Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute

The Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute is a Grade II* listed building located at the north end of Blackwood High Street in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Wales. Built in 1925, it was originally used as a single floor snooker hall but was expanded eleven years later. It was sold to Islwyn Borough Council in 1989 after falling into disrepair and was reopened as an entertainment venue.

Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute

History

Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute was opened after the first stones of the building were laid on 4 December 1925 and was used as a single floor snooker hall owned by the Coal Industry and the Social Welfare Organisation.[1] The local Miners Welfare Fund provided a £7,000 grant whilst miners raised £850.[2] Eleven years later two more floors were built which included a stage, auditorium, dance floor, reading room, library, ladies room and rehearsal rooms for local societies.[1]

Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute fell into disrepair during the 1970s and 1980s due to pit closures, and its trustees sold it to Islwyn Borough Council in 1989 who pledged to refurbish the building for local community use. The building reopened in February 1992 and it became an entertainment venue with funding from Islwyn Borough Council and the Welsh Office.[1] Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute is today protected as a Grade II* listed building; this status was conferred onto the building on 31 May 2002.[2] Caerphilly County Borough Council approved of renovation work to the building in June 2011.[1]

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References
  1. "BMI History Timeline". Blackwood Miners Institute. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  2. "Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute, Blackwood". British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.


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