Margam

Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway.

For the 2003 Indian Malayalam film, see Margam (film).

Margam
Margam
Location within Neath Port Talbot
Population3,017 (2011 census)
OS grid referenceSS803854
Principal area
Ceremonial county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townPORT TALBOT
Postcode districtSA13
Dialling code01639
PoliceSouth Wales
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
  • Aberavon
Councillors
  • Bob Thomas (Labour)

History

Margam was an ancient Welsh 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 branch 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 17th century and 18th century monuments. The Stones Museum contains important evidence for the advent of early 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 the South Wales Coalfield.

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 (3.4 km2) owned and administered by the local council which is a major local attraction. The collection of early Christian Celtic crosses and inscribed stones which the Talbot family had collected from the locality, were moved in 1932 into the nearby Church Schoolroom, to become the Margam Stones Museum, now managed by Cadw.[1]

In the early 20th century, Margam became the site of an important British Steel plc works.

Government and politics
Location of Margam ward within Neath Port Talbot County Borough

The electoral ward and community of Margam is related to the district of Margam. The Margam ward elects a county councillor to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. It includes areas such as Port Talbot Steelworks, Eglwys Nunydd, Margam Country Park, the Margam Suburb, Port Talbot Docks and Margam Sands beach. Margam falls within the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon.

In the 2017 local council elections, the results were:

Candidate Party Votes Status
Robert JonesLabour610Labour hold
Robert SmithConservative279

Councillor Jones became leader of Neath Port Talbot Council following the election.[2]

In the 2012 local council elections, the electorate turnout for Margam was 38.10%. The results were:[3]

Candidate Party Votes Status
Robert JonesLabour402Labour hold
Scott SullivanIndependent166
George RidgewaySocial Democratic Party129
Caroline JonesConservative110
Mathew McCarthyLiberal Democrats61

Nearest places
Brombil Woods

Notable people
  • The actor Anthony Hopkins was born at 77 Wern Road, Margam.[4]
  • Peg Entwistle, the Broadway actress who jumped to her death from the Hollywood sign in 1932, was born in Margam in 1908.[5]
  • Alan Durban, footballer, grew up in Bracken Road, Margam.
  • Ivor Lewis Emmanuel Actor
gollark: As I said, my main issues with the government are with the legal system, regulatory capture being a horribly common thing, monopolies not really being dealt with well or at all, lack of transparency, and horrible overreach of intelligence agencies.
gollark: (and also society being generally better does help me)
gollark: See, I actually care (somewhat) about other people.
gollark: Or, er, hedonism_irl?
gollark: nihilism_irl

References
  1. Sign boards at the Margam Stones Museum, undated, viewed in the Museum in June 2012
  2. Gemma Parry (12 May 2017). "The new leader of Neath Port Talbot Council wants to make it the best authority in Wales". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. "Port Talbot elections 2012". Port Talbot Magnet. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  4. Tiscali Film & TV: Anthony Hopkins Biography Archived 2008-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Page Title Archived 2012-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
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