history

Cefn Fforest Miner’s Welfare Institute was first opened in 1932, built using funds raised by miners working in local collieries.

Cefn Fforest Workingmens Institute was commissioned in 1927 by the miners of Cefn Fforest and the first foundation stones were laid in 1930. The Institute opened its doors to the public in 1932.

It was funded by miners, who paid for this building from the fruits of their hard toil, and sometimes with their lives, for the benefit of their community, for self education, social welfare and recreation.

The building once housed a library, ballroom, a pool or snooker table as well as a number of offices and class rooms on the first floor. There was a reading room where local people could pop in and read all of the week’s newspapers. In the age of the Internet this might sound strange, but back then this was the best way to find out what was going on in the world.

Within the grounds owned by the Institute there was a bowling green, tennis court and cricket pitch. The Stute had a vibrant sports community, with teams regularly representing the village in football and Cricket.

Other activities that regularly took place in thd Stute include a chess club, social functions, live music and celebrity snooker exhibitions.

However with the demise of the coal industry funding from the mining communities started to dry up and in the 1980s the building was transferred to the ownership of Cefn Fforest RFC.

Formed upstairs in Cefn Fforest British Legion (The Dagger), Cefn Fforest RFC rapidly grew from a bunch of mates to a well respected local team.

Under the stewardship of the rugby club the building had many vibrant years, with the Sunday night disco attracting people from miles around.

For a brief period, local champion boxer Robbie Regan used the old function room as a gym, before the building eventually closed to the public around 2012.

There had once been Miners’ Institutes in every mining community. With the south Wales Valleys built around the coal industry, it meant an Institute in every village.

There are now only 48 out of 200 institute buildings left in the whole of Wales. Cefn Fforest Workingmen’s Institute is a fine example. Sadly it is now in a poor state and in need of restoration.

Cefn Fforest Workingmen’s Institute was in danger of becoming yet another heritage building lost to the community. But in 2019 a group of residents in the village banded together to save the stute, becoming a registered charity in 2020.

We are now writing a new chapter in the history of the building.