N E A T H. 
NEATH, a market-town in the county of Glamorgan, 
South Wales, feated in a valley on the eaftern hank of a 
river which gave name to the place, and which is naviga¬ 
ble for fmall velfels. Here was formerly a Roman ftation, 
called Nidum. In the reign of king Henry I. a caftle with 
an abbey were built here by Richard de Granavilla, or 
Granville, who was lord of Neath, and who is faid to 
have come to this part of the country to co-operate with 
Robert Fitzhammon and others again ft Rhys-ap-Tudor. 
Having fubdued this prince, Richard de Granville feems 
to have fettled here ; and from him have fprung the pre- 
fent noble family of Granville. 
Neath is a borough by prel'cription. The corporation 
coniifts of a portreeve, twelve aldermen, a recorder, and 
an indefinite number of burgelfes. The portreeve, and 
the conftable of the caftle, hold a court of pleas once every 
month, and acourt-leet twice a-year. Here are likewife 
held the petty-feftions for the hundred, and there is a 
court of quarter-feftions once in twelve months. This 
Is one of the contributory boroughs with Cardiff, which 
lend one member to parliament. The contributory bo¬ 
roughs, befides Neath and Cardiff, are Aberavon, Cow- 
bridge, Kenfigg, Llantriffent, Lougher, and Swanfea. 
The number of voters is about 1000. The marquis of 
Bute has nominated the member for thefe boroughs in 
the laft eight parliaments; his influence prevails princi¬ 
pally in Cardiff and Cowbridge; that of the duke of 
Beaufort, in Swanfea and Lougher; Mr. Talbot of Mar- 
gam has the influence of Aberavon and Kenfigg ; and 
Mr. Hanbury that of Neath. But the marquis of Bute 
is allowed to have the control, and his nomination is im¬ 
plicitly obeyed : his uncle, lord Evelyn-James Stuart, is 
the prefent member. 
No manufaftures of any confequence are carried on 
within the limits of the borough of Neath ; but its vicinity 
is crowded with iron-works, fome of which are concluded 
upon a very extenfive fcale. Here are likewife feveral cop¬ 
per-works, and a very produftive colliery. The produce 
of thefe feveral eftabliftunents is conveyed to Neath and 
Swanfea by means of canals, and from thence flapped to 
different parts of the kingdom. Much of the copper from 
Paris Mountain in Anglefey is fmelted in this neighbour¬ 
hood ; and about 60 or 70,000 chaldrons of coals are an¬ 
nually carried from this town to Somerfet, Devon, Corn¬ 
wall, and other places. The market-days are Wednef- 
day and Thurfday in each week. A legacy has been 
lately left for the endowment of a free-fchool; but it is 
not yet eftablifhed. This parifli, according to the parlia¬ 
mentary returns of 1811, contained 583 lioufes, and 2740 
inhabitants. 
On the weftern bank of the river Neath, one mile from 
the town, are the ruins of a fine monaftery called Neath- 
abbey, furrounded on all fides by the molt beautiful and 
romantic lcenery. It was founded in the beginning of 
the reign of Henry I. by Richard de Grana Villa or 
Granville, before mentioned. The monks here were, at 
firft, of the order of Savigny, but foon afterwards became 
Ciftercians. Mr. Windham juftly obferves (in his Tour 
through Mcnmouthlhire and Wales), that there are no 
“ traces among the ruins fo ancient as the original foun¬ 
dation;” for, the plain Gothic ftyle of building, which 
the prefent remains exhibit, was not introduced into this 
country until the latter end of the reign of Henry II. nor 
did it generally prevail until that of Henry III. This 
abbey once afforded a temporary afylum to an unfortu¬ 
nate monarch and his favourite. Edward II. and Hugh 
Le Defpenfer the younger, having taken a vefl'el at Briftol, 
A. D. 1326, with a defign to fail to the Illand of Lundy, 
or (according to other accounts) to Ireland, 'were driven 
by,contrary winds on the coaft of Glamorganfhire, and 
remained concealed a fhort time at this place. This flight 
of the king is the more memorable, as it furnilhed the 
queen and her party with afpecious pretext for declaring 
the prince of Wales guardian of the kingdom. 
Louis of Glamorgan, a celebrated Welfli poet, who 
flourilhed about the year 1520, gives a particular defcrip- 
Vol.XVI. No, 1143. 
057 
tion of this abbey, in an ode comprifing the twenty-four 
different metres of ancient Britilh poetry. He defcribes 
it as a fpacious building covered with lead, with fine 
painted windows, and a pavement of glazed brick. Thefe 
bricks are, at prefent, frequently picked up among the 
rubbifh. We likewife learn from this ode, that it wae 
once a feat of the Mufes, youth being inftrufted hers 
(among other branches of learning) in arithmetic, rhe¬ 
toric, logic, and the civil and canon laws ; and that this 
fchool had attained a confiderable degree of celebrity; 
nor does he forget to mention the adjacent parks, from 
which the holy fathers were fupplied with venifon, or to 
beftow a proper encomium on their fumptuous table. He 
alfo informs us, that the arms of feveral of the nobility 
and gentry were to be feen here. Some armorial bear¬ 
ings cut in freeftone, and placed over the principal en¬ 
trance to the abbot’s houfe, have been lately removed ; 
and the different quarterings of the Pembroke family 
executed in the above manner, which were taken hence, 
are now at Courtraiir, a houfe belonging to the abbey- 
eftate. The church confifted of a nave, about two hun¬ 
dred and ten feet long, and fixty-fix wide, with a crofs- 
aifle, about one hundred and fifty feet long, and fifty-four 
wide ; a large tower in the centre, and two light turrets 
at the weft end ; a good part of the latter, with the wind¬ 
ing ftaircale in each, ftill remain. The fliell of the abbot’s 
houfe is entire, and includes feveral fpacious rooms, the 
largeft of which is the refeftory (now called the great 
hall), being feventy feet in length, and thirty feet wide, 
with a vaulted ftone roof, fupported by a row of plain co¬ 
lumns, running lengthways through the middle of the 
room. 
Leland in his Itinerary calls Neath “ the faireft abbey 
of all Wales;” but in his Colleftanea he is inclined to give 
Margam the preference. It continued until the general 
diffolution of religious houfes, when its annual revenues 
were eftimated at 132I. 7s. 7fd. according to Dugdale, but 
Speed ftates them at 1 sol. 4s. 9d. This valuation mull have 
been very low even at that time, fince the demefne itfelf is 
of a confiderable extent; and formerly there were feveral 
detached eftates belonging to the monaftery, which are not 
held with it now, fome in the neighbourhood, and others 
in the different parifhes of Llandilo-tal-y-bont, Oyfter- 
mouth, Llanridian, Penmain, Portelnon, and Llandewi, 
in Gower, all within the county of Glamorgan. It was 
granted 33d of Henry VIII. to fir Richard Williams, 
alias Cromwell, great-grandfather to the proteftor. We 
find it afterwards in the poffeflion of the Herberts; from 
whom it was transferred to fir William Dodington, of 
Breymore, in the county of Southampton, by his mar¬ 
riage with Mary, the daughter of fir John Herbert, fecre- 
tary of ftate to queen Elizabeth, and nephew to William 
earl of Pembroke. Edward Dodington, efq. foil of the 
faid fir William Dodington, gave it to his nephew Philip 
Hobby, efq. fourth Ion of Peregrine Hobby, efq. of 
Byftien, in the county of Berks, who refided at the abbey 
until his death, and fo did his relift Elizabeth Hobby, 
daughter of fir Timothy Tyrrell, of Shottover, in the 
county of Oxford, and grand-daughter of the learned 
archbiftiop Ulher. At Mrs. Hobby’s death, the houfe was 
defla ted, and fuffered to fall to decay. Philip Hobby, efq. 
the laft foie proprietor, died A. D. 1678, leaving three 
daughters co-heireffes, Elizabeth, Catharine, and Anne : 
theeldeft of whom (Elizabeth) married Henry Compton, 
efq. of Biftern, Hants ; Catharine married Griffith Rice, 
efq. of Newton, in the county of Camarthen ; and Anne 
married Mr. Stanley, grandfather of the late Hans Stanley, 
efq. The prefent proprietors are lord Dinevor, a lineal 
defcendant of the faid Griffith Rice, efq. John Compton, 
efq. lord Mendip, and Chriffopher d’Oyley, efq. the two 
laft-mentioned gentlemen having married each a daughter 
of the faid Hans Stanley. There are no monuments of 
the dead remaining, either in the church or adjoining it. 
Thefolitary flump of an old yew-tree only marks the fite 
of the church-yard; the figure of an eccleliaftic in acum- 
bent pofture, and bolding in his hand the model of a 
8 E building 
