Cwmaman Public Hall & Institute

Image: © Jaggery Taken: 22 Feb 2014

Viewed across Fforchaman Road. This is the location of Cwmaman Theatre & Cinema and Cwmaman Health Suite. The premises are also used by local community groups, clubs and organisations. Special events include education courses, seminars and gigs. Cwmaman Institute was established in 1868 as a reading room, in a rent-free house donated by the Cwmaman Coal Company. A library was added shortly afterwards, giving a place where local people could read books and children could be educated. In 1884, a committee of officials at Cwmaman Colliery started a scheme whereby a halfpenny in each pound was deducted weekly from the colliery workmen's wages. Thus the movement to establish a purpose-built Public Hall & Institute began. In March 1892 Lord Aberdare opened the building seen here. It provided the village with a new complex, including a public hall with seating for c700 people, reading rooms, a billiards room and a caretaker's cottage. During the 20th century, the fate of the Institute was inevitably linked to the demise of coal mining in the Cynon Valley. The closure of local collieries from the early 1960s onwards made it harder for the Institute to raise local funding and commitment. The fabric of the building deteriorated during the 1960s and 1970s. At the same time, membership of local groups and societies grew and there was new interest in maintaining the building as a community centre for Cwmaman, its current use.

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