Monastic Baths is a Grade II* listed building in the Neath Port Talbot local planning authority area, Wales. First listed on 25 April 2000. Baths.

Monastic Baths

WRENN ID
mired-cloister-thrush
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Neath Port Talbot
Constituency
Aberafan Maesteg MP: Stephen Kinnock (Lab)
Country
Wales
Date first listed
25 April 2000
Type
Baths
Address
Monastic Baths, Cwm Bach, Margam
OS grid reference
SS 803 869
Coordinates
51.56846, -3.72842
Source
Cadw listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Monastic Baths is a rectangular structure made of rubble stone, featuring a keeled vaulted roof that is covered in vegetation. The northern and western sides are built into the bank, while the southern and eastern sides stand free. The ground slopes sharply to the east towards the Afon Cwm Bach, which leads into the abbey fishpond, now a lake. There is a shallow pointed arched entrance at the southern end, with a head made of narrow raked stones and a triangular keystone resting on impost blocks. Sockets at spring level suggest the presence of a door or gate.

On the eastern side, there is one small lancet window with wide splayed reveals and a stone sill. The western wall has a wide recess, and there is a bench at the northern end. An L-shaped pool is surrounded by paving, with steps leading down from the southern end, and a water inlet channel is located to the north.

Local climate

Monastic Baths sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,220 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 92% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 95% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 23 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 76% of listed buildings. Of these, 9 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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