UK Genealogy Archives logo
DISCLOSURE: This page may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we may receive a commission.

Margam, Glamorgan

Historical Description

Margam, a hamlet and a parish in Glamorgan. The hamlet lies on the Julian Way, under Margam Hill, near the coast, 3 miles E of Port Talbot station —n the G.W.R., and 6 SSE of Neath. It was formerly called Pen-dar, signifying " oak top," with allusion to Margam Hill. The parish includes the village of Taibach, and the hamlets of Bronbil and Bryn, and is partly within the parliamentary borough of Aberavon. Taibach has a post, money order, and telegraph office (T.S.O.) under Port Talbot. Acreage of the parish, 18,064 of land and 283 of water, with 1088 of adjacent tidal water and foreshore; population, 6274. It is governed by a local board of fifteen members. Margam Abbey is the seat of the Talbot family; takes its name from a Cistercian abbey founded in 1147 by Robert, Earl of Gloucester; stands on a rising-ground backed by Margam Hill; is a modern mansion in the Tudor style, after designs by Hopper; shows two fine facades and a tower, with details of much originality and beauty; and contains some ancient furniture, several antique statues, and a fine collection of paintings by the old masters. The grounds around it are highly picturesque, and abound in interesting features. Margam Hill rises to the height of about 800 feet; is all covered, from base to summit, with noble oak-wood; and looks from a distance as if dressed like a hedge. Orange trees, lemons, citrons, pomegranates, arbutuses, camellias, myrtles, and other exotics, grow luxuriantly and flower in the grounds and gardens. A bay tree stands 80 feet high, and spreads nearly 50 feet in diameter. An orangery, 327 feet by 81, contains fine trees, many of them 20 feet high, and is said to have originated in a cargo of plants sent from Holland for Mary, the queen of William III., and landed on the adjacent coast by shipwreck of the vessel. Architectural relics, chiefly of the old abbey, also adorn the grounds. The abbey gave entertainment to King John on his way to Ireland, and was sold for £640 at the dissolution to Sir Rice Mansel, an ancestor of the present proprietor. The chapter-house was one of the most graceful buildings of its class; had externally the form of a dodecagon, and internally that of a perfect circle; was covered with a beautiful groined roof; lost its roof, so as to become a mere shell, in 1799; and is now represented chiefly by a clustered column and some minor fragments. Crosses, effigies, and gravestones, with sculptures and inscriptions, formerly stood against the walls of the chapter-house and those of the adjoining cloister. Most of these have now been placed within the church for preservation against the weather. A very ancient wheel-cross, which formerly stood in the village, and presents very curious features, also is there. Bases of finely-clustered pillars, the steps of the altars, and portions of tiled pavement, remain as traces of the church, and blend singularly with flowering shrubs of the shaven lawn; and the W end of the church still stands, has an interesting Norman door, and forms part of the present parish church. Several Roman stones, and some vestiges of periods prior to the Roman, are on the adjacent hills. A nunnery was at Eglwys Nunyd, about a mile from the abbey. The general surface of the parish is hilly, and, notwithstanding the presence of much smoke from Taibach and Aberavon, is finely picturesque. Coal and limestone abound, and much commerce, chiefly in the outlet of mineral produce from copper, tin, and ironworks in the valley of the Avon, is at Port Talbot. There are extensive copper works at Taibach. The living is a vicarage in the diocese-of Llandaff; gross value, £106 with residence. The church was restored in 1873, and contains monuments of the Bussy, Mansel, and Talbot families. There are chapels of ease at Taibach, Oakwood, and Bryn, and Baptist, Congregational, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodist chapels. A new church was erected at Taibach in 1895.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Registration districtNeath1837 - 1921

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Church Records

Findmypast, in conjunction with the National Library of Wales and the Welsh County Archivists Group, have the following parish records online for Margam:

ParishBaptismsBannsMarriagesBurials
Margam1763-1912  1757-1953
Margam, Chapel Of Ease1881-1895  1850-1895

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

For births, marriages, and deaths in Margam from 1837 to 1921 you should search for the Neath Registration District.


Maps

Online maps of Margam are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online:

CountyCastell-nedd Port Talbot - Neath Port Talbot
RegionSouth Wales
CountryWales
Postal districtSA13
Post TownPort Talbot

Advertisement

Advertisement