Neath
Neath
| |
---|---|
Location within Neath Port Talbot | |
Population | 50,658 |
OS grid reference | SS745975 |
Community |
|
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | NEATH |
Postcode district | SA10-11 |
Dialling code | 01639 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Neath (/niːθ/; Welsh: 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.[2] The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011.[3] Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the River Neath, seven miles (eleven kilometres) east-northeast of Swansea.[4]
Etymology
The town's English name ultimately derives from "
As such, the town may share its etymology with the town of Stratton, Cornwall and the River Nidd in Northern England.[7][8]
History
Roman fort
The town is located at a
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.[9][10] 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.[11]
The
Medieval period
Industrial and modern Neath
Neath was a
Admiral Lord Nelson stayed at the Castle Hotel en route to Milford Haven when the fleet was at anchor there.[citation needed] Lt. Lewis Roatley,[18] the son of the landlord of the Castle Hotel, served as a Royal Marines officer with Nelson aboard HMS Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar.
The
Neath hosted the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1918, 1934 and 1994.[20]
Notable people
- Roger Blake (1957– ), actor, entertainer and impressionist;
- Norwich City;
- Hugh Dalton (1887–1962, b. Gnoll), Labour politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1945–1947;
- Ben Davies (1993– ), Tottenham Hotspur, and Wales footballer;
- 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;
- 4x400m relay at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics;
- Howel Gwyn (1806-1888), Conservative politician;
- Thomas Haffield (1988– ), Great Britain Olympic swimmer;
- Leeds Unitedand Wales international;
- 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.
- Michael Locke (1979–), skateboarder and stuntman known for the TV series Dirty Sanchez
- Andrew Matthews-Owen, pianist;
- Ray Milland (1907–1986), Oscar-winning Hollywood actor;
- Craig Mitchell(1986– ), Welsh international rugby union forward;
- 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;[21]
- 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
- Connor Roberts (1995– ), Welsh international footballer;
- Will Roberts (1907–2000, b. Ruabon, Denbighshire), artist, moved to Neath 1918;
- Sheffield Wednesdaymanager;
- 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 (1933– ), Welsh rugby coach;
- Alfred Russel Wallace (1823, b. Monmouthshire), evolutionary theorist, lived in Neath during 1841/2 and attended lectures given by the area's scientific societies;[22]
- Cyril Walters (1905–1992), Glamorgan cricketer and Captain of the England cricket team;
- Anna Letitia Waring (1823–1910), poet and hymn writer;
- Elijah Waring (1788–1857), writer; and
- Jane Williams [called Llinos] (1795–1873), singer and compiler of traditional Welsh music.
Sport
The Welsh Rugby Union was formed at a meeting held at the Castle Hotel in 1881.[23] Neath Rugby Football Club, the famous and successful "Welsh All Blacks", play at The Gnoll.
Administration
After Neath became a
.For the House of Commons at Westminster, Neath and the surrounding area are part of the Neath constituency. As of 2021[update], its Member of Parliament (MP) is Christina Rees of the Labour Party.
In the
Climate
As with the rest of the
Climate data for Neath 62m asl, 1961–1990 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) |
7.5 (45.5) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
15.4 (59.7) |
17 (63) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
16 (61) |
13 (55) |
9 (48) |
8 (46) |
13.4 (56.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) |
2.4 (36.3) |
3.5 (38.3) |
5.1 (41.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
10.9 (51.6) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.6 (54.7) |
10.9 (51.6) |
8.7 (47.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
3.6 (38.5) |
7.2 (45.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 137 (5.4) |
90 (3.5) |
100 (3.9) |
70 (2.8) |
79 (3.1) |
79 (3.1) |
78 (3.1) |
107 (4.2) |
114 (4.5) |
130 (5.1) |
140 (5.5) |
143 (5.6) |
1,267 (49.9) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 49.6 | 67.8 | 108.5 | 159.0 | 186.0 | 183.0 | 186.0 | 173.6 | 132.0 | 93.0 | 69.0 | 46.5 | 1,460 |
Source: Met Office[25] |
Education
Transport
Neath bus station is at Victoria Gardens, a five-minute walk from the railway station. National Express services call at the railway station. From Victoria Gardens, First Cymru provides direct inter-urban services to nearby Swansea and Port Talbot in addition to South Wales Transport who provide many similar local services.
The A465 skirts the town to the north east and provides a link to the M4.
Plans
In 2008 plans were announced to regenerate around 1,000 acres (400 hectares) of land in and around Neath town centre. The site once occupied by the previous civic centre was to be redeveloped as a new shopping centre. The area around the Milland Road Industrial Estate and with the area around the
In March 2008, the county's new radio station,
Galleries
-
St. David's Church in Neath
-
Triangular square in the town centre
-
Victoria Gardens within the town
References
- ^ "Neath Town Council".
- ^ "Neath Population 2011". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ "Neath Parish Population 2011". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ John Paxton, ed. (1999). The Penguin Encyclopedia of Places (Third ed.). London: Penguin. p. 628.
- ^ Wyn Owen, Hywel; Richard Morgan (2008). Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales. Llandysul: Gomer Press. p. 342.
- ^ John Davies; Nigel Jenkins; Menna Baines; Peredur I. Lynch, eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 603.
- ^ "Etymology". Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- Weatherhill, Craig(2009) A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-names. Westport, Co. Mayo: Evertype; p. 65
- ^ Nidum Roman dig in playing fields BBC Wales, 21 February 2011
- ^ "Blaen Cwm Bach Camp (301344)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ "Neath Auxiliary Fort; Nidum; Neath Roman Fort (301350)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
- ^ "The Antonine Itinerary – Iter Britanniarum – The British Section". Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ Parish of Neath: St. Illtyd Archived 8 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Church in Wales
- ^ Neath Castle
- ^ Britton Manor
- ^ Neath Brewery
- ^ "HMS VICTORY. MAN~OF~WAR 1805 MUSTER LISTS". Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
- ^ Gnoll Park
- ^ "Eisteddfod Locations". The National Eisteddfod of Wales. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Oxford DNB article: Pugh, Sir Arthur
- ^ Oxford DNB article: Wallace, Alfred Russel
- ^ "The History of The Castle Hotel". Neath SA11 1RB, Wales: The Castle Hotel. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
The Castle Hotel was the meeting place for the founders of the Welsh Rugby Union. The inaugural meeting of the Welsh Rugby Union took place in the Nelson Room at the Castle Hotel on 12th March, 1881. There is a plaque outside the hotel commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Welsh Rugby Union, and at that time the Nelson Room name was changed to the Centenary Room. Still displayed in the room are the plaques of the original eleven members of the Welsh Rugby Union.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "The History of the Gwyn Hall". Celtic Leisure. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- ^ "Neath 1961–90 averages". Met Office. Archived from the original on 10 February 2001. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ BBC NEWS |'Iconic' museum planned for town