Welcome to Neath
Neath is classified as a market town that originated in Roman times and expanded with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century with new manufacturing industries of iron, steel and tinplate.
The Mackworth family, who owned the Gnoll Estate were prominent in the town's industrial development. Coal was mined extensively in the surrounding valleys and the construction of canals and railways made Neath a major transportation centre and the Evans & Bevan families were major players in the local coal mining community as well as owning the Vale of Neath Brewery.
Silica was mined in the Craig-y-Dinas area of Pontneddfechan, after Quaker entrepreneur William Weston Young invented the blast furnace silica firebrick, later moving brick production from the works at Pontwalby to the Green in Neath. The town continued as a market trading centre with a municipal cattle market run by W.B.Trick. Industrial development continued throughout the 20th century with the construction by BP of a new petroleum refinery at Llandarcy.
Admiral Lord Nelson stayed at the Castle Hotel en route to Milford Haven when the fleet was at anchor there Lt. Lewis Roatley, 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 River Neath is a navigable estuary and Neath was a river port until recent times. The heavy industries are no more with the town being a commercial and tourism centre. Attractions for visitors are the ruins of the Cistercian Neath Abbey, the Gnoll Country Park and Neath Indoor Market.
See 'HISTORY OF NEATH' in menu for the full story of how Neath delveloped from castles to supermarkets.
Source: Edited version of what appears on Wikipedia
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