Please Note: Fishing will not be permitted on 23rd and 24th July
The Role of the Gamekeepers
For over a century, the Talbot estate relied on a long line of Stubbs family gamekeepers - Isaac, William and John, who served as essential outdoor staff. Their responsibilities were formalised in 1813, when Isaac Stubbs was officially licensed to manage game across the manors of Margam, Kenfig, Pyle, Cornelly and Sker. Keepers were authorised not only to protect pheasants, hares and partridges, but also to seize guns, dogs, nets and snares used illegally on the estate. Alongside their wages, keepers received rent‑free accommodation, clothing, shot and powder, food for their dogs, and an allowance for their cow. Talbot often complained about the “extravagant” wages agreed before his time, but the Stubbs family remained central to estate life. By the late 19th century, Margam employed several keepers and underkeepers, responsible for organising shoots, hiring beaters, rearing pheasants, protecting nests and carrying out night watches.
Poaching Punishments
Poaching was a constant threat, and punishments were harsh by modern standards. In 1835 a poacher was sentenced to the treadmill, while others were fined or imprisoned for cutting reeds or even collecting beansticks. Keepers received a traditional reward for each conviction, and additional income for destroying vermin, everything from hawks and stoats to rats and pigeons. The work could be dangerous. Keepers were often threatened, attacked or ambushed. William Stubbs was once tied to a tree and beaten by poachers, and the most tragic incident occurred in 1898 when Robert Scott, second keeper to Miss Talbot, was shot and killed on the mountain above Cwm Philip. His murderer, Joe Lewis, was eventually arrested, tried and hanged at Swansea Gaol.