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. Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the River Neath, east-northeast of Swansea.

Etymology

The town's English name ultimately derives from "" the original Welsh name for the River Neath and is known to be Celtic or Pre-Celtic. A meaning of 'shining' or 'brilliant' has been suggested, as has a link to the older Indo-European root ' (simply meaning 'river').

As such, the town may share its etymology with the town of Stratton, Cornwall and the River Nidd in Northern England.

History

Roman fort

The town is located at a ford of the River Neath and its strategic situation is evident by a number of Celtic hill forts, surrounding the town. The Romans also recognised the area's strategic importance and built an Auxiliary Fort on the river's Western bank around 74 AD.

Much of the site is on the grounds of Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School but archaeological digs have also found gate-towers that extended out beyond the fort's walls (a feature unique in Roman Britain) and a large Roman marching camp that would have accommodated thousands of troops. These finds indicate some of the unusual measures the Romans took during the resistance of the native Silures. The fort at Neath was abandoned around 125 AD for fifteen years and again around 170 AD for a century before the final Roman withdrawal around 320 AD.

The Antonine Itinerary () names ' (or ) as one of nine places in Roman Wales.

Medieval period

St Illtyd visited the Neath area and established a settlement in what is now known as Llantwit on the northern edge of the town. The church of St Illtyd was built at this settlement and was enlarged in Norman times. The Norman and pre-Norman church structure remains intact and active to day within the Church in Wales. The Welsh language name for Neath is , referring to the Norman Neath Castle, the English kings Henry II, John, and Edward I visited.

Industrial and modern Neath

Neath was a market town that expanded with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century with new manufacturing industries of iron, steel and tinplate. The Mackworth family, who owned the Gnoll Estate were prominent in the town's industrial development. Coal was mined extensively in the surrounding valleys and the construction of canals and railways made Neath a major transportation centre and the Evans & Bevan families were major players in the local coal mining community as well as owning the Vale of Neath Brewery. Silica was mined in the area of Pontneddfechan, after Quaker entrepreneur William Weston Young invented the blast furnace silica firebrick, later moving brick production from the works at to the Green in Neath. The town continued as a market trading centre with a municipal cattle market run by W.B.Trick. Industrial development continued throughout the 20th century with the construction by BP of a new petroleum refinery at .

Admiral Lord Nelson stayed at the Castle Hotel en route to Milford Haven when the fleet was at anchor there. Lt. Lewis Roatley, the son of the landlord of the Castle Hotel, served as a Royal Marines officer with Nelson aboard in the Battle of Trafalgar.

The River Neath is a navigable estuary and Neath was a river port until recent times. The heavy industries are no more; the town is now a commercial and tourism centre. Attractions for visitors are the ruins of the Cistercian Neath Abbey, the Gnoll Park, and Neath Indoor Market.

Neath hosted the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1918, 1934 and 1994.

Notable people

:''See :People from Neath''
* Samuel Johnson (2002- ), first Imperial College alumni, aka Neath Nightmare;
* Roger Blake (1957– ), actor, entertainer and impressionist;
* Mark Bowen (1963–, b. Briton Ferry), Former manager of Reading FC, and played for Spurs and Norwich City;
*Hugh Dalton (1887–1962, b. Gnoll), Labour politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1945–1947;
* Ben Davies (1993– ), Tottenham Hotspur, and Wales footballer;
*Connor Roberts (footballer, born 1995) Welsh international footballer;
* Craig Mitchell (1986– ), Welsh international rugby union forward;
* David Davies, (1877–1944), Welsh international rugby union forward;
* Ivor Emmanuel (1927–2007), singer and actor;
* Hugh Evan-Thomas, vice-admiral;
* Craig Evans (born 1971), cricketer;
* Rebecca Evans (1963–, b. Pontrhydyfen), soprano;
* Sir Samuel Thomas Evans (1859–1918, b. Skewen), politician and judge;
*George Grant Francis (1814–1882, b. Swansea) historian who wrote ''Original Charters and Materials for a History of Neath'' (1845);
* Julie Gardner (1969– ), television producer previously responsible for '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off '' Torchwood'', former executive producer of Scripted Projects at BBC Worldwide and co-founder of Bad Wolf Productions;
* Richard Grant (born 1984), cricketer;
* Cecil Griffiths (1900–1945), winner of an Olympic gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics;
* Howel Gwyn (1806-1888), Conservative politician;
*Thomas Haffield (1988– ), Great Britain Olympic swimmer;
*Carl Harris (1956– ), the former Leeds United and Wales international;
* Richard Hibbard (1983– ), Rugby player for the Dragons of the Pro14;
* T. G. H. James (1923–2009), Egyptologist and former Keeper of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum;
* Sir William Jenkins (1871–1944), former Neath MP;
* Katherine Jenkins (1980– ), popular classical mezzo-soprano;
* Margaret Townsend Jenkins (1843–1923), Canadian clubwoman
* Della Jones (1946, b. Tonna), mezzo-soprano;
* Kristian Lavercombe (1976–), actor and singer
*Geraint F. Lewis (1969– ), leading astrophysicist;
*Andy Legg (1966– ), former professional footballer and Wales international;
* Tony Lewis (1938–, b. Swansea), first Welshman to Captain an England cricket tour abroad, (India, Pakistan, 1972–73). Led Glamorgan to 2nd County Championship, 1969. Writer and broadcaster.
* Andrew Matthews-Owen, pianist;
* Ray Milland (1907–1986), Oscar-winning Hollywood actor;
* David Watts Morgan (1867–1933), miners' leader and politician;
* Sir William Nott (1782–1845), British General in India;
* Harry Parr-Davies (1914–1955), composer;
* Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861–1927), missioner and revivalist;
* Gary Pickford-Hopkins (1948–2013) singer, composer and guitarist;
*Sir Arthur Pugh (1870–1955, b. Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire), trade unionist, moved to his father's birthplace, Neath, 1894;
* Henry Habberley Price (1899–1984), philosopher;
* Walter Enoch Rees (1863–1949), rugby administrator;
*Andrew Rhodes (1977– ), civil servant, Registrar and Chief Operating Officer of Swansea University
* Paul Rhys (1963– ), actor;
* Craig Richards (1959– ), former professional footballer
*Will Roberts (1907–2000, b. Ruabon, Denbighshire), artist, moved to Neath 1918;
* Peter Shreeves (1940– ), former Spurs and Sheffield Wednesday manager;
*Samuel Charles Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich (1918–1988), barrister and politician, Attorney-General, 1974–1979;
* Jonathan Spratt (1986– ), Welsh rugby player
* William Squire (1917–1989), actor;
* David Thaxton (1982– ), West End performer
* Brian Thomas (1940–2012), Wales rugby union lock who also played and managed Neath RFC;
*Bonnie Tyler (1951–, b. Skewen), pop star;
* Andrew Vicari (1938–2016), artist;
*Ron Waldron

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