Tonna, Neath

Coordinates: 51°40′35″N 3°46′23″W / 51.676389°N 3.773056°W / 51.676389; -3.773056

Tonna (Welsh: Tonnau) is the name of a village and a coterminous electoral ward and community in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, located to the north-east of Neath town, of which it is effectively a suburb. Once mainly agricultural fields, the name derives from the archaic Welsh tonnau, meaning grassland and not, as is sometimes assumed, the modern Welsh for "waves". Some areas of pasture remain.

Immediately between Tonna and the adjoining parish of Llanilltud ("Llantwit-juxta-Neath") is a cottage once occupied by the Welsh born engineer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who had arrived at his theory of evolution independently of Charles Darwin, with whom he later corresponded. Eventually Wallace and Darwin jointly presented the first paper on Natural Selection to the Linnean Society.

The village's rugby union team is Tonna RFC.

Government and politics

The electoral ward of Tonna falls within the parliamentary constituency of Neath. The ward consists of a small built-up area of Tonna village to the northwest with rest of the ward consisting of woodland and pasture. Tonna is bounded by the wards of Aberdulais to the north; Resolven to the northeast; Pelenna to the southeast; Cimla and Neath North to the southwest; and Cadoxton to the west.

Neath

Coordinates: 51°40′N 3°49′W / 51.66°N 3.81°W / 51.66; -3.81

Neath (Welsh: Castell-nedd) is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales with a population of 19,258 in 2011. The wider urban area, which includes neighbouring settlements, had a population of 50,658 in 2011.Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the river of the same name, 7 miles (11 km) east northeast of Swansea.

History

Historically, Neath was the crossing place of the River Neath and has existed as a settlement since the Romans established the fort of Nido or Nidum in the AD 70s. The Roman fort took its name from the River Nedd; the meaning is obscure but 'shining' or simply 'river' have been suggested. Neath is the Anglicised form. The Antonine Itinerary (c. 2nd century) names only nine places in Roman Wales, one of them being Neath. There is evidence of undated prehistoric settlements on the hills surrounding the town, which were probably Celtic. The fort covered a large area which now lies under the playing fields of Dŵr-y-Felin Comprehensive School. In the late 1960s, there were reports in the local media of a massive Roman marching camp being found above Llantwit which would have accommodated many thousands of troops.

Neath (disambiguation)

Neath may refer to:

Neath (UK Parliament constituency)

Neath (Welsh: Castell-nedd) is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election and one Assembly Member by the first past the post system of election.

History

The constituency is located in the preserved county of West Glamorgan, Wales. It consists of the electoral wards of: Aberdulais, Allt-wen, Blaengwrach, Bryn-côch North, Bryn-côch South, Cadoxton, Cimla, Crynant, Cwmllynfell, Dyffryn, Glynneath, Godre'r Graig, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Lower Brynamman, Neath East, Neath North, Neath South, Onllwyn, Pelenna, Pontardawe, Resolven, Rhos, Seven Sisters, Tonna, Trebanos, Ystalyfera.

The Neath constituency is a mixture of both industrial and rural communities, running in a north-south strip along the dips, ridges and folded landscape of South Wales. It includes most of the Neath and Dulais valleys, and some of the Upper Swansea Valley as well. The town of Neath is at its southern end and is a medium-sized town which started life as a Roman Nidum.