Neath Abbey

[2] During the dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII of England the last abbot, Lleision ap Thomas, managed to buy time through payment of a large fine in 1536, but the abbey was dissolved in 1539.

[4] At this time, the abbey was turned into a large estate, initially granted to Richard Williams, although by 1600 it was owned by Sir John Herbert, and had a substantial Tudor mansion occupying a part of the cloisters.

In the late 18th century, an iron foundry was opened near the abbey ruins by a company owned by the Price, Fox and Tregelles families.

The Neath Antiquarian Society was the driving force in this early archaeology, in which 7,000 tons of slag and other industrial waste were removed by hand, to uncover the abbey ruins.

In 2014 Cadw, the successor body charged with the site's care, began a substantial project to further protect and stabilize parts of the ruins.

[9] A motorcycle speedway track was constructed in 1962 and the Neath Welsh Dragons rode for one year adjacent to the Abbey.