Anyone approaching Port Talbot will probably share the impression of the British historian Roscoe who, while passing through in 1854, wanted to leave "the dirty town of Aberavon" as quickly as possible. An overview of Port Talbot shows a narrow stretch of coast with a bright sandy beach and a narrow bay at the mouth of the Afan, from which a
thin densely-populated valley leads inland, steep cliffs falling into the sea, on which rows of houses hang like garlands, all dominated by the smoking chimneys of steelworks and petrochemical factories, and by warehouses, production lines and electricity grids. This bizarre industrial "beauty" seems to smother the town, but it also lends it a provocative fascination.
Port Talbot was founded in 1093, shortly after Glamorgan was conquered by the Normans. Aberavon, as the town was initially called, was first documented in the 12th century, and it received its town charter in 1835 through parliamentary decree. In 1921 the settlements of Aberavon and Margam were combined into Port Talbot. Since administrative reforms the town, which in the meantime bore the name Afan, has comprised the town center of Aberavon and the communities of Taibach, Margam. Cwmavon, Baglan and Bryn.
In the center, located half-way up a hill, stands the town's oldest church, St Mary's. The new Civic Center, an attractive administrative complex opposite the bulky purpose-built Aberfan Shopping Center, was opened in 1988. Only a short distance away from the pedestrianized area rows of traditional red-brick two-story workers houses line Mansel Street, Ty Drawl Street, Court Lane and Oakwood Street. Functionally built with only austere charm, they offer few exceptional features. More spacious are the houses of the "residential people" of Baglan, situated higher up the hill, where the raised social standing is reflected in the dimensions of the architecture. Visitors to Aberavon's almost 2mi/3km-long sandy beach will find an impressive promenade with many entertainment facilities.
The town's most famous son is the actor Richard Burton, who came from the suburb of Pontrhydyfen, near Cwmavon. The house in which he was born bears a plaque inscribed to the Hollywood star and stands on a street corner in the Afan Valley, a few miles from Afan Argoed Country Park.
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