MARGAM

"MARGAM, a parish in the hundred of Newcastle, county Glamorgan, 2 miles from Taibach, its post town, and 5 S.E. of Neath. It is situated on the coast and the Roman road Via Julia Montana, under Margam Hill, or Pendar, which rises 800 feet in height. The parish, which is of large extent, comprising 11,200 acres, is partly within the borough of Aberavon, near MargamBurrows. It contains the hamlets of Brombill, Havod-yPorth, High-Kenfig, and Trissient. There are remains of a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1147 by Morgan Arglwydd, or Robert Earl of Gloucester, where King John was entertained on his way to Ireland. At the Disso- lution it was sold to Sir Rice Mansell, an ancestor of the present owner About one mile distant from the village of Margam are the Taibach copper and tin works. The hamlet has been removed since 1841, but the population of this parish has recently greatly increased. Port Talbot, which is in the vicinity, has every facility for the import and export of iron, coal, &c., to and from the neighbouring works, especially to the busy district of Cwm Avon, where are the extensive works of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The surface, which is hilly, abounds with limestone, coal, iron, and copper, the greater part at present remaining untouched. The living is a perpetual curacy with the curacy of Taibach annexed, in the diocese of Llandaff, joint value £121. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, formerly belonged to the above-mentioned abbey. It was restored in 1810, and contains monuments of the Bussy, Talbot, and Mansell families. In the churchyard is an inscribed stone and a wheel cross. Near the church are remains of a twelve-sided chapter-house 50 feet in diameter, the roof of which was beautifully groined, but fell in about 1799. There are also remains of a S. door of a Lady chapel, and part of the cloisters. The principal residence is the modern mansion of C. R. M. Talbot, Esq., M.P., and lord-lieutenant of the county. It is a handsome structure chiefly designed by its owner, and consists of two facades and a tower situated on rising ground, but sheltered behind by Margam Hill. The mansion contains several antique statues, ancient furniture, and paintings by the old masters-among the last may be mentioned "St. Augustine with the Virgin and Child," by P. Veronese, a Vandyke, &c. Within the grounds is an orangery 327 feet in length by 81 in breadth, with a palladium front, containing the produce of a cargo from Holland designed for Queen Mary, with pomegranates, lemons, citrons, and other exotics. In the grounds is a bay-tree 60 feet in height and 45 feet in diameter. From the mildness of the climate the trees and plants attain an immense size, presenting a rich and luxurious appearance."

"BROOMBILL, (or Brombil), a hamlet in the parish of Margam, hundred of Newcastle, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 2 miles from Aberavon. It is chiefly inhabited by the miners.

"HAVOD-Y-PORTH, a hamlet in the parish of Margam, county Glamorgan, 3 miles S.E. of Aberafon, and 5 S. of Neath. The population is principally engaged in the collieries and in the copper and tin works at Taebach."

"HIGHER KENFIG, a hamlet in the parish of Margam, county Glamorgan, 3 miles from Kenfig, and 7 W. of Bridgend.

"TAIBACH, a village in the parish of Margam, county Glamorgan, 1 mile S.E. of Aberafon. It is situated near the Bristol Channel. In the vicinity are Vivian's "Constantinople" copper, tin, and coal works."

"TRISSIENT, a hamlet in the parish of Margam, county Glamorgan, near Aberafon."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018