Margam

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Margam is a suburb of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. It is also the name of an electoral ward and community coterminous with the suburb.

Margam was an ancient community, formerly part of the cwmwd of Tir Iarll, initially dominated by Margam Abbey, a wealthy house of the Cistercians founded in 1147. (Margam is believed to have played a significant role in the early transmission of the work of St. Bernard of Clairvaux). At the dissolution of the monasteries, it came into the possession of the Mansel family who were eventually succeeded by their descendants in the female line, the Talbot family, a cadet of the family of the Earls of Shrewsbury. The parish church continued to operate from the nave of Margam Abbey, as it still does. Margam Castle grounds contain the ruins of the Chapter House and major seventeenth and eighteenth century monuments. The Stones Museum contains important evidence for the advent of Christianity in the area.

With the coming of the industrial revolution, the parish of Margam became important for two reasons. First, it had a good harbour which was ultimately developed into Port Talbot, named in honour of the squires of Margam. Second, it had coal deposits, and coal mining in the parish took off in the late 18th century. The combination of local fuel and good transport links from the harbour made Margam an important part of the industrial landscape of South Wales.

At first, the coal workers lived away from the village of Margam itself, notably in a settlement at Taibach. However, eventually, the whole of the parish was submerged by the community of industrial workers. Margam then assumed its modern form as a suburb of Port Talbot.

Not included in the urbanisation and industrialisation of Margam, however, were the grounds of Margam Abbey, which were incorporated by the Talbot family into the grounds of their nearby 19th century mansion, Margam Castle (badly damaged by fire in the late 20th century but now in process of restoration). The Talbot family had previously, in the 18th century constructed at Margam the longest orangery in Europe, which still stands. All the land was sold out of the Talbot family in the mid 20th century but it has been preserved as Margam Country Park, an estate of some 850 acres (340 ha) owned and administered by the local council which is a major local attraction.

In the early 20th century, Margam became the site of an important British Steel works and the cooling towers became a local landmark. They were demolished in November 2003 because of steel over-production in mainland Europe.

The actor Anthony Hopkins was born at 77 Wern Road Margam.

Llewellyn Heycock, Baron Heycock was born and bred in Margam, his family arrived in the 18th century, and he took his title from the Margam settlement at Taibach.

See Saint Bernard, Sermons sur le Cantique 1, Sources Chrétiennes no.414 , 1997, p.55.

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