Miners' institute

During the late 19th century, with the population growth seen in former rural communities, many industrialised areas saw workers contributing to funds to build institutes.

[2][3] The institutes were of socialist and altruistic nature and would include small libraries and reading rooms, whose books would lean towards history and politics, in an attempt to allow the working class man to better himself.

[1] While the library and reading room took care of the intellectual needs of the population the larger institutes often catered for the social side by providing a billiards hall, a refreshment room, and a large hall which could be used for meetings or entertainment.

This in turn led to the construction of welfare halls in the areas which to this date had no miners' institutes.

Slowly returning prosperity to former mining communities has witnessed a revival of some of the institutes, such as those at Blackwood, Llanhilleth and Newbridge, which have rebranded themselves as entertainment or arts centres.