Principle Towns

The main towns in the County Brough of Neath Port Talbot are:

• Neath Historically, Neath was the crossing place of the River Neath and has existed as a settlement since the Romans established the fort of Nido or Nidum in the AD 70s. The Roman fort took its name from the River Nedd; the meaning is obscure but 'shining' or simply 'river' have been suggested. Neath is the Anglicised form.
  Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot , Wales with a ... Swansea) historian who wrote Original Charters and Materials for a History of Neath(1845);; Julie Gardner ... The previous borough council was absorbed into the larger unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot on 1 April 1996. Population: 45,898 (2001)

• Port Talbot   Modern Port Talbot is a town formed from the merging of multiple villages, including Baglan, Margam, and Aberafan. The name 'Port Talbot' first appears in 1837 as the name of the new docks built on the south-east side of the river Afan by the Talbot family. Over time it came to be applied to the whole of the emerging conurbation.
  The borough of Port Talbot was created in November 1921, incorporating Margam, Cwmafan and Aberafan. It was therefore 85 years after the phrase 'Port Talbot' was first used that it became officially recognised as the town's name. 
  Population: 35,633 (2001)

• Pontardawe  The name first appears on a map in 1729, as "Pont-ar-Dawye", in Emmanuel Bowen's New and Accurate Map of South Wales. By 1796, the Swansea Canal had connected Pontardawe with Swansea Docks. The accessibility by canal enabled the industrial development of the area, which started with the Ynysderw ironworks in 1835. Close to the ironworks, tinplate and steel works became the basis of the town's development during the latter part of the 19th century, with exports all over the world.
  Population:  6,832 (2011)

The formation of Neath Port Tabot as a County Borough

Neath Port Talbot was created from the former districts of Neath, Port Talbot and part of Lliw Valley on 1 April 1996 as Neath and Port Talbot; it changed its name on the following day, 2 April 1996. At the time of the reorganization, many local people expected that Neath and Port Talbot districts would become separate unitary authorities, and there were protests when the new authority was announced.

The whole of the Neath Port Talbot area was once part of the county of West Glamorgan, which in turn was part of the historic county of Glamorgan. Since local government re-organisation in 1996, Neath Port Talbot is governed by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.