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143-457: Briton Ferry ( Welsh : Llansawel ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot , Wales . The Welsh name may indicate that the church, llan , is protected from the wind, awel . Alternatively, Sawel may be a derivative of Saul, St Paul's earlier name, who, supposedly, once landed at Briton Ferry. An alternative Welsh name unused today is Rhyd y Brython , a direct translation of Briton Ferry. The Normans referred to
286-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
429-586: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
572-456: A building constructed for Weaver and Co mills claimed to be the first entirely ferroconcrete building in the United Kingdom. So important was Briton Ferry for trade with France that Mouchel was, from 1879 to his death, French Consular Agent to Briton Ferry, Talbot, Porthcawl and Neath Abbey. Most housing in the 19th century was built by local private builders, sometimes for local industry or
715-433: A candidate at the renowned engineering school École Polytechnique , but as a foreigner, he was deemed ineligible for entry. Brunel subsequently studied under the prominent master clockmaker and horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet , who praised Brunel's potential in letters to his father. In late 1822, having completed his apprenticeship, Brunel returned to England. Brunel worked for several years as an assistant engineer on
858-647: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
1001-582: A fire aboard the ship as she was returning from fitting out in London. As the fire delayed the launch several days, the Great Western missed its opportunity to claim the title as the first ship to cross the Atlantic under steam power alone. Even with a four-day head start , the competing Sirius arrived only one day earlier, having virtually exhausted its coal supply. In contrast, the Great Western crossing of
1144-617: A grade II listed monument in 2007) and at Starcross . A section of the pipe, without the leather covers, is preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre . In 2017, inventor Max Schlienger unveiled a working model of an updated atmospheric railroad at his vineyard in the Northern California town of Ukiah. Brunel had proposed extending its transport network by boat from Bristol across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City before
1287-542: A happy childhood, despite the family's constant money worries, with his father acting as his teacher during his early years. His father taught him drawing and observational techniques from the age of four, and Brunel had learned Euclidean geometry by eight. During this time, he learned to speak French fluently and the basic principles of engineering. He was encouraged to draw interesting buildings and identify any faults in their structure, and like his father he demonstrated an aptitude for mathematics and mechanics. When Brunel
1430-411: A large six-bladed propeller into his design for the 322-foot (98 m) Great Britain , which was launched in 1843. Great Britain is considered the first modern ship, being built of metal rather than wood, powered by an engine rather than wind or oars, and driven by propeller rather than paddle wheel. She was the first iron-hulled, propeller-driven ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Her maiden voyage
1573-565: A larger ship would take proportionately less fuel than a smaller ship. To test this theory, Brunel offered his services for free to the Great Western Steamship Company, which appointed him to its building committee and entrusted him with designing its first ship, the Great Western . When it was built, the Great Western was the longest ship in the world at 236 ft (72 m) with a 250-foot (76 m) keel . The ship
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#17328557305961716-589: A major means of transport for goods. This influenced Brunel's involvement in railway engineering, including railway bridge engineering. In 1833, before the Thames Tunnel was complete, Brunel was appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway , one of the wonders of Victorian Britain, running from London to Bristol and later Exeter . The company was founded at a public meeting in Bristol in 1833, and
1859-510: A maximum depth of 7.1 metres (7.8 yd). Between them, 200 vessels a year are handled. In 1875, the French-born engineer Louis Gustave Mouchel established himself in Briton Ferry and quickly became involved in several successful enterprises. His consultancy company was directly responsible for introducing ferroconcrete (also called reinforced concrete) to Britain. In neighbouring Swansea,
2002-645: A paper converter new to Baglan Energy Park , employs a workforce of 447. The park has the potential to create and accommodate 7,000 jobs over the next 25 years. £15 million has been invested in a solar energy farm on the park. Baglan Energy Park's on-site power generation provides competitively priced electricity to businesses within the area using a combined-cycle gas turbine power plant. In Jersey Marine, Amazon opened its 74,000 m (800,000 sq ft) distribution warehouse in 2008. Briton Ferry had its Urban District Council from 1895 to 1922, when it formed part of Aberavon Parliamentary Constituency. The growth of
2145-427: A series of steamships including the first purpose-built transatlantic steamship , and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering firsts, including assisting his father in
2288-601: A series of technical achievements— viaducts such as the one in Ivybridge , specially designed stations, and tunnels including the Box Tunnel , which was the longest railway tunnel in the world at that time. With the opening of the Box Tunnel, the line from London to Bristol was complete and ready for trains on 30 June 1841. The initial group of locomotives ordered by Brunel to his own specifications proved unsatisfactory, apart from
2431-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
2574-414: A single gate , which included a buoyancy chamber. It covered an area of 23.7 acres (9.6 ha). The gate was 56 feet (17 m) wide, and the unique structure with its floating caisson was designed by Brunel 's father, Sir Marc Brunel . Following Brunel's death in 1859, Robert Brereton took over as engineer and also acted as engineer for improvements made in 1872 and 1873. The company went bankrupt and
2717-474: A train ferry across the Hamoaze —the estuary of the tidal Tamar , Tavy and Lynher . The bridge (of bowstring girder or tied arch construction) consists of two main spans of 455 ft (139 m), 100 ft (30 m) above mean high spring tide , plus 17 much shorter approach spans. Opened by Prince Albert on 2 May 1859, it was completed in the year of Brunel's death. Several of Brunel's bridges over
2860-511: A year, from 1847 (experimental service began in September; operations from February 1848) to 10 September 1848. Deterioration of the valve due to the reaction of tannin and iron oxide has been cited as the last straw that sank the project, as the continuous valve began to tear from its rivets over most of its length, and the estimated replacement cost of £25,000 was considered prohibitive. The system never managed to prove itself. The accounts of
3003-995: Is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
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#17328557305963146-736: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( / ˈ ɪ z ə m b ɑːr d ˈ k ɪ ŋ d ə m b r uː ˈ n ɛ l / IZZ -əm-bard KING -dəm broo- NELL ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859)
3289-667: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
3432-532: Is currently in the parliamentary constituency of Aberafan Maesteg, having been in Neath constituency from 1945 until 1983. The current MP is Stephen Kinnock , while the current Senedd Member is David Rees along with four regional members for South Wales West . The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West . Today, the Town Council consists of twelve members and meets monthly in
3575-584: Is designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales . Rhoddfa Clarke is the name of the inclined part of the South Wales Mineral Railway , the lowest, level part of which now forms Jersey Park. Here rope-hauled coal wagons delivered coal from Glyncorrwg to Briton Ferry dock. Above the dense matrix of streets and busy roads of Briton Ferry,
3718-464: Is served by two principal operators. The first, Transport for Wales , runs regional trains to Swansea and West Wales and also to Cardiff and Manchester via the Welsh Marches line . In contrast, First Great Western trains from Swansea to London do not stop here. The typical service pattern has been one train approximately every two hours in each direction, but Transport for Wales, which took over
3861-505: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
4004-712: Is the presence of a cromlech . At Crymlyn Burrows , an unlooped Bronze Age axe (c.1400 BC) was discovered. The town was part of the Briton Ferry Estate, whose lands belonged to Margam Abbey before they passed on, in turn, to the Mansel, Villiers , and Vernon families (Earls of Jersey). It had been owned by the Price family of Briton Ferry in the early 17th century until the Mansels inherited it. There it remained until Louisa Barbara Mansell married George Venables Vernon in 1757. There
4147-704: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
4290-494: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
4433-461: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
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4576-692: The East London Line now incorporated into the London Overground . Brunel is perhaps best remembered for designs for the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol , begun in 1831. The bridge was built to designs based on Brunel's, but with significant changes. Spanning over 702 ft (214 m), and nominally 249 ft (76 m) above the River Avon , it had the longest span of any bridge in
4719-525: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
4862-458: The Great Western Railway took over the docks until they were closed in 1959. The inner basin has been largely built upon. In 2000, the dock walls and lock gate were Grade 2 listed for their industrial and archaeological interest as the major surviving built component of Brunel's docks. The dock is a scheduled Ancient Monument. As part of a regeneration programme instigated by Briton Ferry Brunel Dock Trust in 2005 to preserve, restore and maintain
5005-553: The Jersey Marine gap between the isolated hills, which formed a rocky ridge between Briton Ferry and Jersey Marine. Beyond the ridge, the sands of Baglan Bay extended into Briton Ferry until the mid-nineteenth century when the estuary’s saltings were developed for industry. Today, the river crossing comprises two bridge crossings which carry the M4 motorway and A483 road across the river. There are remains of ancient Iron Age hill forts on
5148-561: The Marlborough Downs —an area with no significant towns, though it offered potential connections to Oxford and Gloucester —and then to follow the Thames Valley into London. His decision to use broad gauge for the line was controversial in that almost all British railways to date had used standard gauge . Brunel said that this was nothing more than a carry-over from the mine railways that George Stephenson had worked on prior to making
5291-536: The North Star locomotive , and 20-year-old Daniel Gooch (later Sir Daniel) was appointed as Superintendent of Locomotive Engines . Brunel and Gooch chose to locate their locomotive works at the village of Swindon , at the point where the gradual ascent from London turned into the steeper descent to the Avon valley at Bath . After Brunel's death, the decision was taken that standard gauge should be used for all railways in
5434-727: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
5577-915: The Royal Albert Bridge spanning the River Tamar at Saltash near Plymouth , Somerset Bridge (an unusual laminated timber-framed bridge near Bridgwater ), the Windsor Railway Bridge , and the Maidenhead Railway Bridge over the Thames in Berkshire . This last was the flattest, widest brick arch bridge in the world and is still carrying main line trains to the west, even though today's trains are about ten times heavier than in Brunel's time. Throughout his railway building career, but particularly on
5720-576: The SS ; Great Western (1838), the SS Great Britain (1843), and the SS Great Eastern (1859). In 2002, Brunel was placed second in a BBC public poll to determine the " 100 Greatest Britons ". In 2006, the bicentenary of his birth, a major programme of events celebrated his life and work under the name Brunel 200 . Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born on 9 April 1806 in Britain Street, Portsea , Portsmouth , Hampshire , where his father
5863-553: The South Devon and Cornwall Railways where economy was needed and there were many valleys to cross, Brunel made extensive use of wood for the construction of substantial viaducts; these have had to be replaced over the years as their primary material, Kyanised Baltic Pine, became uneconomical to obtain. Brunel designed the Royal Albert Bridge in 1855 for the Cornwall Railway, after Parliament rejected his original plan for
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6006-649: The Steel Company of Wales in 1947. By 1953, only the Albion Steelworks remained in the town, all other tinplate production having ceased. The Albion Steelworks, which had used oil to fuel its largest open-hearth furnace, closed in November 1978 and was demolished within a year. This was followed by the closure of the ship-breaker and steel supplier Thos. W. Ward in 1983. The firm at Giant's Grave, which operated from 1906 until 1979, broke up 197 merchant ships and 94 Admiralty. The steel and tinplate industry's demise in
6149-455: The Teredo [Shipworm] suggested to Mr. Brunel his method of tunnelling the Thames." The composition of the riverbed at Rotherhithe was often little more than waterlogged sediment and loose gravel. An ingenious tunnelling shield designed by Marc Brunel helped protect workers from cave-ins, but two incidents of severe flooding halted work for long periods, killing several workers and badly injuring
6292-618: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
6435-546: The Wales and Borders franchise in October 2018, intends to operate further services. The town is served by twelve local services and three express services which pickup from various stops within the town. The local buses are operated by First Cymru and cater for local shoppers, colleges and hospitals in the Neath-Port Talbot area, while the express services are provided to reach Bridgend , Maesteg and Swansea. The M4 and
6578-525: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
6721-625: The "wrong" side of Britain to receive oil supplies from the North Sea. This situation, along with a further decline in demand for its products, gradually reduced the size of the plant, and in 2004 it closed entirely. BP's oil refinery at Llandarcy closed four years later. The Metal Box Company 's closure was announced in 2015, and its premises were bought by Neath-Port Talbot Council in 2017. The industrial revolution brought much expansion to Briton Ferry, including ironworks, steelworks, tinplate production and engineering. Production generally lasted until
6864-584: The 1850s, the Briton Ferry Floating Dock Company was incorporated and bought land from the Earl of Jersey to build the Briton Ferry Docks. When it opened in 1861, the dock consisted of an outer tidal basin which had round-ended jetties at its mouth and quays along its sides and an inner floating dock of 5.3 hectares, enclosed by masonry walls and sandstone. The water level was maintained by
7007-532: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
7150-538: The 1970s. In 1951, as the industry began to dwindle, portions of the estate were sold to the Principality Property Co., Estateways Builders, John Oliver Watkins, the City & Provincial Housing Association, and Gwalia Land & Property Developments Ltd. The economic transformation of the area in the second half of the last century resulted in few original industries surviving in the town, though new industries have been created in Neath-Port Talbot's adjacent communities of Baglan, Jersey Marine and Melyncryddan. Intertissue,
7293-409: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
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#17328557305967436-420: The 20th century. Like many of Brunel's ambitious projects, the ship soon ran over budget and behind schedule in the face of a series of technical problems. The ship has been portrayed as a white elephant , but it has been argued by David P. Billington that in this case, Brunel's failure was principally one of economics—his ships were simply years ahead of their time. His vision and engineering innovations made
7579-456: The A483 bypass the town to relieve the traffic on the A474 , a former Roman road, which runs through the town parallel to the main railway line and connects Neath with Port Talbot. Construction of the first river bridge crossing took place from 1949–1955 and was one of the first large-scale road bridges to be constructed in Britain after World War II as part of the A48 Neath bypass road scheme. It comprises two viaducts. The western viaduct crosses
7722-414: The Admiralty included, the experiments were judged by Brunel to be a failure on the grounds of fuel economy alone, and were discontinued after 1834. In 1865, the East London Railway Company purchased the Thames Tunnel for £200,000, and four years later the first trains passed through it. Subsequently, the tunnel became part of the London Underground system, and it remains in use today, originally as part of
7865-449: The Albion and Briton Ferry Steelworks. Taylor's Foundry, Baglan Engineering and Thos. W. Ward serviced these industries. They were built on land close to the River Neath and the South Wales Railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel . The industrial development attracted other railways, including the Neath and Brecon Railway , the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway , and the South Wales Mineral Railway with its cable-powered incline. In
8008-430: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
8151-426: The Atlantic took 15 days and five hours, and the ship arrived at her destination with a third of its coal still remaining, demonstrating that Brunel's calculations were correct. The Great Western had proved the viability of commercial transatlantic steamship service, which led the Great Western Steamboat Company to use her in regular service between Bristol and New York from 1838 to 1846. She made 64 crossings, and
8294-445: The Council Chamber at the Community Resource Centre, the community-managed library. The railway was important in the town's industrial development town, and much of the core rail infrastructure remains. The town is served by the Briton Ferry railway station , which is now accessed from Shelone Road. It is near the Cwrt Sart junction, where the Swansea District Line meets the South Wales Main Line . For passenger services, Briton Ferry
8437-460: The Great Western Railway might be demolished because the line is to be electrified, and there is inadequate clearance for overhead wires. Buckinghamshire County Council is negotiating to have further options pursued, in order that all nine of the remaining historic bridges on the line can be saved. When the Cornwall Railway company constructed a railway line between Plymouth and Truro , opening in 1859, and extended it to Falmouth in 1863, on
8580-465: The Great Western Railway opened in 1835. The Great Western Steamship Company was formed by Thomas Guppy for that purpose. It was widely disputed whether it would be commercially viable for a ship powered purely by steam to make such long journeys. Technological developments in the early 1830s—including the invention of the surface condenser , which allowed boilers to run on salt water without stopping to be cleaned—made longer journeys more possible, but it
8723-406: The Great Western Railway. The Didcot Railway Centre has a reconstructed segment of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) track as designed by Brunel and working steam locomotives in the same gauge. Parts of society viewed the railways more negatively. Some landowners felt the railways were a threat to amenities or property values and others requested tunnels on their land so
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#17328557305968866-434: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
9009-463: The Neath Valley via Neath Canal and unloaded iron ore and limestone. The canal was completed in 1797, becoming the second in Glamorgan, running 14 miles (22.53 km) from Abernant to Briton Ferry. 1841 Neath Abbey Iron Co laid plans for an ironwork on the east bank of the river at Warren Hill. With the development of railways in the second half of the 19th century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed Briton Ferry Dock to handle coal and other goods for
9152-411: The River Avon to survey the bank of the river for the route. Brunel even designed the Royal Hotel in Bath which opened in 1846 opposite the railway station. Brunel made two controversial decisions: to use a broad gauge of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ) for the track, which he believed would offer superior running at high speeds; and to take a route that passed north of
9295-427: The River Neath, and the eastern viaduct crosses the former dock area of Briton Ferry and the South Wales main railway line. The second road crossing was completed in 1994 to carry the London to Wales M4 motorway across the River Neath to supersede the A48. Briton Ferry has junction J42, which is 184 miles (296 km) from the motorway's eastern end and 15 mi (24 km) from its western at Pont Abraham. It filled
9438-418: The River crossing as La Brittonne and Leland in 1540 as Britanne Fery. Briton Ferry is on the mouth of the River Neath , where it enters Swansea Bay , and is the first river crossing along the Roman road that follows the coastline along that part of South Wales . A milestone dedicated to Victorinus , a former Roman Governor in Gaul and Britain, was found at nearby Baglan. The ferry boat crossing
9581-433: The SDR for 1848 suggest that atmospheric traction cost 3s 1d (three shillings and one penny) per mile compared to 1s 4d/mile for conventional steam power (because of the many operating issues associated with the atmospheric, few of which were solved during its working life, the actual cost efficiency proved impossible to calculate). Several South Devon Railway engine houses still stand, including that at Totnes (scheduled as
9724-483: The Vale of Neath Railway. It opened in 1861 following the town's ironworks in 1846 and the Red Jacket and Briton Ferry Copperworks on the West Bank of the river in 1849 and 1853. The 1860s saw the start of tinplate manufacturing from puddled iron until steel-making started in the town at the end of the 19th century. Further industrialisation brought factories such as the Vernon, Gwalia, Wern, Baglan Bay Tinplate , and Whitford Sheet Works, receiving their raw material from
9867-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
10010-436: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
10153-421: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
10296-515: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
10439-481: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
10582-654: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
10725-418: The advice of Brunel, they constructed the river crossings in the form of wooden viaducts, 42 in total , consisting of timber deck spans supported by fans of timber bracing built on masonry piers. This unusual method of construction substantially reduced the first cost of construction compared to an all-masonry structure, but at the cost of more expensive maintenance. In 1934 the last of Brunel's timber viaducts
10868-414: The air from a pipe placed in the centre of the track. The section from Exeter to Newton (now Newton Abbot ) was completed on this principle, and trains ran at approximately 68 miles per hour (109 km/h). Pumping stations with distinctive square chimneys were sited at two-mile intervals. Fifteen-inch (381 mm) pipes were used on the level portions, and 22-inch (559 mm) pipes were intended for
11011-465: The bridge finished, although his colleagues and admirers at the Institution of Civil Engineers felt it would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds and to amend the design. Work recommenced in 1862, three years after Brunel's death, and was completed in 1864. In 2011, it was suggested, by historian and biographer Adrian Vaughan, that Brunel did not design the bridge, as eventually built, as
11154-446: The building of large-scale, propeller-driven, all-metal steamships a practical reality, but the prevailing economic and industrial conditions meant that it would be several decades before transoceanic steamship travel emerged as a viable industry. Great Eastern was built at John Scott Russell 's Napier Yard in London, and after two trial trips in 1859, set forth on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 17 June 1860. Though
11297-552: The building of the first tunnel under a navigable river (the River Thames ) and the development of the SS Great Britain , the first propeller-driven, ocean-going iron ship, which, when launched in 1843, was the largest ship ever built. On the GWR, Brunel set standards for a well-built railway, using careful surveys to minimise gradients and curves. This necessitated expensive construction techniques, new bridges, new viaducts, and
11440-456: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
11583-592: The constituency Labour Party. Ramsay MacDonald was associated with the tradition and represented the town as MP within the Aberavon constituency. He became the leader of the opposition in 1922 and became Prime Minister in 1924. His constituency office was at Chequers in Briton Ferry. Many speakers visited the town at that time, including Bertrand Russell , Norman Angell , Keir Hardie , Ernest Bevin , Thomas Mann , E. D. Morel , Charlotte Despard , Emmeline, and Sylvia Pankhurst . For mainly political reasons, thirty-seven of
11726-498: The country. At the original Welsh terminus of the Great Western railway at Neyland , sections of the broad gauge rails are used as handrails at the quayside, and information boards there depict various aspects of Brunel's life. There is also a larger-than-life bronze statue of him holding a steamship in one hand and a locomotive in the other. The statue has been replaced after an earlier theft. The present London Paddington station
11869-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
12012-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
12155-470: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
12298-418: The final 6.2 mi (10 km) gap in the motorway between Newport and west Wales, Its completion presented formidable problems, with extensive industrial and commercial development, estuarine flood-lands and the navigable River Neath all lying in the path of possible routes. John Mills 's sculpture at the southern end of the town, The Crossing , symbolises the town's industrial and maritime history through
12441-585: The floating dock, and north of the M4 and A48 crossings. Huw Pudner and Chris Hastings, two local songwriters, wrote "Giants Grave", a song about the ship-breaking industry in Briton Ferry which was featured in the film The History of Briton Ferry by Jason May. The wharves at Briton Ferry are run by Neath Port Authority, the most important of which are Giant's Wharf, which handles steel, scrap, coke, coal and machine parts, and Ironworks Wharf, which handles minerals such as sand and cement. They offer tidal and river berths with
12584-485: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
12727-579: The heritage of Brunel's historic site and its structures for public benefit, a tower, which formed part of the complex, was refurbished. It was an accumulator tower for the hydraulic system , which operated the dock gate and cranes. The system was designed by William Armstrong , and in 2010, the Institution of Civil Engineers unveiled a plaque at the site to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth. The outer basin has potential use by fishing boats and yachts . The ship-breaking of WW2 ships, such as HMS Bermuda , took place at Giant's Grave upstream of
12870-553: The high-rise housing and much of the earliest housing near the docks was demolished and replaced by more municipal housing. As a participant in the Swansea Bay City Deal, Neath-Port Talbot Council aims for a share in the project to future-proof at least 10,300 properties over five years by making low carbon, energy-efficient homes, with 7,000 retro-fitted to existing houses and 3,300 newly built. A consortium of steel and tinplate producers consolidated all tinplate mills to create
13013-463: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
13156-469: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
13299-413: The hills around Briton Ferry, they are named Buarth-y-Gaer and Gaer Fawr , and situated on Mynydd-y-Gaer alongside the boundary with Baglan . A Neolithic stone is in place within the grounds of Cwrt Sart school. A plaque alongside the stone is inscribed, "When removed, it will speak but once to reveal its secret, and then remain silent forever." One explanation for the name of the nearby Giant's Grave
13442-451: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
13585-471: The importance of its bridges and river crossing. Jersey Park has been an exceptionally well-preserved, urban public park since its opening in 1925, the land having been gifted originally by the Earl of Jersey in 1908. Its original layout of formal and informal areas remains complete and includes sports facilities. Planting in the park is diverse and interesting, with an emphasis on evergreen trees and shrubs. The park
13728-587: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
13871-547: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
14014-546: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
14157-423: The later changes to its design were substantial. His views reflected a sentiment stated fifty-two years earlier by Tom Rolt in his 1959 book Brunel. Re-engineering of suspension chains recovered from an earlier suspension bridge was one of many reasons given why Brunel's design could not be followed exactly. Hungerford Bridge , a suspension footbridge across the Thames near Charing Cross Station in London,
14300-610: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
14443-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
14586-432: The park and incline give access to Craig y Darren Woods and offers some respite from the town's traffic. This ancient woodland is crisscrossed by a network of footpaths offering congenial walks with dramatic views of the town and Swansea Bay. Briton Ferry is twinned with Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] )
14729-464: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
14872-534: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
15015-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
15158-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
15301-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
15444-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
15587-473: The project to create a tunnel under London's River Thames between Rotherhithe and Wapping , with tunnellers driving a horizontal shaft from one side of the river to the other under the most difficult and dangerous conditions. The project was funded by the Thames Tunnel Company and Brunel's father, Marc, was the chief engineer. The American Naturalist said, "It is stated also that the operations of
15730-585: The railway could not be seen. Though unsuccessful, another of Brunel's uses of technical innovations was the atmospheric railway , the extension of the Great Western Railway (GWR) southward from Exeter towards Plymouth , technically the South Devon Railway (SDR), though supported by the GWR. Instead of using locomotives , the trains were moved by Clegg and Samuda's patented system of atmospheric ( vacuum ) traction, whereby stationary pumps sucked
15873-513: The railways. This can be seen at Giant’s Grave, Warren Hill, and near the dock. Municipal housing in Briton Ferry started as a result of the Housing of the Workers Act 1890 and continued as a result of 20th-century housing legislation just before and following World War II . High-rise housing was attempted in the 1950s due to a shortage of building land, but it was not a success. In the late 20th century
16016-457: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
16159-454: The second half of the twentieth century was followed in the first two decades by closures of other local firms that had employed many from Briton Ferry. BP Chemicals opened its plant at nearby Baglan Bay in 1963, quickly expanding into one of the biggest petrochemical sites in Europe; by 1974 it was employing 2500 staff. The advent of North Sea oil proved injurious since its location meant it was on
16302-627: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
16445-409: The steeper gradients. The technology required the use of leather flaps to seal the vacuum pipes. The natural oils were drawn out of the leather by the vacuum, making the leather vulnerable to water, rotting it and breaking the fibres when it froze during the winter of 1847. It had to be kept supple with tallow , which is attractive to rats . The flaps were eaten, and vacuum operation lasted less than
16588-471: The town's metals industries at that time was accompanied by the growth of independent working-class representation and strong socialist, internationalist, and pacifist traditions. Prominent Independent Labour Party representatives were Councillor Joe Branch, Ivor O. Thomas and Ivor H. Thomas , the founder of the South Wales branch of the National Council for Civil Liberties . Branch was the first chair of
16731-435: The town's residents were imprisoned during World War I for opposing conscription. Along with seventy objectors from Aberavon and district, these communities provided the country's strongest opposition to the war, despite the town's loss of 120 soldiers' lives during World War I. The town had the distinction of providing Parliament with four MPs during 1955: Dai L. Mort, Ivor O. Thomas, Raymond Gower and Ronald Rees. The town
16874-485: The two-mile-long (3.2 km) Box Tunnel . One controversial feature was the " broad gauge " of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in ( 2,140 mm ), instead of what was later to be known as " standard gauge " of 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ). He astonished Britain by proposing to extend the GWR westward to North America by building steam-powered, iron-hulled ships. He designed and built three ships that revolutionised naval engineering:
17017-518: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
17160-514: The world at the time of construction. Brunel submitted four designs to a committee headed by Thomas Telford , but Telford rejected all entries, proposing his own design instead. Vociferous opposition from the public forced the organising committee to hold a new competition, which was won by Brunel. Afterwards, Brunel wrote to his brother-in-law, the politician Benjamin Hawes : "Of all the wonderful feats I have performed, since I have been in this part of
17303-408: The world's first passenger railway. Brunel proved through both calculation and a series of trials that his broader gauge was the optimum size for providing both higher speeds and a stable and comfortable ride to passengers. In addition the wider gauge allowed for larger goods wagons and thus greater freight capacity. Drawing on Brunel's experience with the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western contained
17446-544: The world, I think yesterday I performed the most wonderful. I produced unanimity among 15 men who were all quarrelling about that most ticklish subject—taste". Work on the Clifton bridge started in 1831, but was suspended due to the Queen Square riots caused by the arrival of Sir Charles Wetherell in Clifton. The riots drove away investors, leaving no money for the project, and construction ceased. Brunel did not live to see
17589-402: The younger Brunel. The latter incident, in 1828, killed the two most senior miners, and Brunel himself narrowly escaped death. He was seriously injured and spent six months recuperating, during which time he began a design for a bridge in Bristol, which would later be completed as the Clifton Suspension Bridge . The event stopped work on the tunnel for several years. Though the Thames Tunnel
17732-491: Was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engineering giants", and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution , [who] changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions". Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR),
17875-608: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
18018-471: Was constructed mainly from wood, but Brunel added bolts and iron diagonal reinforcements to maintain the keel's strength. In addition to its steam-powered paddle wheels , the ship carried four masts for sails. The Great Western embarked on her maiden voyage from Avonmouth , Bristol, to New York on 8 April 1838 with 600 long tons (610,000 kg) of coal, cargo and seven passengers on board. Brunel himself missed this initial crossing, having been injured during
18161-400: Was cutting-edge technology for her time: almost 700 ft (210 m) long, fitted out with the most luxurious appointments, and capable of carrying over 4,000 passengers. Great Eastern was designed to cruise non-stop from London to Sydney and back (since engineers of the time mistakenly believed that Australia had no coal reserves), and she remained the largest ship built until the start of
18304-425: Was designed by Brunel and opened in 1854. Examples of his designs for smaller stations on the Great Western and associated lines which survive in good condition include Mortimer , Charlbury and Bridgend (all Italianate ) and Culham ( Tudorbethan ). Surviving examples of wooden train sheds in his style are at Frome and Kingswear . The Swindon Steam Railway Museum has many artefacts from Brunel's time on
18447-488: Was dismantled and replaced by a masonry structure. Brunel's last major undertaking was the unique Three Bridges, London . Work began in 1856, and was completed in 1859. The three bridges in question are arranged to allow the routes of the Grand Junction Canal , Great Western and Brentford Railway , and Windmill Lane to cross each other. In the early part of Brunel's life, the use of railways began to take off as
18590-649: Was eight, he was sent to Dr Morrell's boarding school in Hove , where he learned classics . His father, a Frenchman by birth, was determined that Brunel should have access to the high-quality education he had enjoyed in his youth in France. Accordingly, at the age of 14, the younger Brunel was enrolled first at the University of Caen , then at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. When Brunel was 15, his father, who had accumulated debts of over £5,000,
18733-456: Was eventually completed during Marc Brunel's lifetime, his son had no further involvement with the tunnel proper, only using the abandoned works at Rotherhithe to further his abortive Gaz experiments. This was based on an idea of his father's and was intended to develop into an engine that ran on power generated from alternately heating and cooling carbon dioxide made from ammonium carbonate and sulphuric acid. Despite interest from several parties,
18876-448: Was generally thought that a ship would not be able to carry enough fuel for the trip and have room for commercial cargo. Brunel applied the experimental evidence of Beaufoy and further developed the theory that the amount a ship could carry increased as the cube of its dimensions, whereas the amount of resistance a ship experienced from the water as it travelled increased by only a square of its dimensions. This would mean that moving
19019-568: Was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1835. It was Brunel's vision that passengers would be able to purchase one ticket at London Paddington and travel from London to New York, changing from the Great Western Railway to the Great Western steamship at the terminus in Neyland , West Wales. He surveyed the entire length of the route between London and Bristol himself, with the help of many including his solicitor Jeremiah Osborne of Bristol Law Firm Osborne Clarke who on one occasion rowed Brunel down
19162-429: Was leased for 99 years to John Vigurs and subsequently passed to Wright, Butler & Co. Ltd, then to Baldwins Ltd. The terraces of houses built on this land were sublet in 1897 and 1898 for the remainder of the term of this lease, but many were declared unfit for habitation in the 1930s and demolished. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, coastal shipping at Giant's Grave's wharves loaded coal for export from pits in
19305-526: Was made in August and September 1845, from Liverpool to New York. In 1846, she was run aground at Dundrum, County Down . She was salvaged and employed in the Australian service . She is currently fully preserved and open to the public in Bristol, UK. In 1852 Brunel turned to a third ship, larger than her predecessors, intended for voyages to India and Australia. The Great Eastern (originally dubbed Leviathan )
19448-475: Was no male issue, so she left the estate to her godson George, Earl of Jersey. He modernised and reduced the size of the estate to ensure its viability. As early as the 1660s, primitive forges existed at Briton Ferry, later using local coal from small pits such as Price's Drift, but Briton Ferry's marine location stimulated its industrial development. In 1840, an area of about 750 acres (3.0 km) of land in Cwmafan
19591-513: Was opened in May 1845. Its central span was 676.5 feet (206.2 m), and its cost was £106,000. It was replaced by a new railway bridge in 1859, and the suspension chains were used to complete the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The Clifton Suspension Bridge still stands, and over 4 million vehicles traverse it every year. Brunel designed many bridges for his railway projects, including
19734-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
19877-505: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
20020-547: Was sent to a debtors' prison . After three months went by with no prospect of release, Marc Brunel let it be known that he was considering an offer from the Tsar of Russia . In August 1821, facing the prospect of losing a prominent engineer, the government relented and issued Marc £5,000 to clear his debts in exchange for his promise to remain in Britain. When Brunel completed his studies at Henri-IV in 1822, his father had him presented as
20163-462: Was some 2 miles (3.2 km) from the bridge across the River Neath at Neath . At certain low tides, it was possible to walk across the river via a ford close to the ferry route using stepping stones. Briton Ferry lies on the heavily fractured ground near the mouth of the River Neath on a line between the upper and middle coal measures . The original course of the River Neath may have been through
20306-487: Was the first ship to hold the Blue Riband with a crossing time of 13 days westbound and 12 days 6 hours eastbound. The service was commercially successful enough for a sister ship to be required, which Brunel was asked to design. Brunel had become convinced of the superiority of propeller -driven ships over paddle wheels. After tests conducted aboard the propeller-driven steamship Archimedes , he incorporated
20449-497: Was working on block-making machinery . He was named Isambard after his father, the French civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel , and Kingdom after his English mother, Sophia Kingdom . His mother's sister, Elizabeth Kingdom, was married to Thomas Mudge Jr, son of Thomas Mudge the horologist . He had two elder sisters, Sophia, the eldest child, and Emma. The whole family moved to London in 1808 for his father's work. Brunel had
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