Editing Port Talbot (section)

==History==
Modern Port Talbot is a town formed from the merging of multiple villages, including [[Baglan, Neath Port Talbot|Baglan]], [[Margam]], and [[Aberafan]]. The name 'Port Talbot' first appears in 1837 as the name of the [[Port of Port Talbot|new docks]] built on the south-east side of the [[river Afan]] by the Talbot family. Over time it came to be applied to the whole of the emerging conurbation.<ref>[http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2016-01-19/port-talbot-and-its-long-tradition-of-steel-making/ ITV News] (accessed: 13 March 2017)</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/25/port-talbot-wales-steel-tata-job-cuts Guardian] (accessed: 13 March 2017)</ref>

The earliest evidence of humans in the Port Talbot area has been found on the side of Mynydd Margam where Bronze Age farming ditches can be found from 4,000 BC. There were Iron Age hill forts on Mynydd Dinas, Mynydd Margam, Mynydd Emroch and other nearby hills. Mynydd Hawdref contains remains of an ancient Iron Age village. The Margam deer herd dates from Norman times but deer in the area were mentioned during Roman occupation.<ref>[http://www.margamcountrypark.co.uk/1248 Margam Deer Herd] (accessed: 18 June 2013)</ref><ref>Ordnance Survey Map, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Area, 2012</ref>

Ffynnon Pedr is a [[holy well]] which flows from the hillside through a {{convert|16|x|16|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} stone culvert in Margam. This may have been a water supply for Margam Abbey, {{convert|1/2|mi|m|abbr=off}} to the east.<ref>{{Coflein|num=305628|desc=Ffynnon Pedr|access-date=25 December 2016}}</ref>

The Cross of Brancuf an early Christian Sculptured Stone which stands in the church of St Catharine at Baglan. It is an intricately sculptured cross-slab with a Latin cross and an inscription recalling Brancuf. Originally it stood in the old St Baglan's church but that fell into ruin in the late 19th century and the slab was removed to St Catharine's. St Baglan (Bagelan), son of King Ithael Hoel of Brittany, was a 6th-century hermit and follower of [[Illtud|St Illtud]]. He founded the first church at the town that now takes his name. In the vestry of St Catharine's church sits a cross-slab dating from the 8th–10th century CE. It is intricately decorated with a Celtic-style cross formed out of knotwork (cord-plait knotwork) and interlacing; the ends of each arm are probably of a Latin design. Also, there is a Latin inscription: FECIT BRANCUF or perhaps BRANCU which when translated reads 'was made by Brancuf'. However, the person known as Brancuf is unknown.<ref>[http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=27363] (accessed: 25 December 2016)</ref>

The English antiquarian [[John Leland (antiquary)|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. His portrayal of Aberafan as a small, struggling village suggests that the port was not in great use, especially as traffic to and from Margam Abbey would have ceased following its [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution]] in 1536.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/itineraryjohnle00lelagoog/itineraryjohnle00lelagoog_djvu.txt |title=Full text of "The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535–1543. parts I to [XI&#93; |year=1964 |publisher=Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press |access-date=6 September 2013}}</ref>

The area of the parish of [[Margam]] lying on the west bank of the lower Afan became industrialised following the establishment of a copperworks in 1770. The Afan was diverted and a dock was opened in 1839 named for the Talbot family,<ref name="Davies,p.697">{{cite book|title=The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales|editor1=John Davies |editor2=Nigel Jenkins |editor3=Menna Baines |editor4=Peredur I. Lynch |publisher=University of Wales Press|location=Cardiff|year=2008|page=697}}</ref> local landowners who were related to the pioneer photographer, [[William Henry Fox Talbot]]. The Talbots were patrons of Margam Abbey, and also built [[Margam Castle]]. [[Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot]] (1803–1890), a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Glamorganshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Glamorgan]] from 1830 until his death, saw the potential of his property as a site for an extensive [[ironworks]], which opened in early 1831.{{citation needed|date=December 2016}}
[[File:Coast Defence Radar Station - geograph.org.uk - 715191.jpg|thumb|Margam Coast Defence Radar Station]]
The remains of a [[Chain Home Low]] early warning radar station are situated in [[Margam Country Park]], dating from [[World War II]] ({{circa|1941–1943}}). Designed to guard against enemy surface craft and submarines in the Bristol Channel, the station comprises three squarish concrete buildings with flat roofs, set on the Margam ridge facing south-east and overlooking the Channel. The most north-westerly building retains the framework of a steel gantry, the base for a rectangular radar transmitter/receiver array, known as a 'bedstead array' from its wires and framework, and is believed to be a unique survivor within the British Isles.<ref>{{Cadw|uid=1421|class=SM|num=GM488|desc=Chain Home Low Radar Station, Margam|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref>

In 1970 a new deep-water harbour was opened by [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]]. This harbour was capable of discharging [[iron ore]] vessels of 100,000 [[deadweight tonnage]] (DWT),<ref>[http://www.oceannavigator.com/article.php?a=1315 www.oceannavigator.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927064237/http://www.oceannavigator.com/article.php?a=1315 |date=27 September 2007 }} article link not accessible.</ref> a tenfold improvement on the old dock. By the early 21st century, due to further modification and dredging, the harbour is capable of harbouring vessels of over 170,000 DWT.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abports.co.uk/Our_Locations/South_Wales/Port_Talbot/ |title=AB Ports web page for Port Talbot |publisher=Abports.co.uk |access-date=25 November 2013}}</ref>