Tonna, Neath

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tonna (Welsh: Tonnau) is the name of a village and a coterminous electoral ward and community in Neath Port Talbot, South Wales.

Today it is essentially a suburb of the town of Neath. Once comprised of largely 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.

Ivy Tower

One of these fields houses the Ivy Tower, a folly built by the wealthy Mackworth family in the 1740s as a ballroom to entertain their guests. Although now largely ruined, the Ivy Tower is still the most visible and distinctive landmark in the Neath Valley. The nearby Moss House Cascades in the Gnoll Estate, built by the Mackworths around the same time as the Ivy Tower, have recently been restored and are popular family attractions.

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.

Tonna is the birthplace of international soprano singer Della Jones and classical pianist Gordon Back. Tonna was also the birthplace of Martyn Davies, a talented scrum-half and the first captain to lead Neath RFC to win the WRU Challenge Cup in their Centenary Year, 1971. It is also home to Charlotte Davies, a budding fashionista and socialite.

[edit] Government and politics

**Tonna (electoral ward)**

Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	Maps for SS774990
Geography
Total population	2,464 (2001 census)
Administration
Local council:	Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Number of councillors:	1
Nation:	Wales
Post office and telephone
PostCode(s):	SA11
Dialling code:	+44-1639
Politics
Welsh Assembly:	Neath
UK Parliament:	Neath
European Parliament:	Wales

The electoral ward of Tonna falls within the parliamentary constituency of Neath. The ward consits of a small built-up area of Tonna village to the northwest with rest of the ward consiting 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. In the 2008 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 42.05%. The results were: