Neath Port Talbot County Borough stretches from the south coast of Wales up to the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons. The 93 scheduled monuments include 43 prehistoric sites which include a stone circle, standing stones, burial mounds and chambered tombs. The six Roman sites are all connected to military occupation. There are 18 medieval sites which include abbeys, castles and churches. The 26 post-medieval sites are mostly connected to over 400 years of industrial activity in the area. All of the sites on this list (and the whole of Neath Port Talbot County Borough) are within the historic county of Glamorgan. Five of the sites lie on or cross the border into neighbouring counties, and are included on both lists.
Scheduled monuments have statutory protection. It is illegal to disturb the ground surface or any standing remains. The compilation of the list is undertaken by Cadw Welsh Historic Monuments, which is an executive agency of the National Assembly of Wales.[1] The list of scheduled monuments below is supplied by Cadw[2] with additional material from RCAHMW and Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust.
See main article: Lists of scheduled monuments in Wales.
| Image | Name | Site type | Community | Location | Details | Period | SAM No & Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Ty-Isaf Camp | Hillfort | Baglan | 51.6254°N -3.7979°W, SS756933 | One of three hillforts on Mynydd-y-Gaer. It is on the SW side of the hill, overlooking Baglan, an oval hillfort enclosing some 0.2ha. Two banks, and on the east a third added later, mean that the area of banks and ditches encompasses a much larger area. Internal features are thought to be more recent test cuts for mineral extraction. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM263 [3] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Foel Chwern Round Cairn | Round cairn | Blaengwrach | 51.7228°N -3.5962°W, SN898038 | Grass covered cairn on the edge of a steep escarpment above the Neath valley, one of six along a 6 km stretch of the hillside. An old telegraph pole in its centre once supported aircraft warning lights. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM235 [4] |
| Buarth-y-Gaer, Mynydd-y-Gaer | Hillfort | Briton Ferry | 51.6276°N -3.7849°W, SS765939 | Iron Age hillfort some 100m across, with a Bronze Age burial cairn inside, at the highest point of Mynydd-y-Gaer. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM054 [5] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Carreg Hir Standing Stone, Pen-Rhiw-Tyn | Standing stone | Briton Ferry | 51.6428°N -3.8158°W, SS744953 | Sandstone slab nearly 3 m high in the playground at Cwrt Sart School. Now set in concrete, it may be in its original position | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM170 [6] |
| Gaer Fawr Camp | Hillfort | Briton Ferry | 51.6331°N -3.785°W, SS765942 | An oval enclosure on the northern slope of Mynydd y Gaer. Complex concentric banks form an enclosure, with 5 cairns amongst the defenses. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM055 [7] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Burial Chamber at Pen-yr-Alltwen | Chambered tomb? | Cilybebyll | 51.7141°N -3.8375°W, SN731033 | First noted in 1923 as a possible chambered tomb, it is uncertain if it is a manmade structure. The 'capstone' may be natural geology. | Prehistoric (neolithic) | GM514 [8] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Cefn Celfi Standing Stones | Standing stone | Cilybebyll | 51.7124°N -3.8226°W, SN741030 | Two stone blocks, one in a hedge, the other a little to the south in a field, between Cefn Celfi Farm and Rhos. It is thought there were once three stones, described in the 9th century 'Englynion y Beddau' as the graves of Cynon, Cynfael and Cynfeli. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM342 [9] |
| Carn Caca Enclosure | Enclosure | Clyne and Melincourt | 51.6869°N -3.6814°W, SN838000 | Hillfort Camp on the Carn Caca hillside, beside the steep valley 280 m south of Melin Court Brook. Two hut circles are within the defended enclosure. A Roman Marching Camp (GM367) is alongside. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM366 [10] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Pen-Rhiw-Angharad Round Cairns | Cairnfield | Clyne and Melincourt | 51.678°N -3.7368°W, SS800991 | A group of at least 8 cairns on a moorland ridge near Pen-Rhiw-Angharad Isaf. The NE corner of the Blaen Cwm Bach Roman Camp (GM258) is 150m to the south. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM276 [11] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Carn Caca Cairnfield | Kerb cairn | Clyne and Melincourt | 51.6933°N -3.7053°W, SN822007 | Three Round Cairns on the NW slopes of Carn Caca, south of Melincourt. Two are cairns, the third a ring of stones, 18 still standing, up to 50 cm high, that were the kerb edgings of a kerb cairn. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM385 [12] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Gelli-Bwch Round Cairn | Round cairn | Coedffranc | 51.637°N -3.8505°W, SS720947 | Oval cairn on the summit of ridge west of the Neath estuary, it forms a prominent mound 20m across, and 1.8m high, with a central hollow where it has at some point been dug out. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM290 [13] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Llandarcy Round Cairn | Round cairn | Coedffranc | 51.6427°N -3.8535°W, SS718953 | Grass-covered mound with one prominent slab which may be a cist capstone. It is 800 m north of Gelli-Bwch Cairn | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM291 [14] |
| Mynydd Marchywel summit cairn | Round cairn | Crynant | 51.7191°N -3.7848°W, SN768037 | Heap of stones, now gradually spreading, on the summit of Mynydd Marchywel, 10m north of a trig pont. There are traces of kerbstones amongst the rubble. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM327 [15] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Coed Ddu ring cairn | Ring cairn | Crynant | 51.7425°N -3.7288°W, SN807062 | Circular feature, 13m across - thought to be a ring cairn, although a possible entrance suggests other interpretations. It is on the hillside east of the River Dulais, close to the Coed Ddu medieval settlement site (GM593). | Prehistoric | GM592 [16] |
| Mynydd Marchywel Round Cairn | Round cairn | Crynant | 51.7286°N -3.7771°W, SN773048 | Large circular cairn with central 'robber-crater'. Clear-felling of the trees of Crynant Forest in c. 2009 meant it was visible for the first time in 50 years. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM531 [17] | ||
| Pen-y-Castell | Hillfort | Cwmavon | 51.6115°N -3.7509°W, SS788917 | Bracken covered knoll with bank and ditch defensive earthworks above the Cwmafan valley. | Prehistoric | GM098 [18] | ||
| Carreg Bica Standing Stone | Standing stone | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.6794°N -3.8457°W, SS724994 | A tall stone, 4.3 m high, on a ridge top on Mynydd Drumau, It is west of the Neath valley, close to the Swansea county boundary, where a trackway crosses the ridge. Other names for it are Maen Bredwan and Hoat Stone. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM382 [19] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Three Round Cairns on Mynydd Drumau | Round cairn | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.6796°N -3.8454°W, SS725994 | All three are low, degraded mounds, on the ridge-top. One is very close to the Carreg Bica Standing Stone (GM382), the other two being 500 m to the south. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM383 [20] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Mynydd Drumau Round Cairn with Cist | Round cairn | Dyffryn Clydach, (also Clydach), (see also Swansea) | 51.6876°N -3.8465°W, SN724003 | Like Carn Lechert (GM078) 7km (04miles) to the north, this cairn was described by William Camden in 1695. The central cist was excavated in the early 1800s, when 'a heap of bones, and an ancient celt' were found. The trackway that runs beside this monument and the standing stone (GM382) and cairns (GM383) a little way to the south, forms the county border with Swansea. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM387 [21] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Bachgen Carreg Round Cairn | Round cairn | Glyncorrwg, (also Treherbert), (see also Rhondda Cynon Taf) | 51.671°N -3.5804°W, SS908981 | Low mound, on a natural hillock, with a small cairn of stones on top. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM234 [22] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Bryn Llydan Round Barrow | Round barrow | Glyncorrwg | 51.6915°N -3.6367°W, SN869004 | A round barrow (burial mound) 9 m across, on the summit of a small hill | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM538 [23] |
| Carn Caglau cairn | Round cairn | Glyncorrwg | 51.691°N -3.6497°W, SN860004 | Grass covered cairn with a cist chamber depression in the centre. It is on the wide moorland north of Glyncorrwg. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM577 [24] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Cefn yr Argoed Camp | Enclosure | Glyncorrwg | 51.6331°N -3.6887°W, SS832940 | Banked enclosure on sloping ground above the steep sides of Cwm yr Argoed valley. The enclosure forms an oval clearing within the Afan Argoed Forest Park, 1km (01miles) west of a smaller enclosure on the Nant Herbert (GM244). There is an entrance to the south, and a 12 m wide one on the higher NE side, for driving livestock into the enclosure. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM245 [25] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Crug yr Afan Round Cairn | Round cairn | Glyncorrwg, (also Treorchy), (see also Rhondda Cynon Taf) | 51.6474°N -3.5618°W, SS920954 | A complex mound, with larger earthen base, 28 m across, and a smaller stone cairn on top. This was opened in 1902 when burnt bones and model dagger were found. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM233 [26] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Nant Herbert Camp | Enclosure | Glyncorrwg | 51.6327°N -3.7064°W, SS819940 | Circular enclosure 22 m across, on sloping ground above the Nant Herbert Stream, within the Afan Argoed Forest Park. Although it was left as a clearing when the forest was planted, forestry work damaged much of the northern embankments. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM244 [27] |
| Pebyll Ring Cairn | Ring cairn | Glyncorrwg | 51.6634°N -3.5764°W, SS910972 | This is a large, oval stoney bank, some 30m (100feet) across, with evidence of kerbstones on the inner and outer faces. A stone cist shows it was used for burials. It is sited on a ridge near the summit of Mynydd Blaengwynfi, close to the border with Rhondda Cynon Taf. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM330 [28] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Tonmawr Camp | Enclosure | Margam | 51.5625°N -3.6882°W, SS830861 | Banked enclosure on a headland overlooking the upper reaches of the Afon Cynffig, to the east of Ton Mawr Farm. A bank and ditch enclose an oval 60–70 m across, with a less distinct outer enclosure linked to the inner ring, similar to the nearby Caer Cwmphilip (GM057), 1 km to the NW. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM090 [29] |
| Caer Cwmphilip | Enclosure | Margam | 51.5695°N -3.6962°W, SS825870 | Concentric hillfort enclosure with a subrectanular inner defensive area 70m wide, surrounded by a much larger double banked series of defenses some 200 m across. It occupies a plateau west of Moel Ton Mawr summit, and south of the Nant Cwm Philip valley, with related Iron Age field systems to the east. It is known variously as Caer Cwmphilip and Moel Ton-Mawr. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM057 [30] | ||
| Danish Camp | Enclosure | Margam | 51.5701°N -3.7027°W, SS820870 | Oval bank 33×42 m across. It is within a 20th-century forest plantation, although the area of the camp was left as a clearing. Margam medieval deer park boundary is nearby to the west, and Caer Cwmphilip (GM057) is 500m to the east, and both enclosures are on the same slope aboVe the Cwm Philip stream valley. It is also known as Cwm Philip West Enclosure. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM056 [31] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Ergyd Uchaf Round Barrow | Round cairn | Margam | 51.586°N -3.7246°W, SS806888 | Round barrow in a small clearing in Margam Forest plantation. It is on a ridge 1.5 km from the summit of Mynydd Margam. There is a substantial central hollow in the mound. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM159 [32] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Half Moon Camp | Enclosure | Margam | 51.5666°N -3.7332°W, SS799867 | Small Hillfort on a hilltop north of Margam Abbey, on the opposite side of the valley from Mynydd y Castell (GM162). It is crossed by an upland section of the Wales Coast Path. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM477 [33] |
| Mynydd y Castell Camp | Hillfort | Margam | 51.5653°N -3.7237°W, SS806865 | Large hillfort enclosing 2.7ha in a D shape, on an isolated hill 500m east of Margam Abbey. There has been some quarrying, and possible other uses, which may have disrupted layouts of banks and entrances. The hill is the start/finish of three long-distance paths: Ogwr Ridgeway Walk, Coed Morgannwg Way and St Illtyd's Walk. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM162 [34] | ||
| Caer Blaen-y-Cwm | Enclosure | Margam | 51.579°N -3.6851°W, SS833880 | Double bank, defining a quadrangular enclosure 25 m across, on a broad ridge SE of Mynydd Margam, near the source of the River Kenfig. The enclosure was studied by Cyril Fox in 1934, who suggested it was a Roman Camp, and that nearby earthworks could be an outer defense, similar to that at Caer Cwmphilip (GM057), 1.5 km to the SW. However it is now identified as pre-Roman, and the nearby earthworks to be later. | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM058 [35] | ||
| Site of Bodvoc Stone | Ring cairn | Margam | 51.5858°N -3.6891°W, SS830887 | Site of a 6th-century AD pillar inscribed 'The stone of Bodvoc', set in a Bronze Age cairn on the ridge near Mynydd Margam Summit. The original stone is now in Margam Stones Museum, with a replica at this site. | Prehistoric & Early Medieval | GM443 [36] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Twmpath Diwlith Round Barrow | Round barrow | Margam, (also Maesteg), (see also Bridgend list) | 51.5858°N -3.687°W, SS832887 | Round barrow excavated in 1921 by Mortimer Wheeler. It was first built of turves, with a cist containing burnt bones. A later burial re-used it, with earth added to the mound. The second interment had been rifled before the excavation. | Prehistoric | GM557 [37] |
| Ty'n-y-Cellar Standing Stone | Standing stone | Margam | 51.5398°N -3.7282°W, SS802837 | Large sandstone undressed block, 2.5m (08.2feet) high and 1.4m (04.6feet) across. It is in a field adjoining the M4, but tree growth means it is no longer visible from the motorway. Also called Ty-Du and Ty'n Cellar Standing Stone. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM179 [38] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Cefn Mawr cairn | Round cairn | Pelenna | 51.6741°N -3.6781°W, SS840985 | Round cairn sited on a spur at the end of a broad ridge 1 km SW of Cefnmawr summit. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM581 [39] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Foel Fynyddau Round Cairn | Round cairn | Pelenna and Cwmafan | 51.628°N -3.7599°W, SS782935 | Cairn of small stones on the summit of Foel Fynyddau, with a trig point set into one side. The summit has been disturbed by nearby copper workings, and has three large communications masts, with assorted huts. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM279 [40] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Burial Chamber near Carn Llechart | Chambered tomb | Pontardawe | 51.7399°N -3.889°W, SN696062 | Opinion has swung back and forth on whether this is a natural collection of stone slabs or a neolithic tomb. One explanation could be that the largest stones, the 'capstone' and a supporting slab, may be in situ, but were utilised to create a tomb, possibly covered by a cairn. The site is on a broad ridge of Mynydd Carnlechert, 60m west of the Carn Lechart burial (GM078), further down the slope, and can be seen from there. | Prehistoric (neolithic) | GM480 [41] |
| Carn Llechart Stone Circle | Ring cairn | Pontardawe | 51.74°N -3.888°W, SN697062 | 25 stone slabs, set on edge to form a circle 14 m across, on the skyline of a broad ridge of Mynydd Carnlechert. An open stone-lined cist 2.1 m long is in the centre. It was first noted in 1695 in William Camden's Britannia. It may once have had a mound, but it is more likely it was always a ring cairn, a raised ring with its central area at ground level. It is a burial site, thought to date to 1000-2000BC. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM078 [42] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Mynydd y Garth Cairn | Round cairn | Pontardawe | 51.7529°N -3.8701°W, SN710076 | Cairn of loose stones, on the ridge south of Mynedd y Garth summit. It is 12 m across, although some surviving kerb stones are within the current circumference. (A presumed cairnfield on other parts of the mountaintop are now thought to be natural or field clearance stone heaps.) | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM612 [43] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Carn Cornel Round Cairn | Round cairn | Seven Sisters | 51.7428°N -3.7152°W, SN816062 | Cairn on the shoulder of hillside, west of the Hirfynydd ridge and Sarn Helen Roman road. It occupies what appears to be a natural mound. Close by is a boundary stone, suggesting that the site became a historic boundary mark. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM275 [44] |
| Ergyd Isaf Round Barrows | Round cairn | Tai-Bach | 51.5838°N -3.7414°W, SS794886 | Two circular grass-covered mounds on a hilltop site, with good intervisibility with other burial sites in the area. | Prehistoric (Bronze Age) | GM160 [45] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Blaen-Cwmbach Earthwork | Enclosure | Tonna | 51.675°N -3.7463°W, SS793988 | An unfinished defensive ringwork on the edge of the scarp, next to the Roman Camp (GM258). | Prehistoric (Iron Age) | GM277 [46] |
| Nidum Roman fort, Neath | Roman Fort | Blaenhonddan | 51.6647°N -3.8131°W, SS747977 | Auxiliary fort first built in around 74AD, rebuilt in stone and intermittently occupied through to the 3rd century. Much of the site is in the grounds of Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School, where a 2011 dig found gate-towers that extended out beyond the wall line, unique in Britain for its time.[47] | Roman | GM215 [48] | ||
| Melin Court Roman Marching Camp | Roman marching camp | Clyne and Melincourt | 51.6871°N -3.684°W, SN836000 | Square sided embankments on the upper Melin Court valley, also known as Caen Caca Marching camp. It is next to an Iron Age enclosure (GM366), very like the pairing of the enclosure and Roman camp at Blaen-Cwmbach, 3.7km (02.3miles) to the west. | Roman | GM367 [49] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Coelbren Roman Fort | Roman fort | Onllwyn | 51.7835°N -3.6548°W, SN859107 | Roman auxiliary fort at the northern extremity of Neath Port Talbot, next to the border with Powys. Construction began around 74 AD, with a second construction phase, possibly associated with the laying out of the Sarn Helen road, which heads NE from just outside the fort. Occupation ceased by the mid-2nd century. The fort was first documented in 1907. | Roman | GM146 [50] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Coelbren Roman Marching Camp | Roman marching camp | Onllwyn | 51.7796°N -3.6508°W, SN862102 | Large rectangular enclosure, 438m (1,437feet) long, defining a Roman marching camp. It is less than 200 metres from Coelbren Roman Fort (GM146), on what is now rough wet land, bounded on three sides by the Camnant and Pyrddin rivers. | Roman | GM343 [51] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Hirfynydd fortlet | Roman signal station | Seven Sisters | 51.7466°N -3.6979°W, SN828066 | A small square enclosure, 18×19 metres, with rounded corners, high up on the 450m (1,480feet) Hirfynydd ridge between the Neath and Swansea valleys. Situated on the Neath to Brecon Sarn Helen road, which it would have helped control, its other use is thought to have been as a signal station. | Roman | GM274 [52] |
| Blaen Cwm Bach Camp | Marching camp | Tonna | 51.6751°N -3.7394°W, SS798988 | Rectangular Roman camp 880m (2,890feet) from east to west, and 300m (1,000feet) wide, defined by bank and ditch cut into the rocky ground, on the top of a broad ridge on the hill above Tonna. This is right next to an Iron Age enclosure (GM277), an arrangement repeated 3.7km (02.3miles) at Melin Court camp. | Roman | GM258 [53] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Court Herbert Cross & Grave Slab | Cross | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.6633°N -3.8219°W, SS740976 | A pillar with two crosses carved into it (one 7th to 8th centuries, the other 9th century). A grave slab, reputedly of the first abbot of Neath Abbey, lies nearby. They are now close to the A4230 in Neath, possibly moved to what was then Court Herbert park in the 19th century. | Early Medieval | GM207 [54] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Clawdd Mawr, Mynydd Caerau | Linear earthwork | Glyncorrwg | 51.641°N -3.5983°W, SS894947 | A bank and ditch running for 200m across a col separating Mynydd Caerau and the Mynyd Llangeinwyr ridge | Early Medieval | GM231 [55] |
| Margam Inscribed & Sculptured Stones [56] | Cross | Margam | 51.5637°N -3.7312°W, SS801864 | A collection of carved stone pillars and crosses, mostly from the immediate locality, many dating to late Roman and early medieval periods, now housed in the Margam Stones Museum, near Margam Abbey. The stones were collected by the Talbot family during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of the stones have known source sites which are themselves scheduled. The museum is run by Cadw, and open to the public. | Early Medieval | GM011 [57] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Sculptured Cross Llanmihangel Farm | Cross | Margam | 51.532°N -3.7082°W, SS816828 | Fragment of a Celtic 'cartwheel cross' head, now built into a wall east of Llanmihangel farmhouse. It may have originated from the nearby St Michael's Grange. | Early Medieval | GM345 [58] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Cefn Morfydd Dyke & Earthwork | Linear earthwork | Tonna | 51.668°N -3.7533°W, SS788980 | This bank with shallow ditch runs across the ridge of Cefn Morfydd, disrupted at its east end by an industrial tramway. | Early Medieval | GM264 [59] |
| Plas Baglan | Castle | Baglan | 51.6157°N -3.7979°W, SS756922 | 12th-century defensive house overlooking Baglan, occupied until the 17th century. Only a platform and traces of masonry remain. | Medieval | GM358 [60] | ||
| St Baglan's Church | Church | Baglan | 51.6156°N -3.8016°W, SS753922 | Medieval Church, now in the overgrown corner of the large churchyard. It appears to be a pre-Norman foundation, with two early Christian stones in the churchyard. It was replaced by a newer church in the same churchyard in 1882, but only became derelict after a fire in 1954. | Medieval | GM428 [61] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | St Margaret's Chapel | Church | Coedffranc | 51.6297°N -3.8723°W, SS705939 | First recorded in 1291, this was a chapel of St Margaret's Grange, an outlier of Neath Abbey. The site, near Jersey Marine, was excavated in 1931. | Medieval | GM362 [62] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Hirfynydd house platforms. | House platform | Crynant | 51.743°N -3.7306°W, SN806063 | On the edge of a plateau of the Hirfynydd ridge, beside the steep slopes of the Dulais valley, the banked rectangular enclosure has a house platform in the west corner. Two further platforms are west of the enclosure. Also called Coed Ddu and Nant-y-Cafn enclosure. | Medieval | GM593 [63] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Tirlan medieval house sites | Platform house | Crynant | 51.709°N -3.7922°W, SN762026 | Two platform houses 120 m apart, beside a track on the south-east flank of Mynnydd Marchywel, near Tyrlan. Cultivation ridges are in the vicinity. Also described as Platform Houses 1600m SE of Blaen-Nant Farm | Medieval | GM326 [64] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Castell Bowlan | Motte | Cwmavon | 51.6135°N -3.781°W, SS767920 | Also called Cwm-Clais, it may be a 12th-century Welsh castle, built in imitation of Norman mottes. Edward Lhuyd in the 17th century recorded a group of three castles, "Castel y Wiryones", "y Castell" and "Ben y Castell", which may refer to this, along with Plas Baglan (GM358) and Pen-y-Castell (GM098). It may be the castle belonging to Morgan Gam where Herbert Fitzmatthew was killed. | Medieval | GM289 [65] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Mynydd Drumau settlement platforms | House platform | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.687°N -3.8417°W, SN727002 | A group of house platforms, cut into the steep hillside below the summit of Mynydd Drumau. | Medieval | GM549 [66] |
| Neath Abbey and Gatehouse [67] | Abbey | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.6612°N -3.826°W, SS738974 | Cistercian monastery, once the largest abbey in Wales. Following its dissolution, the Herbert Mansion was built on the Abbot's lodging, and the area then became an industrial site. The substantial ruins were excavated in 1924 and 1934, and taken into public ownership in 1944. It is now in the care of Cadw and open to the public. The 12th-century gatehouse is north of the New Road. | Medieval (12th century) | GM006 [68] | ||
| Hen Eglwys | Chapel | Margam | 51.5648°N -3.7308°W, SS801865 | Also known as Cryke Chapel and dated to 1470, this grange of nearby Margam Abbey (GM005) is on the hillside of Craig-y-capel. The gable-ends, with window tracery are the principle survivals, and provided a gothic landmark and viewpoint for the 19th-century parkland of Margam Castle. There was a burial ground and a holy well known as Ffynnon Mair. | Medieval (1470) | GM163 [69] | ||
| Margam Abbey | Abbey | Margam | 51.5623°N -3.7298°W, SS801862 | Founded in 1147, St Mary's Abbey was dissolved in 1536. The nave survives as Margam parish church. The remainder of the abbey complex was acquired by the Mansel, and later the Talbot family, who incorporated the ruins into their parkland and Margam Castle. A 12-sided chapter house has been restored. The outer precincts may have occupied a much larger area than the currently defined inner core area. | Medieval (1147) | GM005 [70] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Margam Medieval Bath House | Bath-house | Margam | 51.5684°N -3.7284°W, SS803869 | Also known as Ffynnon Fyggyr (medicinal well) this may be a healing well, though also used for baptisms by Hen Eglwys (GM163) and later as a Monastic baths for Margam Abbey (GM005). The present structure, 14th or 15th century but probably on an older site, has a stone vaulted roof over a 1m deep pool with original flagstones. | Medieval | GM545 [71] |
| Neath Castle | Castle | Neath | 51.6651°N -3.8035°W, SS753977 | Neath's second castle, this is first documented in 1183. (A castle of 1120 was located across the river near the Roman Fort - GM215) Destroyed in 1321 and rebuilt in 1377, this one was in use until the 17th century, and has been a recreational area for the town since the 18th century. | Medieval | GM039 [72] | ||
| Foel Fynyddau Deserted Rural Settlement | House platform | Pelenna | 51.6351°N -3.7595°W, SS783943 | 800m North of the summit of Foel Fynyddau two sets of earthwork house platforms and a sunken storehouse mark the location of a medieval settlement | Medieval | GM551 [73] | ||
| Remains of Venallt Ironworks | Ironworks | Blaengwrach | 51.7319°N -3.6459°W, SN864049 | Blast furnaces on the western edge of Cwmgwrach, built in 1839–42 to use anthracite-fired 'hot-blast' method of iron smelting. Also called Yr Wenallt. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM423 [74] | ||
| Aberdulais Aqueduct | Aqueduct | Blaenhonddan | 51.679°N -3.7762°W, SS772992 | Built in 1823 to cross the River Neath and link the Tennant and Neath Canals. With 10 stone arches it is the longest aqueduct in South Wales. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM506 [75] | ||
| Tinplate works at Aberdulais Falls NT | Tinplate Works | Blaenhonddan | 51.6807°N -3.7779°W, SS771994 | Industrial site originating with waterpowered metalworking in 1584. Now open to the public | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM485 [76] | ||
| Ynysmaerdy Railway Incline | Railway | Briton Ferry | 51.6401°N -3.8061°W, SS751950 | Inclined plane railway, designed in the 1850s by Brunel to bring coal to Briton Ferry Docks, and abandoned in 1910 | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1850s) | GM489 [77] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Waun y Coed Colliery Branch Canal and Tramroad Incline | Industrial monument | Cilybebyll | 51.7285°N -3.8292°W, SN737048 | Complex arrangement of tramway, canal branch, and canal dock, to link the Waun y Coed Colliery and nearby Ynyscedwyn Ironworks with the canal to Swansea. This required a tramway bridge over the River Tawe, now gone, and wharves and 300 m of canal, now filled in, that linked to the Swansea Canal. Several buildings and foundations of numerous structures remain. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1828) | GM400 [78] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Tennant Canal Skewen Cutting and tramroad bridge | Canal | Coedffranc | 51.6583°N -3.8346°W, SS731970 | A stone lined section of the Tennant Canal where it runs through the Skewen Cutting, in Neath. Built by William Kirkhouse in 1821, the canal linked the Neath Valley to Swansea docks. The stone lining was to counteract a problem with quicksand. The bridge carried a pre-existing horse-drawn railway, at a time when Britain was the only country in the world with surface railways. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1821) | GM394 [79] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Cwmafan copper works flue | Chimney | Cwmavon | 51.6254°N -3.7592°W, SS783933 | Culvert running up the hillside to a former stack on the summit of Foel Fynyddau. The flue vented fumes from copper smelting works, which were in use from 1838 to 1906. The stack was demolished in 1940 in case Luftwaffe bombers used it for navigation. Further damage occurred when a communication mast was built. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1838) | GM566 [80] |
| Neath Abbey Ironworks | Industrial monument | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.6644°N -3.8268°W, SS737977 | Two blast furnaces and engineering works, with a forge and rolling mill upstream. It was in use from the 1790s to 1885. They were acquired by the Fox and later Price families, who expanded to other sites in the Neath valley. Steam Engine manufacture was an early specialism and shipbuilding were amongst the items produced. Their Quaker principles meant they were against any production of armaments. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1790s) | GM389 [81] | ||
| Neath Abbey Ironworks Dam | Dam | Dyffryn Clydach | 51.6735°N -3.8248°W, SS739987 | Dam on the river Clydach, to provide a constant water supply for the ironworks waterwheel. Built in 1840. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1840) | GM395 [82] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Ynys Fawr Corn-Drying Kiln | Corn-drying kiln | Glyncorrwg | 51.6403°N -3.722°W, SS809948 | An inverted dry stone walled cone, set in the ground, provided a 3-metre-wide space over which skins could be stretched, and grain spread out. A connecting tunnel allowed a fire to warm the air under the grain, and dry it out ready for storage. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM546 [83] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Leat & Dam at Llanmihangel Mill | Leat | Margam, (also Cornelly), (see also Bridgend) | 51.5282°N -3.7012°W, SS820824 | A three-storey watermill, with pit wheel, machinery and stones largely intact, having ceased use in 1940. The dam and leat bring water from the nearby River Cynfig. The site was recorded as a mill in 1291, but the remains are from the early 19th century. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (19th century) | GM449 [84] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen | Blast Furnace | Onllwyn | 51.7811°N -3.6425°W, SN867104 | The most intact of the ironworks on the anthracite coalfield. Built in 1845, and connected to the Swansea Canal by an edge rail wagonway, it may have produced no more than 80 tons of pig iron. Blast furnaces, charging platform, weighbridge and enginehouse all remain after its short-lived operation. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM420 [85] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Cwm Pelenna Colliery Ventilation Furnace | Industrial monument | Pelenna | 51.6612°N -3.7119°W, SS816972 | Stone chimney and hillside flue, used to ventilate the coal mine in the 1830s. It was re-used in the mid-20th century, with a fan system. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM458 [86] |
| Pontrhydyfen Aqueduct / Viaduct | Aqueduct | Pelenna | 51.633°N -3.7415°W, SS795941 | Completed in 1825 to provide a wagonway across the Afan valley, it is a 425yard bridge with four huge arches, and is also known as 'Y Bont Fawr' (The Big Bridge). It had a substantial trough to carry water across the valley to power the waterwheels of Cwmafon steelworks. It is now a cycle and pedestrian routeway. (A second viaduct crosses the river Afan to the west, taking a railway up Cwm Pelenna.) | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1825) | GM393 [87] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Melin Court Blast Furnace | Blast Furnace | Resolven | 51.7027°N -3.7022°W, SN824018 | Operating between 1708 and 1808 this is an early and significant ironworks, standing on precipitous cliffs above the Melincourt brook. Also known as Melincwrt Ironworks, it had furnace, foundry and a wide range of ancillary buildings, now standing in ruins among woodland. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1708) | GM416 [88] |
| Claypon's Tramroad at Ystradgynlais | Tramroad | Seven Sisters, (also Ystradgynlais and Tawe-Uchaf, see Powys) | 51.7734°N -3.7218°W, SN812097 | Early tramroad, bringing coal from Drim Colliery and limestone (needed as a flux) from the quarries of Mynydd y Drum to the Ynyscedwyn Ironworks in the Swansea Valley. Built by Joseph Claypon in 1832 and in use until 1867, the tramroad linked with the Brecon Forest Tramroad,[89] and parts were later incorporated into the Swansea Vale Railway. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1832) | GM399 [90] | ||
| Parsons' Folly (Glyncorrwg Mineral Railway) | Railway | Tonna | 51.6691°N -3.7514°W, SS789981 | 12 km wagonway, with steep inclines to haul coal trucks over the hills from the Blaencregan colliery to the canals of the Neath valley. The construction and operating costs proved unfeasable and both Mr Parsons and his successor were bankrupted by the enterprise. Built between 1839 and 1842 with massive inclines and a steam-powered winding house, it was abandoned in 1852. The scheduled section is on the west side of Cefn Morfudd. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM447 [91] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Remains of Lock and Dry Dock at Pantyffynnon | Lock | Ystalyfera | 51.7513°N -3.8003°W, SN758073 | At Lock 17 (or 'sawmill lock') of the Swansea Canal, a dry dock was installed in 1875–6, shortly after the canal was sold to the Great Western Railway. The dry dock was alongside the normal lock, and enabled boats to be floated into place and rested on timber supports, so that the hull could be worked on after the water was emptied. Close by was the quay for Crimea Colliery (GM453) | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1875) | GM397 [92] |
| Briton Ferry Dock Entrance | Dockyard | Briton Ferry | 51.627°N -3.8269°W, SS736936 | Designed by Brunel in 1861, this had an experimental buoyant lockgate system between the tidal and inner docks in the Neath Estuary. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1861) | GM445 [93] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Cae'r Mynydd Ventilation Furnace and Mine | Colliery | Bryn | 51.6204°N -3.6944°W, SS827926 | Dated to early 19th century, before the development of powered fans for ventilation. A brazier within the furnace building created an updraft which sucked old air out of the mine, to be replaced by fresh air via other entrances. This furnace ventilated a drift mine. It is a well-preserved example of early mine ventilation technology. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM547 [94] |
| Canal Boat at Aberdulais Basin | Canal Boat | Tonna | 51.6794°N -3.7752°W, SS773993 | Aberdulais basin is the point where the Neath and Tennant canals meet. Several old canal boats were abandoned beside the canal basin, and have now all but disappeared into the banks. The location of one, on the west bank of the Tennant canal, is a scheduled site. | Post-Medieval/ Modern | GM505 [95] | ||
| River Twrch Aqueduct, Ystalyfera | Aqueduct | Ystalyfera, (also Ystradgynlais), (see also Powys) | 51.7684°N -3.7799°W, SN772092 | Stone aqueduct built over a weir, carrying the Swansea Canal over the River Twrch. Its three massive arches make it the largest of the five aqueducts on the canal. Built in 1798 by Thomas Sheasby, it was innovative in using Hydraulic cement to line the trough instead of puddled clay. Its proximity to the Capitol Cinema gave it the local name of 'Capitol Bridge'. It was restored in 1995 but is not currently water-filled, the canal route on either side being dry. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1798) | GM396 [96] | ||
| < | --insert image here--> | Crimea Colliery & Canal Quay | Coal mine | Ystalyfera | 51.7504°N -3.8019°W, SN757072 | The Crimea coalmine only operated for 8 years, from 1854 to 1862, and the site has been abandoned ever since. Amongst the regenerating woodland are the substantial ruins of a beam-engine pumping-house, a winding house and chimney, and a complete surface layout of a mid-19th-century colliery. A short tramroad led to a quay on the Swansea Canal, 200m south of the dry dock (GM397). | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1854) | GM453 [97] |
| < | --insert image here--> | Cilybebyll Auxiliary Unit Operational Base | Observation Post | Cilybebyll | 51.723°N -3.8101°W, SN750042 | Underground chamber in woodland, with a concrete floor, brick walls and corrugated iron roof. Built to be a concealed base for defense in the event of invasion. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1940s) | GM620 [98] |
| Pentreclwydau Colliery | Coal mine | Glynneath | 51.733°N -3.669°W, SN848051 | Anthracite coalmine opened by the nationalised British Coal Board in 1957, and worked out 10 years later. It was a drift mine, driven sideways into the hillside south of Glynneath. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1957) | GM537 [99] | ||
| Chain Home Low Radar Station, Margam | Radar station | Margam | 51.5698°N -3.7428°W, SS793871 | One of a network of early warning radar stations around the coast of Britain, constructed from 1941 to look for German bombers and shipping during World War II. They complemented the earlier Chain Home stations by being able to detect low-flying planes. The Margam station has three flat-topped buildings within the Country Park, high on the escarpment, overlooking Port Talbot and Swansea Bay. | Post-Medieval/ Modern (1940s) | GM488 [100] | ||