Llanhilleth Miners Institute



Recently installed stairway around a lift to all floors

Llanhilleth Miners Institute building is currently protected by a Limited Company.   A wide range of events and private functions are attended by people from all over Gwent and beyond;  rock concerts,business conferences, community groups as well as beautiful private weddings.  


The building was saved from decay as part of a local regeneration project costing millions of pounds.   It has been sympathetically restored to reflect the original building.   This well-loved 100 year old Grade II listed building is now in a condition to last well into the 22nd century.

But this is not the first time this building has been saved.   In the late 1960s Llanhilleth Pit, along with many others was closing.   Financial support through miners' membership contributions greatly diminished as miners became redundant and many moved away.    The committee decided to change their status and become a Social Club, selling alcohol on a daily basis and providing medical and social events for aging and retired miners.   They revamped the building with bright 60s paintwork and created a bar and lounge for the ladies on the upper ground floor.   The billiard hall on the lower groundfloor became a teenage coffee bar, and entertainment, including a very young Tom Jones, was booked to boost takings.  The large arched windows were partly boarded, the ceiling of the large hall lowered and the theatrical stage reduced to cabaret style.

Unfortunately, the brightly coloured wall-boarding masked many problems within the building's structure.   Lack of funding and maintenance with inappropriate materials caused both dry and wet rot, nearly destroying the building.   These have been eradicated by the latest renovations, and the full height of the hall can now be appreciated with its timber structure.

Institute in the distance, circa 1910

In the late 1800s, the population of Llanhilleth had risen to 5,000 from 250 at the beginning of that century.   Llanhilleth Miners Institute were using a small rented building within the village to provide a library, but very little else.   Edmund Jones was a partner in Partridge Jones & Co, who owned Llanhilleth Pit.   Aware there was very little to keep skilled miners within this small overcrowded area, he offered to donate fifty percent of the cost of a custom built structure to provide for their leisure time, provided the miners raised the other fifty percent.   This offer was never taken up, and Edmund died.

In 1904, through loans and a gift, Partridge Jones & Co. provided the bulk of the cost of the current structure.   It was one of the first miners institutes, and one of the first to provide an indoor swimming pool.   The original Abertillery Miners Institute also had a pool, so this could have been the inspiration for Llanhilleth.   

Many would possibly disagree, but I feel we owe a debt of gratitude to this forward thinking coal owner for providing the impetus to the local community for the creation of this heritage building.