A History of the Building and People of Llanhilleth

Llanhilleth Institute    

100 Years

Llanhilleth Miners Institute - 100 years
                                                                       

Although Workmans Institutes formed the hub of many mining communities in the South Wales Valleys during the twentieth century, very little has been documented about these structures and their members.   Curiosity led me to research this particular building and its surroundings.   Much of this blog has been pieced together from snippets of information obtained with the kind help of people with firsthand knowledge, or their children and grandchildren.   Many hours were spent rummaging through drawers to find old photographs, and documents and resurrect old memories.

           

It would be impossible to discover every piece of this one-hundred year jigsaw, but I aim to provide a flavour of the building and people who have, and still enjoy using it.

           

Travel from Newport along the A467, and just north of Crumlin an imposing red brick building appears on the right-hand side.   A brown road sign indicates it is Llanhilleth Miners Institute.   Part of an area regeneration scheme, this building has been lovingly renovated to its original magnificence. Village life has again begun to revolve around this edifice.    Both young and old follow previous generations to congregate and enjoy clubs, discos, entertainment or just a coffee. In times of poverty or full employment, members of the community again have the assurance they are not alone.  
            

This axis of entertainment and social life was once a source of escape for just a short time from the uncertainties of a miner's life and the often overcrowded terraced housing along the narrow valley walls.  Now the pit has gone, and new access roads and parking facilities make this building easily available for people from all over South Wales and across the bridge to celebrate both public and personal occasions.   

            

Using photographs and themes such as personal stories and sport, I have tried to unravel the undocumented history of this building and its surroundings.

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Workman’s Institutes

“The Workingmen’s Institute played an important role in the community by providing the potential for further education through excellent libraries and the range of lectures and night classes.”                                                                                                                           (R.Keen 1982)

I first saw Llanhilleth Miners Institute when it reopened in 2007 after complete restoration. The population of Llanhilleth in the 2001 Census was 200, prompting my question, why would such a large building be erected in what was a relatively isolated valley with such a low population. Immediately curious of the building’s history and the people who created and used such a structure, I have researched its one hundred year history.    Problems and delights awaited as I discovered my local libraries, museums and even the Records Office could provide very little information. I needed to look further afield and be more innovative.

Located in the Ebbw Fach valley, where the Nantcuffin Tributary meets the River Ebbw, at Ordnance Survey Grid Co-ordinates 321703, 200686,  51.6990 Lattitude/-3.1331 Longitude.

Hundreds of people have visited Llanhilleth Institute over the last century, some briefly, others on a daily basis.   Committee members and others in the community have played a huge part in its history, and within its confines, events continue to be held to entertain and educate.    Details of many events are lost forever, generations are no longer available to relate their memories, but i hope to provide a flavour of the personalities involved with the building and its use.    

This building does not exist within a vacuum, so I have also tried briefly to place it in context within the history of Wales, the miners, and society.

The men who originally designed and built this structure intended it as a tool to be used by the community, to improve their own lives and those of future generations by education, and entertainment.   This is reported in two articles in the South Wales Gazette, one recording the laying of the foundation stones in 1904 and the other recording its official opening in 1906.   

Details are included on this blog.

Llanhilleth is one of only a few remaining Institutes still fulfilling its original function.   Penrhewceiber Institute reopened in 2010 as a cinema.    The extensive refurbishment carried out early in this twenty first century at Llanhilleth, should ensure this building, with careful maintenance, will easily last another hundred years.   Who knows what changes and developments it will see in that time, but perhaps someone in 2110 will take up the baton and look back to record the next 100 years of Llanhilleth Miners Institute and its surrounding area.