Port Talbot Town Heritage Trail

Vantage Point 4:

The Grand Hotel

Built, it is said, to look as little like a public house as possible; it was on the Margam Estate, and the Talbot family were not willing to have public houses on their land, but with the growth of Port Talbot, accommodation was needed for business visitors.

The licence was transferred from the Eagle Inn (see next section), which then became a temperance hotel. Although Aberafan/Port Talbot was rich in public houses, it was less so in accommodation for travellers, and the Grand, next to the Central Railway Station. has always been one of the town’s main hotels.

The Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel before the remodelling of Station Square

Running up alongside the Grand Hotel is Oakwood Lane, originally one of the dram roads leading down from the works and mines in Cwmafan. A few yards up this is a building, not immediately visible, that was originally a centre where community activities such as play groups and adult education classes took place; then it became a centre for Friday prayers and finally a fully-functioning Mosque, funded by the local Moslem community.

Port Talbot Mosque

The block of flats across the lane marks the site of Eagle House.

A view of the Grand Hotel, Oakwood Lane and Eagle House on the right.

EAGLE HOUSE 

Now a newly-built block of flats, this was the oldest surviving commercial building in Port Talbot. Built in 1857, it was originally a workshop for Rees Roderick, the leading local stone mason; then Roderick built a house there. It was probably its nearness to the new railway station and the docks that led to its gradual conversion to the Eagle Inn, offering hospitality to travellers in an area that was not built up until later in the 1800s.

After 1890, when Miss Emily Charlotte Talbot inherited the Margam estate, the licence was transferred to the new Grand Hotel, and the building became a temperance hotel (the Talbots were keen supporters of the Temperance Movement). Although this was not a great success, it continued to function until at least the 1920s. After that the building and its outbuildings housed various small businesses and was the Margam Estate office, for a time, then the office of John D, Wood, who was the local agent for the Margam Trust.

In 1941 it became the HQ for 499 Squadron Air Training Corps, whose commanding officer was P.H. Burton; better known as Philip Burton, mentor of the young Richard Burton, who was a member of the squadron. Although Philip Burton’s career largely began in Port Talbot, he then became a figure of importance in the world of theatre both in Britain and the United States. He founded the YMCA drama society and involved the squadron in a number of amateur productions, including a radio play and a production of ‘Youth at the Helm’ at the YMCA Hall. These activities must have been unusual for an ATC squadron!

A young Richard Burton (then known as Richard Jenkins) was a member of the squadron at this time and performed in ‘Youth at the Helm’. He later took the name of his mentor and commanding officer, P H Burton and became a world-wide star. 

Richard Burton 1956

Although there were some alterations to the building over the years, it was still a distinctive feature, blending well with the Grand Hotel and the restored Plaza. It was demolished in April 2023, in order to give way to a block of flats. 

A full history of the building can be found on: http://history.seanpursey.co.uk/eagle-house/

For more on Philip Burton and actors in Port Talbot, read: The Actors’ Crucible, by Angela Vaughan John, Parthian, 2015

Eagle House just before its demolition in 2023

The area opposite the Grand Hotel underwent major alterations in the 1970s, when the ring road/overpass was constructed. The Post Office building serving Aberafan and some shops were demolished, leaving an open space, with trees and benches. More recently this area has been again reconstructed; the road pattern has changed, and the area between the Grand Hotel and the railway station is now a large paved piazza space, that can be used as a hub for events, an open-air market etc. 

Continue down the main road, which changes to Talbot Road.

THE PORT TALBOT RAILWAY AND DOCK COMPANY RAIL TERMINUS

Next door to what was Eagle House was the terminus of the PTRDC railway line.

The old station of the PTRDC railway

The line, founded in 1894, which used to curve round the Aberafan Rugby ground, was built to bring mineral traffic down to the docks from the Ogmore and Garw Valleys, and linked Maesteg with Port Talbot. The main line opened in 1897; although its main business was goods traffic, it did also cater for passengers. 

The passenger service closed by 1933; the mineral traffic declined slowly and the rail network closed, apart from the dock lines, between 1964 and 1967. The buildings were there until at least 1970, though the site was hidden behind a wall topped by advertisement boards. Now a block of flats stands on the site.

Walking on down Talbot Road on the left will be your next QR code sign on the New Plaza: 5.

The Plaza Cinema when still a cinema