Pubs are a focal point in many of our communities and, years after they close down, people still remember them with great fondness.
Like in many other towns across the UK, the Port Talbot area has seen several pubs shut down in recent years.
They include iconic buildings such as the Vivian or the Walnut Tree Hotel.
New pubs have opened, bringing a breath of fresh air into the town, but here - with many details provided by Aberavon councillor Nigel Hunt and Sandfields East councillor Sean Pursey, who is also a member of the Port Talbot Historical Society - we remember some of the key pubs we used to love but have now disappeared...
The Vivian
The Vivian Hotel, in Victoria Road, was built in Victorian times - in 1905 - and used as both a hotel and a pub. It was a focal point in the town for many years.
The iconic building was demolished more than a hundred years later, in 2009, after lying empty for some years.
The three-storey building has now been replaced with a development by Coastal Housing . There are 30 flats, together with shops on the ground floor.
The Green Meadow
The former Green Meadow pub, in Marsh Street, .
The Green Meadow began life in the middle of the 19th Century as a row of terraced cottages, but was later developed into a pub and hotel, which had already closed before the fire.
It's not just pubs that have faced tough times:
It was demolished two years later in 2005, with neighbouring homes also razed to make way for a new housing development.
The Bay View, Aberavon
The Bay View Social Club, in Princess Margaret Way, opened in the 1960s and it was hugely popular in its heyday.
Shortly after closing down, the social club was damaged in a fire in March, 2007, and it was then demolished.
The land was empty for several years but, in 2015, planning permission was granted to build 13 homes on the site, which have since been built.
The Railway Tavern
Standing in Water Street, the tavern was built in 1909 to replace an earlier building with the same name. It was the last building before the railway bridge , opposite the old Aberavon Market.
The Railway Tavern had previously been bought at auction for £4,900 in July, 1900, by Evans Bevan, together with two adjacent cottages for £335.
The new building incorporated these two adjacent cottages and became a much larger pub than the original.
The pub, along with much of old Aberavon, was demolished in 1972 to make way for the Aberavon Shopping Centre. The bus station entrance now stands on the site.
The Troubador Club
Located in a basement in Aberafan shopping centre, the club had several names over the years - such as Raffles and then Wall Street.
The Troubador opened in 1978 and some bands that played there went on to become internationally successful, such as The Cure, The Pretenders, and Pulp.
The club - which has its own Facebook page to share memories - is now being used for storage by the nearby shopping centre.
The Oswalds
The Oswalds, in Station Road, was built in the late 1890s and served food and had a dancefloor on weekends.
By 2009, the venue had shut down and reopened as The Eden Club. However, it now lies empty.
A stone plaque at the top of the building is still there and reads 'St Oswalds Chambers'.
In 2008, two men were banned from all pubs and clubs across Neath Port Talbot for 12 months following a violent attack on a bouncer in the venue.
Baglan Bay Hotel
Located in Church Road, The Baglan Bay Hotel was a hugely popular pub.
The pub is understood to have shut down in 2003 and was demolished in 2005.
The Starlight in Aberavon
The Starlight, in Baglan , is one of those venues with an interesting history. It opened as a workingmen's club in the early 1970s and ten years later it became the Starlight.
It had a stage area and different acts would go there to perform. The venue became associated with the 1980s 'Second Summer of Love' raving scene and many have fond memories of the venue .
The Starlight was later demolished in the 1990s and it has now been replaced with a Morrisons.
The Craddock Arms
Situated in Green Park Street, the earliest records of the pub date back to 1873 , when the building was called the ‘Caradoc Arms’ and referred to as a ‘beerhouse’.
The pub closed in September, 2016, and was demolished in March, 2017. The land is now part of the Blanco's car park.
Royal Exchange, Port Talbot
Situated in High Street, The Royal Exchange was demolished in 1972 to make way for the shopping centre.
It was one of the earliest pubs in the town.
The Walnut Tree Hotel
Also demolished in the 1970s to make way for the shopping centre, this pub located in High Street had several names over the years.
It was known as the Walnut Tree Inn as well as the Walnut Tree Tavern.
The Walnut Tree Hotel was an imposing building that was extended twice in the 1800s, but there was a fire in the building shortly before it was due to demolished.
The Jersey Beach hotel
The Jersey Beach Hotel, on Aberavon seafront, was built in 1899-1900 and opened in July, 1900.
There was a a large fire in the hotel in December, 1908, which completely destroyed it.
The hotel was then rebuilt but it closed in 1999.
For many years, it was a key venue in the town - used for functions such as weddings and receptions - and the promenade developed around the hotel.
A fire gutted the building for a second time in the early 2000s and it was then demolished.
A housing development has now been built on the site.
