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Aberafan

Aberavon
Aberavon-geograph.org.uk-4058559.jpg
Aberavon from Mynydd Dinas
Aberavon is located in Neath Port Talbot
Aberavon
Aberavon
Aberavon shown within Neath Port Talbot
Population 5,452 (2011 census)
OS grid reference SS752904
Principal area
Ceremonial county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town PORT TALBOT
Postcode district SA12
Dialling code 01639
Police South Wales
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK Parliament
Welsh Assembly
Councillors
  • Ceri Golding (Labour)
  • Mark Jones (Labour)
  • Anthony Taylor (Social Democratic Party)
List of places
UK
Wales
Neath Port Talbot
51°35′58″N 3°48′07″W / 51.59943°N 3.80194°W / 51.59943; -3.80194Coordinates: 51°35′58″N 3°48′07″W / 51.59943°N 3.80194°W / 51.59943; -3.80194

Aberavon (Welsh: Aberafan) is a settlement 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 Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby Blue Flag beach and the parish covering the same area.

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 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 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 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, 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.


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Wikipedia

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