The "little houses" of Taibach sprang up at the beginning of the 19th century in the parish of Margam as homes for colliery and other industrial workers, some way away from the historic village centre of Margam. With the expansion of industrial activity in the parish, and, in particular, the foundation of the new port at Port Talbot, the whole area became a single conurbation, as it remains, and Taibach was subsumed within it.
Amenities
The stretch of the A48 road through the area is the main shopping street and is named Commercial Road in the area. Drinking venues in the area are the Surgery pub and The Somerset Arms, which is one of the oldest pubs in the area. The pub also has a football team which was founded by a group of regulars. The area has a Carnegie library and is home to the Talbot Memorial Park, an urban park. In the grounds of the park lies St Theodore's Church. The parish church was built in 1901 by Miss Emily Talbot in honour of Saint Theodore of Tarsus, and in remembrance of her late brother of the same name. The eastern border of the park is formed by the Ffrwdwyllt river. Ffrwdwyllt literally translates to 'wild torrent' in English. The river is popular among local anglers, especially in late autumn. To the east of the area is the Eastern Primary School, this is the school that actor Richard Burton attended as a child under his real name of Richard Jenkins. The old Eastern Primary School is now the Taibach Community Education Centre, and was built the same year as Margam Castle in 1831. Taibach has its own Taibach Rugby Club. The Labour politician and life peer Lord Heycock of Taibach took his title from this area, which had been the home of the Heycock family since about 1800.
Government and politics
Taibach is also the name of an electoral ward coterminous to a community related the district of Taibach. The electoral ward of Taibach includes the district of Taibach and parts of Margam to the southwest and the village of Goytre to the north. However, most of the ward is open countryside and woodland spread over a steep hill. Taibach falls within the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. It is bounded by the wards of Port Talbot and Bryn and Cwmavon to the north; and by Margam to the south. In the 2017 local council elections, the results were:
