rogue, rogues, or going rogue may also refer to: Companies * Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon * ...

Scheduled monuments and listed buildings

The country park has six

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

s and a large number of listed buildings within it. Of the scheduled monuments, two are

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 ...

hill fort 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 ...

s, two are medieval religious sites, one is a museum and one is a World War II installation. Of the listed buildings, those graded at the highest grade, Grade I, include the abbey itself, and its chapterhouse and

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...

, Margam Castle, the

and the former Banqueting House.

Iron Age camps

Mynydd y Castell Camp is a large hillfort enclosing in a D shape, on an isolated hill 500m east of Margam Abbey. There has been some quarrying, and possible other uses, which may have disrupted layouts of banks and entrances. Half Moon Camp is a small Hillfort on a hilltop north of Margam Abbey, on the opposite side of the valley from Mynydd y Castell. It is crossed by an upland section of the

Margam Abbey

In 1147, Margam Abbey was built. When the abbey was dissolved in 1536 the Abbey Church nave was retained as Margam Parish Church, whilst the ruins of various other of the abbey buildings stand in the park today, including a spectacular twelve-sided Chapter House. A small chapel known as Hen Eglwys, also called Cryke Chapel and dated to 1470, was a grange of the Abbey on the hillside of Craig-y-capel. The gable-ends, with window tracery are the principle survivals, and provided a gothic landmark and viewpoint for the 19th-century parkland of Margam Castle. There was a burial ground and a nearby holy well known as Ffynnon Mair.

Margam Stones

During the 19th Century the Talbot family gathered together a collection of early Christian memorial stones from the locality, and placed them in and around the Abbey Chapter House, within what is now the Park. In 1892 they were put in the care of the Commissioners for Public works, and in 1932 they were moved into the nearby Church schoolroom, to become the Margam Stones Museum, now managed by

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 museum, undated, viewed in the Museum in June 2012

Margam Castle

The Park also houses Margam Castle, a Tudor Gothic mansion built by

Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot FRS (10 May 1803 – 17 January 1890) was a Welsh landowner, industrialist and Liberal politician. He developed his estate at Margam near Swansea as an extensive ironworks, served by railways and a port, which ...

in the early nineteenth century. Sculptures and artwork are placed at different places along the paths which connect the house with the Orangery. The mansion is listed at Grade I.

The Orangery

The Margam estate had a famed collection of

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

trees and when the Mansell Talbots abandoned the estate for Penrice, they determined to maintain the collection and Keck was commissioned to design an

orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

to house it. The result was "longer and more capacious than any other in Great Britain". The orangery is Grade I listed.

Banqueting House

The banqueting house, also known as the Temple of the Four Seasons, is the façade of a 17th century banqueting house, repurposed and attached to a gardener's cottage, Ivy Cottage, during the construction of the new house in the 1830s. It comprises a double

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

and is listed at Grade I.

Early warning radar

On the escarpment above the motorway is one of a network of early warning radar stations that were built around the coast of Britain from 1941, to detect German bombers and shipping during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Earlier

Chain Home Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal early warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

stations were able to spot aircraft at higher altitudes, so a second network, the

Chain Home Low Chain Home Low (CHL) was the name of a British early warning radar system operated by the RAF during World War II. The name refers to CHL's ability to detect aircraft flying at altitudes below the capabilities of the original Chain Home (CH) r ...

stations, of which Margam was one, were built to detect low-flying planes and shipping. The Margam station, which is a

, has the inland route of the

running past it.

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

flat-topped buildings stand high on the escarpment, overlooking Port Talbot and Swansea Bay. They would have housed generators and control equipment, with a large antenna on the roof.. : Chain Home Low Radar Station, Margam

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Margam Country Park
Official site
Margam Country Park
Site from South West Wales Tourist Board
Margam Park Field Centre

Photos of Margam Country Park and surrounding area on geograph

The Margam Country Park Railway
{{Authority control Gardens in Wales Country parks in Wales 2 ft gauge railways in Wales Rally GB Parks in Neath Port Talbot Margam Registered historic parks and gardens in Neath Port Talbot