Approval is being sought for two Blue Plaques to commemorate Port Talbot Hollywood legend Richard Burton and Philip Burton, the cultured schoolmaster and later adoptive father who propelled him to fame.
And endorsement of a third proposed Blue Plaque in Port Talbot is being requested to honour the steel town’s oldest existing pub, the Somerset Arms.
If approved later this month, the tributes will be the first to come from Neath Port Talbot Council’s Blue Plaque Scheme which was adopted last year to celebrate NPT’s famous people, places and events – part of the council’s Heritage Strategy spanning 2024-2039 (Restore, Regenerate, Repurpose).
The three Blue Plaque requests will go for approval on July 10th, 2025.
If approved, a plaque will be installed to commemorate Richard Burton in his birthplace of Pontrhydyfen with a second in Taibach, where the actor grew up, to commemorate his mentor Philip Burton.
These plaques are intended to commemorate the people and places integral to the Richard Burton story and if approved are designed to become important landmarks on Neath Port Talbot’s Richard Burton Trails, developed for both residents and visitors to discover and enjoy.
Also seeking approval is an application from The Friends of The Sker Community Group for a Blue Plaque for the Somerset Arms in Taibach, which is Port Talbot’s oldest existing pub, still serving the community for over 200 years and a key community asset.
Consent from the Somerset Arms brewery is pending and will be an essential condition of any approval. The popular pub in Commercial Road, Taibach, is known locally as “The Sker”.
