Neath Abbey facts for kids
Neath Abbey (which is Abaty Nedd in Welsh) was a very important monastery in South Wales, UK. It's near the town of Neath. This abbey was once the biggest in all of Wales!
Today, you can still see many parts of the old abbey as amazing ruins. These ruins are looked after by an organization called Cadw. A historian from the Tudor period named John Leland even called Neath Abbey "the fairest abbey of all Wales."
The name Neath Abbey also refers to the area around the ruins in the town of Neath.
Contents
A Look Back: The History of Neath Abbey
Neath Abbey was started in the year 1129 AD. A knight named Richard I de Grenville gave 8,000 acres of his land in Glamorgan, Wales, to a group of monks. These monks belonged to an order called the Savigniacs.
The first monks arrived in 1130. Later, in 1147, the Savigniac order joined with the Cistercian order. So, Neath Abbey became a Cistercian monastery too.
The abbey faced tough times during Welsh uprisings in the 1200s. Later, King Henry VIII of England decided to close down many monasteries in England and Wales. This was called the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The last abbot, Lleision ap Thomas, tried to save the abbey by paying a large fine in 1536. But the abbey was finally closed in 1539.
After it closed, the abbey land became a large estate. Around the year 1600, a man named Sir John Herbert owned it. He built a big Tudor mansion right inside the old abbey's cloisters. However, this mansion was only used for about 100 years. Then, the area started to become a place for factories and industry.
From Abbey to Factory: Industrial Use
By the 1730s, some of the abbey buildings were used for copper smelting. This is a process where copper is taken out of rock. The rest of the buildings were left empty.
Later, in the late 1700s, an iron foundry was built near the abbey ruins. An iron foundry is a place where iron is melted and shaped. Over time, the old walls of the abbey and the mansion were covered by lots of industrial waste.
In the 1920s, a local group of people who loved history started to uncover the medieval ruins. They worked hard to bring the abbey back into view.
Digging Up the Past: Archaeology
The archaeology of Neath Abbey means studying its old remains. Between 1924 and 1935, people worked to dig up the abbey. The Neath Antiquarian Society led this early work. They removed 7,000 tons of slag and other factory waste by hand. This helped to uncover the abbey ruins.
In 1944, the government took over caring for the site. They worked to make the walls stronger. In 2014, Cadw started a big project to protect the ruins even more. Today, you can visit the site and see information boards that explain its history.
The Abbey's Entrance: The Gatehouse
North of the main abbey ruins, you can find what's left of the gatehouse. This building once controlled who could enter the abbey area. It now stands on New Road, next to the playground of Abbey Primary School.
The gatehouse was first built around 1130. The most visible parts you see today are two pointed windows. These windows face the road and were added in the 1200s or 1300s.
Modern Uses: Commercial and Filming
The land next to the abbey ruins is now used by different businesses. There's a car dealership and several smaller shops and workshops.
The abbey site has also been used for filming! Several episodes of the TV show Doctor Who were filmed here. The Doctor (played by Matt Smith) and his friend Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) filmed scenes at the site. It was made to look like a complete building for the show.
The site was also used for filming the BBC TV series Merlin. For example, it was used as the castle of the ancient kings. This is where Arthur found the round table again in Series 3, episode 13.
Nearby Places
- Neath
- Bryncoch
- Skewen
- Caewern
- Pontrhydyfen
See Also
- Neath (UK Parliament constituency)
- Neath Abbey Castle Class steam locomotive
- List of Scheduled Monuments in Neath Port Talbot
