- published: 25 Jan 2016
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Coordinates: 51°35′26″N 3°47′55″W / 51.59055°N 3.79859°W / 51.59055; -3.79859
Port Talbot ( /pərˈtɔːlbət/ or /pərˈtælbət/) is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.
Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan (English: Aberavon), which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan became industrialised following the establishment of a copperworks in 1770. The Afan was diverted and a dock was opened in 1839 named for the Talbot family, local landowners who were related to the pioneer photographer, William Henry Fox Talbot. The Talbots were patrons of Margam Abbey, an ancient Cistercian foundation, and also built Margam Castle. Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot (1803–1890) (Liberal Member of Parliament for Glamorgan from 1830 until his death) saw the potential of his property as a site for an extensive ironworks, which opened in early 1831.
CRM Talbot's daughter Emily Charlotte Talbot (1840–1918) inherited her father's fortune and became just as notable in the development of ports and railways. With assistance from engineers Charles Meik and Patrick Meik, she set about creating a port and railway system to attract business away from Cardiff and Swansea. The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company opened a dock at Port Talbot and the Llyfni Railway in 1897, followed by the Ogmore Valley Extension and the South Wales Mineral Junction Railway (almost all these lines were closed as part of the Beeching Axe cuts in the mid 1960s, but some bridges and viaducts remain and many of these railway routes have re-emerged as recreational cycle tracks). By 1900, the dock was exporting over 500,000 tons of coal; it reached a peak of over three million tons in 1923. In the same year, the borough of Port Talbot was created, incorporating Margam, Cwmafan and the older town of Aberavon.