| Baglan | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Baglan Location withinNeath Port Talbot | |
| Population | 6,819 |
| OS grid reference | SS746924 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PORT TALBOT |
| Postcode district | SA12 |
| Dialling code | 01639 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
51°37′00″N3°48′41″W / 51.6166°N 3.8115°W /51.6166; -3.8115  Map of the community | |
Baglan is a village inWales, adjoiningPort Talbot, named afterSaint Baglan.[1] It is also acommunity andward in theNeath Port Talbot county borough. In 2001, the population was 6,654.[2] rising to 6,819 in 2011.[3]
Baglan is on the side of a steephill and surrounded by two hills,Mynydd-y-Gaer to the north andMynydd Dinas to the east. The moors andBaglan Bay are to the southwest. The village contains a number of historical buildings such as Baglan House,St. Catharine's Church, and St. Baglan's Church. The first St. Baglan's Church is now a shell after a fire in 1954. St. Catharine's Church was designed by Welsh architectJohn Prichard, an exponent of theneo-Gothic style and dedicated in 1882. Baglan House was one of the seats of theVilliers family,earls ofJersey.[4]
Baglan railway station is on theSouth Wales Main Line with trains toCardiff andSwansea.
The earliest evidence of settlement here dates back to theBronze Age with there being a tumulus called Twyn Disgwylfa on Mynydd Dinas and a round barrow within the hillfort ofBuarth-y-Gaer just outside the boundary of Baglan.[5] There is also anIron Agehillfort calledCraig Ty-Isaf on the surrounding hillMynydd-y-Gaer.[6] TheRoman road (Via Julia) very possibly passed through the village, although the statement that there was once a Romanmilestone at the junction of Old Road and Albion Road Approach is erroneous (the milestone in question is actually fromPyle).[7] Later, aDark Age (Early Christian period) church was founded here, as can be seen from a few local Early Christian stones, especially the Cross of Brancu (dated 9th - 10th century) which is in the vestry of St Catharine's church. The inscription on the Cross of Brancu(f) could be a dedication to Brancuf,[8] or reads as Brancu f(ecit).[9] i.e. was made by Brancu or may be Brancu followed by achi-rho monogram.[10] (the name Brancu is preceded by a simpleLatin cross in any case). According to tradition the church was founded by the aforementioned St Baglan.
In the medieval period, the church (dedicated to St Baglan) was rebuilt seemingly on the same site.[11] The church burnt down in 1954 although ruins still exist at the top of the churchyard of St Catharine's church. There was amedievalcastle within theparish boundary which is known by the name 'Plas Baglan'. This is sited above the Baglan Brook and is heavily overgrown (and not readily accessible). Although more usually thought of as amanor house than a castle, it is a "strongly fortified site, a castle rather than a moated site ... a masonry castle that existed by the 13th century".[12] It did, however, become a manor house and had literary associations in the 15th and 16th centuries. Several house platforms from the medieval period also exist on the hills behind the village.[13]
Baglan is home to four sporting associations;Baglan Rugby Football Club,Baglan Dragons Football Club, Baglan Cricket Club.Also home to Tyn-Y-Twr Bowling Club, Captain Phillip Reese David.
Media related toBaglan, Neath Port Talbot at Wikimedia CommonsAuthority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
