Neath () is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001. The town is located on the river of the same name, east northeast of Swansea.

History

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. The Antonine Itinerary (c. 2nd century) names only nine places in Roman Wales, one of them being Neath. There is evidence of undated prehistoric settlements on the hills surrounding the town, which were probably Celtic. The fort covered a large area which now lies under the playing fields of Dŵr-y-Felin Comprehensive School. In the late 1960s, there were reports in the local media of a massive Roman marching camp being found above Llantwit which would have accommodated many thousands of troops.

St Illtyd visited the Neath area and established a settlement in what is now known as Llantwit on the northern edge of the town. The church of St. Illtyd was built at this settlement and was enlarged in Norman times. The Norman and pre Norman church structure remains intact and active to day within the Church in Wales. The Welsh language name for Neath is ''Castell-nedd'', referring to the Norman Neath Castle, which is close to the shopping centre.

Neath was a market town that 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 British Petroleum 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 Admiral Lord Nelson aboard 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 Park and Neath Indoor Market.

Neath hosted the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1918, 1934 and 1994.

Neath is also home to the Trade Centre Wales, also the Bay Radio studios.

Notable people

:''See :Category:People from Neath Port Talbot''

Gordon Back, pianist;

Samuel Charles Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich (1918–1988), barrister and politician;

Clayton Blackmore (1964- ), the former Manchester United and Wales international;

Michael Bogdanov (1938- ), international theatre director;

Mark Bowen (1963- , b. Briton Ferry), deputy manager of Fulham FC, and formerly a player with Spurs and Norwich City;

Richard Burton (1925–1984, b. Pontrhydyfen), actor;

Hugh Dalton (1887–1962, b. Gnoll), Labour politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945-1947.

Sir Clifford Darby (1909–1992), geographer, ex-vice-president of the British Academy;

David Davies, famed chief test pilot of the UK's Civil Aviation Authority and author of classic book ''Handling the Big Jets'';

Ivor Emmanuel (1927–2007), singer and actor;

Craig Evans (born 1971), cricketer;

Rebecca Evans (1963- , b. Pontrhydyfen), soprano;

Sir Samuel Thomas Evans (1859–1918, b. Skewen), politician and judge;

George Grant Francis (1814–1822, b. Swansea) historian who wrote ''Original Charters and Materials for a History of Neath'' (1845);

Julie Gardner (1969- ), television producer previously responsible for Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, now executive producer of scripted projects at BBC Worldwide;

Carl Harris (1956- ), the former Leeds United and Wales international;

Sir Gilmour Jenkins (1894–1981), civil servant and amateur musician, ex-Vice President of the Royal Academy of Music;

Cecil Griffiths (1901–1945), winner of an Olympic gold medal in the 4x400m relay at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics;

Katherine Jenkins (1980- ), popular classical mezzo-soprano;

Della Jones (1946, b. Tonna), mezzo-soprano;

Geraint F. Lewis (1969- ), leading astrophysicist;

Andy Legg (1966- ), former professional footballer and Wales international;

Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861–1927), missioner and revivalist;

Tony Lewis (1936- , b. Swansea), former England cricket captain, writer and broadcaster;

Thomas Leyson (1549-c. 1608), Latin and Welsh poet and physician;

Andrew Matthews-Owen, pianist;

Ray Milland (1907–1986), Oscar winning Hollywood actor;

David Watts Morgan (1867–1933), miners' leader and politician;

Sir William Nott (1782–1845), British General in India;

Harry Parr-Davies, composer;

Gail Pearson, soprano;

Sir Arthur Pugh (1870–1955, b. Ross, Hertfordshire), trade unionist, who moved to his father's birthplace, Neath, in 1894;

Henry Habberley Price (1899–1984), philosopher;

Walter Enoch Rees (1863–1949), rugby administrator;

Peter Shreeves (1940- ), former Spurs and Sheffield Wednesday manager;

William Squire (1916–1989), actor;

David Thaxton (1982- ), West End performer, currently principal Enjolras in Les Misérables

Paul Rhys (1963- ), actor;

Bonnie Tyler (1951- , b. Skewen), pop star;

Andrew Vicari (1938- ), artist;

Ron Waldron (1933- ) Welsh rugby coach;

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823, b. Monmouthshire), evolutionary theorist, lived in Neath during 1841/2 and attended lectures given by the area's scientific societies;

Cyril Walters (1905–1992), Glamorgan cricketer and Captain of the England cricket team;

Anna Letitia Waring (1823–1910), poet and hymn writer;

Elijah Waring, writer; and,

Jane Williams [called Llinos] (1795–1873), singer and compiler of traditional Welsh music.

Sport

The Welsh Rugby Union was formed at a meeting held at the Castle Hotel in 1881. Neath Rugby Football Club, the famous and very successful "Welsh All Blacks", play at The Gnoll who have managed to win 4 consecutive titles in the Semi Professional Principality Premiership and 3 Swalec Cup titles (Previously known as Schweppes and Konica Minolta Cups) and are now competing in a new competition The British and Irish Cup founded in 2009. Neath RFC still hold the World Records for most points scored in a season and most tries scored in a season which are unlikely to ever be beaten..

Motorcycle speedway was staged at the Abbey Stadium in Neath in 1962. The Welsh Dragons, led by New Zealander Trevor Redmond, raced with some success in the Provincial League but, because of local problems, a number of the "home" fixtures were raced at St Austell. The Dragons introduced the Australian rider Charlie Monk to British speedway. After a season at Long Eaton Archers, Monk went on to have considerable success at Glasgow. The team also featured South African Howdy Cornell. In the early 1960s there was also stock car racing held at Neath Abbey, opposite the monastery

Neath Athletic A.F.C. is the town's largest football team, playing at Neath RFC's ground, the Gnoll and play in the top-flight of Welsh football, the Welsh Premier League. In the 2006-07 season, Neath Athletic A.F.C. gained promotion from the Welsh Football League First Division, and to the Welsh Premier League. Neath Athletic A.F.C. get on average, 300 supporters attending a domestic, Welsh Premier League game, which is normal with the rest of the Welsh Premier League.

South Wales Scorpions are a newly formed rugby league team who will play their games at the Gnoll for the 2010 Championship 1.

Administration

The previous borough council was absorbed into the larger unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot on April 1, 1996. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Neath East, Neath North and Neath South.

Neath and the surrounding area is represented at Westminster by Peter Hain MP (Labour) and in the National Assembly for Wales by Gwenda Thomas AM (Labour).

Education

Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School is situated in the outskirts of the town as is a campus of Neath Port Talbot College (which was previously Neath College). There is also the Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School situated in the village of Cimla near the Crynallt Primary School. Two other comprehensive schools serve the town, Llangatwg Comprehensive School in Cadoxton and Cwrt Sart Comprehensive School in Briton Ferry. Primary schools include Crynallt Primary School in Cimla, Alderman Davies Church in Wales Primary School in Neath, Gnoll Primary School in Neath, Melin Infant and Junior schools,Ysgol Gynradd Castell Nedd, Mynachlog Nedd Junior School in Skewen, Tonnau Primary School in Tonna, Tonmawr Primary School in Tonmawr, Catwg Primary School in Cadoxton, Wauncierch primary school situated in Wauncierch and Ynysmardey Primary School located in Briton Ferry. Also Neath College is located in the area of Neath (Opposite Dwr-Y-Felin). The college offers an exciting and varied programme of courses to suit most needs either on a part-time or full-time basis.

Transport

Neath is served by the South Wales Main Line at Neath railway station, on Windsor Road, in the heart of the town. Services operate to Port Talbot, Bridgend, Cardiff Central, Newport, Bristol Parkway and London Paddington to the east and Swansea, Carmarthen and West Wales to the west. Services also operate to Shrewsbury and Manchester Piccadilly.

Neath bus station is at Victoria Gardens, near the railway station. National Express services call at Neath at the railway station.

From Victoria Gardens, First Cymru provides direct inter-urban services to nearby Swansea and Port Talbot. The A465 skirts the town to the north east and provides a link to the M4.

Plans

There are plans to regenerate around of land in and around Neath town centre in the near future. The site once occupied by the previous civic centre will be redeveloped as a new shopping centre. The Gwyn Hall will be rebuilt after having been gutted by a fire. The area around the Milland Road Industrial Estate will be redeveloped along with the area around the Neath Canal. On 27 November 2008, proposals for an "iconic" golden rugby ball-shaped museum, a library, heritage centre and other new facilities were announced for consultation. The developer, Simons Estates, says that it plans to start construction when the economic climate improves.

In March 2008, the county's new radio station, Afan FM, announced plans to turn on a new transmitter dedicated to the Neath area in the summer. This will transmit on 97.4 FM, and will give residents of Neath their first taste of the borough's new local radio station, which already transmits to the neighbouring area of Port Talbot on 107.9 FM. The new transmitter for the Neath area was commissioned by Government regulator Ofcom on Thursday 23 October 2008.

References

External links

History of Neath

Neath Port Talbot Council Adult Learning Portal

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Neath and surrounding area

Wiki style Map of the neath area

Neath Category:Communities in Neath Port Talbot Category:Towns in Neath Port Talbot Category:Vale of Neath Category:Swansea Bay (region) Category:M4 corridor

br:Castell-nedd bg:Нийт cy:Castell-nedd es:Neath fr:Neath lt:Nitas nl:Neath no:Neath pl:Neath ru:Нит (город)

Name	Tony Williams
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Anthony Tillmon Williams
Born	December 12, 1945Chicago, Illinois, US
Died	February 23, 1997
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, US
Occupation	Drummer, music producer
Instrument	Drums
Genre	Jazz, post-bop, jazz fusion
Years active	1961–1997
Associated acts	Miles Davis, The Tony Williams Lifetime, Sam Rivers, Jackie McLean, Alan Dawson, V.S.O.P. }}

Anthony Tillmon "Tony" Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer.

Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz drummers to come to prominence in the 1960s, Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis, and was a pioneer of jazz fusion.

Biography

Williams was born in Chicago and grew up in Boston. He began studies with drummer Alan Dawson at an early age, and began playing professionally at the age of 13 with saxophonist Sam Rivers. Saxophonist Jackie McLean hired Williams at 16. At 17 Williams found considerable fame with Miles Davis, joining a group that was later dubbed Davis's "Second Great Quintet." Williams was a vital element of the group, called by Davis in his autobiography "...the center that the group's sound revolved around." His inventive playing helped redefine the role of jazz rhythm section through the use of polyrhythms and metric modulation (transitioning between mathematically related tempos and/or time signatures).

Williams's first album as a leader, 1964's ''Life Time'', was recorded during his tenure with Davis. In 1969, he formed a trio, The Tony Williams Lifetime, with John McLaughlin on guitar, and Larry Young on organ. Jack Bruce joined on bass later. Lifetime was a pioneering band of the fusion movement, a combination of rock, R&B;, and jazz. Their first album, ''Emergency!'', was largely rejected by the jazz community at the time of its release. Today, ''Emergency!'' is considered by many to be a fusion classic.

After McLaughlin's departure, and several more albums, Lifetime disbanded. In 1975, Williams put together a band he called "The New Tony Williams Lifetime," featuring bassist Tony Newton, pianist Alan Pasqua, and English guitarist Allan Holdsworth, which recorded two albums for Columbia Records, ''Believe It'' and ''Million Dollar Legs''.

In mid-1976, Williams was a part of a reunion of sorts with his old Miles Davis band compatriots, pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Miles was in the midst of a six-year hiatus and was replaced by Freddie Hubbard. The record was later released as ''V.S.O.P.'' ("Very Special OneTime Performance") and was highly instrumental in increasing the popularity of acoustic jazz. The group went on to tour and record for several years, releasing a series of live albums under the name "V.S.O.P." or "The V.S.O.P. Quintet." (The CD reissues of these albums are sold under Herbie Hancock's name – making things a bit confusing since the original ''V.S.O.P.'' album, which alone ''was'' a Hancock album, is not currently available on CD.)

In 1979, Williams, guitarist John McLaughlin and bassist Jaco Pastorius reunited for a one-time performance at the Havana Jazz Festival. This trio came to be known as the Trio of Doom, and a recording of their performance was released in 2007. It opens with a powerful drum improvisation by Williams, followed by Mclaughlin's "Dark Prince" and Jaco's "Continuum," Tony's original composition "Para Oriente" and Mclaughlin's "Are You the One?"

With the group Fuse One, he released two albums in 1980 and 1982. In 1985, Williams recorded an album for Blue Note Records entitled ''Foreign Intrigue'', which featured the playing of pianist Mulgrew Miller and trumpeter Wallace Roney. Later that year he formed a quintet with Miller, Roney, saxophonist Bill Pierce, and bassist Charnett Moffett (later Ira Coleman). This band played Williams' compositions almost exclusively (the Lennon/McCartney song "Blackbird," the standard "Poinciana," and the Freddie Hubbard blues "Birdlike" being the exceptions) and toured and recorded throughout the remainder of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. This rhythm section also recorded as a trio.

Williams also played drums for the band Public Image Limited, fronted by former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon, on their 1986 release ''album/cassette/compact disc'' (the album title varied depending on the format). He played on the songs "FFF," "Rise" (a modest hit), and "Home." Bill Laswell (see below) co-wrote those three songs with Lydon. The other drummer on that album was Ginger Baker, who had played in Cream with Jack Bruce, later the bass player with the Tony Williams Lifetime.

Williams lived and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death from a heart attack following routine gall bladder surgery. One of his final recordings was ''The Last Wave'' by the trio known as ''Arcana'', a release organized by prolific bass guitarist Bill Laswell.

Discography

As leader

1964: ''Life Time'' (Blue Note)

1965: ''Spring'' (Blue Note)

1969: ''Emergency!'' (Polydor)

1970: ''Turn It Over'' (Verve)

1971: ''Ego'' (Polydor)

1972: ''The Old Bum's Rush'' (Polydor)

1975: ''Believe It'' (Columbia)

1975, 1976 ''The Collection'' (Columbia)

1976: ''Million Dollar Legs'' (Columbia)

1979: ''The Joy of Flying'' (Columbia)

1980: ''Play Or Die'' (P.S. Productions) – with Tom Grant and Patrick O'Hearn

1982: ''Third Plane'' (Carrere) – with Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock

1985: ''Foreign Intrigue'' (Blue Note)

1986: ''Civilization'' (Blue Note)

1986, 1988: ''Angel Street'' (Blue Note)

1989: ''Native Heart'' (Blue Note)

1991: ''The Story of Neptune'' (Blue Note)

1992: ''Tokyo Live'' (Blue Note)

1993: ''Unmasked'' (Atlantic)

1996: ''Wilderness'' (Ark 21)

1996: ''Young at Heart'' (Columbia)

As sideman

With Geri Allen

''Twenty One'' (1994)

With Arcana

''The Last Wave'' (1995)

''Arc of the Testimony'' (1997)

With Chet Baker

''You Can't Go Home Again'' (1972)

''The Best Thing for You'' (1977)

''Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid'' (1979)

With George Cables

''Phantom of the City'' (1985)

With Ron Carter

''Third Plane'' (1978)

''Etudes'' (1982)

With Stanley Clarke

''Stanley Clarke'' (1974)

With Miles Davis

''Seven Steps to Heaven'' (1963)

''Miles Davis in Europe'' (1963)

''Four & More'' (1964)

''My Funny Valentine'' (1964)

''Miles in Tokyo'' (1964)

''Miles in Berlin'' (1964)

''E.S.P.'' (1965)

''The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel'' (1965)

''Miles Smiles'' (1966)

''Directions'' (1967, 1968)

''Sorcerer'' (1967)

''Nefertiti'' (1967)

''Water Babies'' (1967, 1968)

''Circle in the Round'' (1967, 1968)

''Miles in the Sky'' (1968)

''The Complete Miles Davis–Gil Evans Studio Recordings'' – four takes of 'Falling Water' (1968)

''Filles de Kilimanjaro'' (1968)

''In a Silent Way'' (1969)

'''With Eric Dolphy

''Out to Lunch'' (1964)

With Kenny Dorham

''Una Mas'' (1963)

With Gil Evans

''The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix'' – track 8, 'Little Wing' (1975)

With Tommy Flanagan

''The Trio'' (1983)

With Hal Galper

''Now Hear This'' (1977)

With Stan Getz

''Captain Marvel'' (1972)

With Dexter Gordon

''Round Midnight'' (1986)

With Herbie Hancock

''My Point of View'' (1963)

''Maiden Voyage'' (1964)

''Empyrean Isles'' (1964)

''V.S.O.P.'' (1976)

''V.S.O.P.: The Quintet'' (1977)

''V.S.O.P.: Tempest in the Colosseum'' (1977)

''Herbie Hancock Trio'' (1977)

''Sunlight'' (1978)

''V.S.O.P.: Live Under the Sky'' (1979)

''Herbie Hancock Trio'' (1981)

''Mr. Hands'' (1982)

''Quartet'' (1982)

''Town Hall Concert'' (1985)

''Future2Future''

With Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Wallace Roney

''A Tribute to Miles'' (1992)

With Jonas Hellborg and the Soldier String Quartet

''The Word'' (1991)

With Joe Henderson

''Relaxin' at Camarillo'' (1979)

With Andrew Hill

''Point of Departure'' (1964)

With Terumasa Hino

''May Dance'' (1977)

With Allan Holdsworth

''Atavachron'' – track 5 (1986)

With Michael Mantler

''Movies'' (1977)

With Ray Manzarek

''The Golden Scarab'' (1973)

With Branford Marsalis

''Renaissance'' (1987)

With Wynton Marsalis

''Wynton Marsalis'' (1981)

With John McLaughlin

''Johnny McLaughlin: Electric Guitarist'' (1978)

With Jackie McLean

''Vertigo'' (1962–3)

''One Step Beyond'' (1963)

''New Wine In Old Bottles'' (1978)

With Marcus Miller

''The Sun Don't Lie'' (1990–92)

With Mulgrew Miller

The Countdown'' (1988)

With Grachan Moncur III

''Evolution'' (Blue Note, 1963)

''Some Other Stuff'' (Blue Note, 1964)

With Jaco Pastorius and John McLaughlin

''Trio of Doom (1979)

With Michel Petrucciani

''Marvellous'' (1994)

With Public Image Limited

''Album'' (1985)

With Don Pullen

''New Beginnings'' (Blue Note, 1988)

With Sam Rivers

''Fuchsia Swing Song'' (Blue Note, 1964)

With Sonny Rollins

''Easy Living'' (1977)

''Don't Stop the Carnival'' (1978)

''No Problem'' (1981)

With Wallace Roney

Verses (1987)

With Travis Shook

''Travis Shook'' (1993)

With Wayne Shorter

''The Soothsayer'' (1965)

With McCoy Tyner

''Supertrios'' (1977)

''Counterpoints'' (1978)

With Sadao Watanabe

''I'm Old Fashioned'' (1976)

With Weather Report

''Mr. Gone'' (1978)

References

Category:1945 births Category:1997 deaths Category:African American musicians Category:American jazz drummers Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hard bop drummers Category:Jazz fusion drummers Category:Miles Davis Category:Post-bop drummers Category:Blue Note Records artists

da:Tony Williams de:Tony Williams es:Tony Williams (baterista) fr:Tony Williams id:Tony Williams it:Tony Williams he:טוני ויליאמס hu:Tony Williams nl:Tony Williams ja:トニー・ウィリアムス nn:Tony Williams pl:Tony Williams fi:Tony Williams