Margam Abbey
Near Port Talbot
Margam Abbey was a Cistercian monastery,
located near the present-day town of Port Talbot. It was founded in 1147.
Although dissolved by King Henry VIII of England, the abbey church was later
restored and is today in use as a parish church.
The ruins of other abbey buildings, including the twelve-sided
chapter house, dating from the 13th century, stand within a 840-acre country
park, close to Margam Castle.
On a hill overlooking the abbey stand the ruins of an outlying
monastery building, Capel Mair ar y Bryn ("the chapel of St Mary on the hill").
At one point in Margam's history there were only 12 monks living in the
monastery.