Awareness

Cowbridge man’s book looks at a Vale maritime disaster

AN 88-year-old Cowbridge man has written a book that examines the loss of the SS Neath Abbey, which foundered on the coast near Llantwit Major in 1894.

Allan Sutcliffe told the Glamorgan Star: “The book is based on extensive research using original documents held in archives, as well as 19th Century newspapers.   There is a brief account of the development of the Neath Abbey Iron Works, especially its marine engineering business.

“The construction of the ship in 1846 is described and also later lengthening and repairs.   I look at her cross-channel working life and the period when she worked along the Somerset and Devon coast. Passenger traffic, goods traffic and the effect of the coming of railways are discussed.  

“The book concludes with a detailed account of the wreck of the ship in 1894 compiled from statements and evidence given by the survivors and men involved ashore. Local people who tried to save the men on the ship included the lighthouse keepers at the Nash, the Llantwit Coastguard and rocket apparatus crew and a Llantwit doctor.”

The book, entitled SS Neath Abbey, A Bristol Channel Coasting Steamer, is published in paperback at £14.99 and a hardback version is £19.99.   It may be ordered through any local bookseller, such as The Cowbridge Bookshop, or it may be ordered online.

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Founded in early 2021 by ex-Glamorgan GEM staff following its closure during the Covid pandemic. Now, the largest circulated, printed, newspaper or magazine in the Vale of Glamorgan.

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