Skewen

Skewen (Welsh: Sgiwen) is a village within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, in Wales.

Skewen

A view over Skewen
Skewen
Location within Neath Port Talbot
Population8,500 
OS grid referenceSS727974
Principal area
Ceremonial county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEATH
Postcode districtSA10
Dialling code01792
PoliceSouth Wales
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament

The village is served by Skewen railway station.

Skewen supports its own rugby club.

History

Skewen was once an industrial village. There were a number of collieries around the village (see link below). The Crown and Mines Royal Copper Works and the Cheadle and Neath Abbey Ironworks were once important industrial sites which stood close by. Old top-loading blast furnaces can also be seen at Neath Abbey. To the south of Skewen lies the village of Llandarcy, the site of the country's first oil refinery. The site of this former oil refinery is now being developed as an urban village called Coed Darcy, a development which was promoted at its start by the Prince of Wales's Foundation for the Built Environment.

Monuments of interest

The ruins of Neath Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery, are now in the care of Cadw. On Mynydd Drumau to the north of the village is an ancient standing stone known as the Carreg Bica (or 'Maen Bradwen').

Notable people
  • The village is the birthplace of Sir Samuel Thomas Evans (1859–1918), British judge and politician who was appointed Solicitor-General in 1908 and became the President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division in 1910.
  • Skewen is also the birthplace of internationally successful singer Bonnie Tyler and Welsh composer David John de Lloyd (1883-1948).
  • Comedian Eddie Izzard lived in the village for a short while in his childhood, as did actress Lorna Bennett.
  • The grandparents of the legendary American entrepreneur Howard Hughes are believed to have lived in Skewen in the 1830s.
  • The successful Cresci family, who have made award-winning ice-cream for over six decades, also hails from the village.

[1][2][3]

Nearest places
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References
  1. "Cresci's Ice Cream and Cafe, Skewen". grubnub.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. "Italian ice cream is favourite South Wales experience". walesonline.co.uk. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  3. "Neath". cymru.visitwales.co.uk/. Welsh government. 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
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