Neath History - Neath Antiquarian Society

05/09/2026

ON THIS DAY: At about 3:20 on the morning of 5th September 1940, the first of three unexploded bombs in the town of Neath was found in the front garden of 22 Beechwood Avenue.

There followed the discovery of two more 500lb high explosive bombs which had failed to detonate – one at 8 Woodside Avenue and one at 15 Gnoll Crescent.

Another bomb was found on the Neath Cricket Fields, but this was a petrol bomb which had burst open and failed to ignite.

Unexploded bombs were dealt with by a bomb disposal team and in the case of these three bombs, the team was led by Lieutenant Ellis Talbot, a young man aged 20.
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

05/09/2026

ON THIS DAY: On 5th September 1925, Jersey Park, Briton Ferry was formally opened to the public by Neath Corporation.

For over 100 years now, the park has been a place of calm retreat but also recreation for the people of the Ferry. To walk from the busy traffic of the main road into the park is to step from one world to another.

To some extent, it is a Briton Ferry secret.

The park was made on land given by the Earl of Jersey in 1908 to the Corporation’s predecessor for the purpose of a public park. It opened in 1925 and was extended in 1939 on further land donated by the Earl. Cadw says that the basic original layout of formal and informal areas has survived in its entirety to the present day, although some built features have been lost. Planting in the park is varied and interesting, with an emphasis on evergreen trees and shrubs.

There is easy access from the park to the extensive Briton Ferry Woods. However, the most interesting historical feature of the park is industrial in origin: the Scheduled Ancient Monument known locally as the Incline, or Rhodfa Clarke; the remains of a 19th century railway system. It opened in 1863 and was one of the last generation of rope hauled railway inclines, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1850s.

It was constructed to link the collieries of the upper Afan Valley with a new dock at Briton Ferry. The incline was operated by a steam winding engine and was one mile in length. The lower parts of the incline are in Jersey Park, where a footpath overbridge retains fixings for signalling wire underneath.

The Friends of Jersey Park operates to preserve and promote the park.
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

04/09/2026

OPEN DOORS: Neath Abbey throws open its doors, so to speak, for Cadw’s Open Doors event this weekend.

Join Bill Zajac to explore the long and varied history of this fascinating site. During an extended tour of the site, he will reveal how the abbey’s remains illustrate a succession of pivotal episodes in the history of South Wales, including the Norman advance, the suppression of the monasteries and the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution.

Tours will be at 10:00–11:30am and 14:00–15:30pm.

For more information, see below.

Originally founded as a daughter house of Savigny in 1130, the abbey was absorbed into the Cistercian order in 1147.Fairly complete remains of the abbey survive, together with the sixteenth-century mansion raised within its precincts.

04/09/2026

ON THIS DAY: On 4th September 1922, Winifred Coombe Tennant (1874-1954) became the first woman to represent Great Britain, as a delegate at the Third Assembly of the League of Nations held in Geneva during September 1922.

The Tennant name is a familiar one in Neath. Winifred married Charles Coombe Tennant, whose family had built the Tennant Canal. The family lived in Cadoxton Lodge.

Many influences and experiences in Winifred’s life prepared her for the role as a delegate in an international organisation. As a young child she had lived abroad, and spoke French fluently. When she married Charles in 1895, she lived in London, mixing with the great Victorians of the time, developing her interest in politics and diplomacy.

An introduction to David Lloyd George meant that she was able to enter the world of politics and through his influence was invited to act as one of the delegates.

Winifred’s diaries of 1909-1924, published as “Between Two Worlds”, give the timeline of the events she attended. On the 4th of September, she cast her first vote. She first spoke in the assembly on the 5th of September. On the 9th of September, she spoke on the subject of o***m.

Her entry for the 25th September reads: “Made my speech in Assembly as rapporteur on traffic in women and children. It was good - I felt that - also audible to furthest ends of galleries. Much complimented… I made my appeal to all women to work for peace.”

The following is taken from Coombe Tennant's first speech to the League of Nations Assembly:

“This League of Nations will not reach its full authority and its full power until it has become in some real sense a League of Mothers – for it is from the Mothers of the World that it will receive a dynamic power, a driving force, which is essential to it if it is to accomplish successfully a task which has hitherto baffled all ages and all races – the task of establishing an enduring peace.”

By taking part in the assembly through writing, giving interviews, engaging with officials and other delegates, Winifred’s aim was to ensure that women were represented in diplomacy. She could speak from experience of motherhood, which she believed to be a service to society, and like so many of those times, she could also speak of the horror of war.

Her son Christopher entered the Army as an officer cadet at Sandhurst in January 1917. He died on the 3rd September that year, killed by artillery. Her diary entry for the 25th of September, started above, continues: “My heart was full of Cruff (the name used for Christopher) as I made my appeal for women to work for peace.”

Winifred’s final diary entry of 30th September , about the Assembly, reads: “This has been a wonderful and most happy experience.”

Between Two Worlds: The diary of Winifred Coombe Tennant 1909-1924, edited by Peter Lord, is part of the Neath Antiquarian Society collection held at the Neath Mechanics' Institute.
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

03/09/2026

EVENT: Llangiwg Church, just outside Pontardawe, will host its free Cadw Open Doors event this Saturday, 5th September.

Titled 'Tudor Artefacts', the event will see demonstrations and explanations of historical artefacts, as well as guided tours of the medieval church.

The event takes place between 11am (11:30am start) and 4pm.

See the poster below for further details and contact information.

02/09/2026

Our lecture calendar for 2026/27 starts this month - what better time to become a Neath Antiquarian Society member!

MEMBERSHIP: Neath Antiquarian Society membership for 2026-27 is now available!

Still at just £20, membership gets you a number of benefits - listed on the poster below - including entry to all of our History Talks at Neath Town Hall and entry to our prize draws to win a local history book bundle.

Call into Neath Mechanics' Institute during our opening days on Monday or Thursday to join!

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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

01/09/2026

ON THIS DAY: On 1st September 1962, the final Speedway meeting was held at Neath Abbey.

The event saw the Neath team beat Sheffield by 41 points to 36. The team, called the Welsh Dragons, would finish in second place in the league in what was their maiden season. However, attendances had been dwindling as the season went on, and the team was moved to Cornwall for the summer period before returning to Neath to end the season.

In all, Neath had won 14 of their 24 matches.

The site of the former track is now the site of the Neath Abbey Business Park industrial estate.
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

01/09/2026

ON THIS DAY: On Friday, September 1, 1939, two days before Britain declared war on Germany, Britain was “blacked out”. Everyone had to cover their windows and doors at night (before sunset) with heavy blackout curtains, cardboard or paint.

Neath was no exception. The below image shows bomb damage at Old Road, Briton Ferry from later in the War.
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute, on Church Place, every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

29/08/2026

ON THIS DAY: On 29th August 1911, David Lloyd George, accompanied by his family, laid the foundation stone for the new Welsh Baptist Chapel at Seven Sisters.

In his speech he alluded to recent industrial unrest at Tredegar and Llanelli and rounded on sections of the English press who had referred to Wales as ‘only half civilised if they were civilised at all’.

The press, he said, ‘were careful in not referring to similar events which had occurred in Liverpool, Belfast and other places’. While the events were to be deplored, he added ‘the best thing for these critics to do instead of making prejudiced racial comments would be to look at things in a spirit of sobriety.’
(South Wales Gazette, 1st September 1911)
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute, on Church Place, every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.

28/08/2026

ON THIS DAY: On 28th August 1905, the cricketer Cyril Walters was born in Bedlinog.

Educated at Neath Grammar School, Walters made his Glamorgan cricket debut as a 17-year-old in 1923, and would soon become an England prospect despite his business as a surveyor and architect sidelining him for extended periods. His business interests were a big factor in Worcestershire securing his services as their secretary in 1928.

He would become Worcestershire captain in 1931, and was still with the county when Wisden selected him as Cricketer of the Year in 1934. By this point, he was staking his claim as England's first-choice opening batsman, even captaining them at Trent Bridge.

Poor health slowed his career the following year, and he would never play cricket again after 1935. His marriage to wife Peggy was financially sound, and it is suggested this staved off any harboured urges to return to the field. Peggy passed away in 1974, prompting Walters to return home to Neath, where he would ultimately pass away in December 1992.
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💻To view more local history and see what the Neath Antiquarian Society is all about, click here: https://bit.ly/47H4lie

We are open at Neath Mechanics' Institute every Monday and Thursday, 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:45.