Neath

Neath stands on the River Neath in southern Wales, near the ruins of a once wealthy abbey. Founded in the twelfth century, Neath Abbey was dissolved in 1539, but its substantial buildings remained beside the river. In the late eighteenth century the surrounding valley acquired a different character as ironworks and copper smelting developed. The Neath Abbey ironworks, founded in 1792, stood beside the monastic ruins and produced machinery for a growing industry.