Aberdulais

Aberdulais
Aberdulais  Aberdulais shown within Neath Port Talbot
Population	2,400 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	SS773995
Principal area	Neath Port Talbot
Ceremonial county	West Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PORT TALBOT
Postcode district	SA10
Dialling code	01639
Police	South Wales
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Neath
Welsh Assembly	Neath
Councillors	Doreen Jones (Labour)
List of places UK Wales Neath Port Talbot

Coordinates: 51°40′51″N 3°46′24″W / 51.68086°N 3.77324°W / 51.68086; -3.77324

Aberdulais (Welsh: Aberdulais Aber confluence (with the River Neath) or mouth (of the river) & Dulais) is a village in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath. The village grew around the Aberdulais Falls, the site of successive industries and now a hydro-electric station.

Industrial history

Aberdulais has been the heart of many businesses for a number of years. The first business there was a copper smelting industry; that failed because it received only sporadic copper delivered via boat from Cornwall. The site was then chosen again by an ironworks forge. This, too, failed, but not much is known, so nobody knows why. It was chosen twice to be the site for an ironworks. Between the works, Aberdulais was used as a corn watermill; that failed because it was too small scale, and the high price of corn at the time of the Corn Laws. It was then used as a tinplate site; that failed because tinplate was made redundant after the Bessemer Process.

Amenities and attractions

Local attractions include a canal and the Cefn Coed Colliery Museum. Aberdulais Falls and the associated industrial infrastructure are in the care of the National Trust in recognition of the site's value as a key part of the region's industrial heritage. The water wheel at Aberdulais falls produces £20,000 worth of electricity that powers the site, and the surplus is sold back to the national grid.

People

Peter Hain MP is a resident of the village

Government and politics

Aberdulais is also the name of an electoral ward covering the village. It is a constituent of the parish of Blaenhonddan. The electoral ward of Aberdulais includes some or all of the settlements of Aberdulais and Cilfrew in the parliamentary constituency of Neath. Most of the ward consists of woodland and farmland with a small residential area to the far south. Aberdulais is bounded by the wards of Crynant to the north; Resolven to the east; Tonna to the south; and Cadoxton and Bryncoch North to the west.

In the 2012 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 40.81%. The results were:

References

External links

• grid reference SS775995
• Cwmdulais Historical Society
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Aberdulais and surrounding area
• Aberdulais Sion Calvinistic Methodist Chapel monumental inscriptions and images

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