The Abbey Church - Port Talbot, Wales.
N 51° 33.766 W 003° 43.870
30U E 449317 N 5712663
The Abbey Church now consists of the intact nave and Church. The impressive surrounding outbuilding ruins, no longer belong to the church are now owned by the County Council, located in Margam Park.
Waymark Code: WMF63Z
Location: South Wales, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/29/2012
Views: 4
The Church and Nave of Margam Abbey remain intact and in use today. The abbey outbuilding ruins and remains, including the unusually large twelve-sided chapter house, dating from the 13th century, stand within Margam Country Park, next door to The Abbey Church.
A Granite Cross stands by the entrance to the Abbey at Margam
"Margam Abbey is the Parish Church of Margam, which is part of the Archdeaconry of Margam and one of the three Archdeaconries of the Diocese of Llandaff in the Church in Wales". Abbey Web site: (
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"On a hill overlooking the abbey stand the ruins of an another outlying monastery building, Capel Mair ar y Bryn ("the chapel of St Mary on the hill"). The purpose of this building is thought to have been to allow members of the monastic community who were engaged in the keeping of flocks to fulfil their devotional obligations without having to return to the main church.
Two different types of monks lived there and were both equally important in the success of Margam Abbey. First, there was the Cistercian monks, these were the more educated ones - they proved this by writing a book. Secondly there were the lay monks which made the abbey rich by trading in the local area and abroad. They were native Welsh monks and farmers; they traded sheep and the things they farmed". Text Source: (
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