The History of the Loughor Welfare Hall
By Mr. Bertie Clifford Williams (former Secretary of
the Welfare Hall)
Edited by Mrs. Brenda Davies.
The original idea
of building the Loughor Welfare Hall began in 1926, when the Loughor Welfare
Association applied for a grant from the Miners’ Welfare Fund, eventually
arranging for Mr. G. S. Mason, the South Wales Organiser of the Miners’ Welfare
Committee to attend their meeting, which was held on 18th December,
1929. Mr. Mason was not very optimistic that funds would be available, as
colliery companies were in arrears with their dues, but he promised to do his
best and would contact them on a later date.
At that time, the
Welfare Association were holding meetings at the Loughor Town Hall and
functions such as Eisteddfodau and Dramas at the old National Schools, the
present site of the Welfare Hall, which was then administered by the Loughor
Town Trust. This was a public body, the Members of which were also involved in
the newly formed Loughor Welfare Association, and as the old National School
was rapidly deteriorating, they were unanimous in their decision that the new
Hall could be erected on the land, after the old building was demolished.
The enthusiasm
and dedication of the Town Trust Members were soon to impress local people, and
when a public meeting was called, the Welfare Committee received unanimous
support off residents of the area. The value of the land plus the many hundreds
of pounds amassed by various activities of the Welfare Association further impressed
Mr. Mason so much so, that he requested the Association to obtain the services
of an Architect to prepare a plan of the kind of hall they envisaged. This was
put in the hands of Mr. J. Thomas a Swansea Architect. These events brought the
time up to 1st July, 1930.
Negotiations and
letters were now continuously passing between the Welfare Association and Mr.
Mason. Then in 1932 the Association was informed that the sum of £3,500 was to
be granted from the South Wales Miners’ Welfare Funds ( this was later
increased to £5,050). However, there were certain conditions attached to the
receipt of the grant :-
(i)
the
new hall would have to be a Parish Hall;
(ii)
the
Governing Body would be known as the Loughor Parish Hall Charity;
(iii)
the
Governing Body should consist of 10 Trustees – 5 from the mining side of the
Loughor Welfare Association, 3 from the Town Trust and 2 from the Llwchwr Urban
District Council.
By the 30th
August, 1932, 242 Members from the Community formed the extended Welfare
Association and the decision to go ahead with the venture of building the new
Hall was finally agrees. The terms of actual finance subscribed for the
building of the new Hall were as follows :-
·
Grant
from Miners Welfare Fund £5,050
·
Monies
collected by Loughor Welfare Association £948
·
Value
of Land occupied by Hall £300
Once the decision
was made to go ahead with the proposal in 1932, the Public subscriptions came
in much faster and when the hall was completed in 1935, the total amount of
money, including the value of land given by the Town Trust had increased to £2,
500 so that it can be said that the cost of the Hall was approximately £7,500,
inclusive of the demolition of the old National Schools and the preparation of
plans.
Through all the
negotiations, according to the records, the name of one man in particular was
to the fore and that was Mr. Morgan John Thomas of Glanymor, Loughor, the owner
of the Broadoak Colliery. Thus, it was only fitting that he was called upon to
perform the opening ceremony in 1935, for it was apparent that he, more that
anyone else, had been responsible for getting the Miners’ Grant.
The following
years until 1940, when the Hall was closed down for the War Period were not
without their problems, for there was a period in 1938 when the finances of the
Hall were some £300 in the red, mainly because of new dressing rooms and
showers installed for the benefit of the Loughor RFC and which, incidentally,
they never used. Also a new piano was bought. However, all these debts were
cleared by 1940 – nothing was owing to anyone.
The Hall was
re-opened in January 1946, and by then a considerable amount of debt had risen
as a result of the war years. The caretaker still had to be paid with only a
small sum coming in from the Hospital and Government Department for the housing
of medical equipment.
Later in 1946, an
enthusiastic committee set to work organising a number of functions- Drama,
Variety Concerts, Band Concerts, Choral Singing, Dances, Bird Shows, Dog Shows
and Celebrity Concerts. Some of these were successful, others not, Band
Concerts for instance, and on one occasion the Don Preece Orchestra put on a
wonderful show but only 28 people turned up, despite intensive advertising. In
1947 a new amplifier was bought at a cost of £120.
Many great names
started their careers in the Loughor Welfare Hall – such stars as the late
Ossie Morris and Radcliffe and Ray took part in a “Go as you please” concert.
These two acts won the competition and from then on they became household names
in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Victoria Elliot, the great Covent Garden Prima Donna
started her career on the Welfare Hall Stage, and Huw Wheldon of the BBC came
along when the Arts Council started their travelling tours. Loughor was chosen
as the starting point for Show’s “Major Barbara” with Wensley Pithey in the
leading role, then an unknown, but later to become a star of stage and film.
By the end of
1954 the Management Committee had made over £2,000, and having cleared all
debts, obtained grants for the new lighting and other items. For nine years
they had worked diligently running Saturday night dances, but with the advent
of late buses from the bigger dance halls in Swansea and Llanelli, the Welfare
Hall dances were no longer a viable proposition and thus they were
discontinued.
An important
event which took place at the Hall was the Annual Eisteddfod, continuing up
into the Seventies. Despite its not being a successful financial occasion, it
was, to the credit of the Hall Committee, that the cultural value to the Community
far outweighed any financial loss and thus it was carried over. As a result,
the Committee was always seeking for ways and means of raising funds, efforts
being made to get the miners to contribute small weekly sums to help, and by
December 1959, an agreement was reached and the miners’ contributions were to
prove a great help.
In 1960, the Hall
Committee devised a new venture, namely a free concert for Old Age Pensioners
of the area and this proved to be so successful that it became an annual event.
In the same year, new fluorescent lighting costing £400 was provided and a £400
grant was obtained for new stage curtains and a new amplifier was bought at a
cost of £175. When an O.A.P. Branch was formed in Loughor, a 200 signature
petition resulted in the Branch being awarded a £20 grant and a six month
rent-free arrangement for their meetings.
One of the most memorable occasions during the 1960’s was the staging of a “Flitch Trial”. This was a most entertaining evening based on the event known as the “Dunmow Flitch” in Essex, where a flitch (side) of bacon was presented to any married couple who could prove that they had lived in harmony for a year and a day. The “Trial” was conducted as if in a Court of Law, with Solicitors representing both the applying couples and those who were trying to oppose them. If memory serves correctly, the Flitch was won by a Mr and Mrs Stannard, who lived in Frampton Road.
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Addendum by Councillor Glyndwr S. Prideaux
This history,
written in the 1970’s was compiled by Mr. Bertie Clifford Williams, a native of
Loughor and an ex-Chairman of the old Loughor Urban District Council. In 1982,
the Hall suffered a great loss with the death of Mr. Williams, the former
Secretary of the Loughor Welfare Association, an office held by B.C. as he was
affectionately known for 36 years. It was unanimously agreed that a Memorial
Fund should be set up, the object being to provide a new public address system
and a plaque at the Hall to B.C.’s memory. Donations were received from far and
wide and on 14th December, 1982, Councillor Garfield Williams, J.P.
President of the Loughor Welfare Association unveiled the plaque and handed
over the new sound system to the Hall. The inscription on the plaque reads :
The Sound system in this Hall was provided by Public
Subscription in Memory of the Late B. C. Williams,
Secretary, Loughor Welfare Association 1946 – 1982
This was the
public’s appreciation of a true and faithful servant.
Now in the 21st
Century, the Loughor Welfare Hall still provides a valuable amenity in the
area. It is a home to many organisations and is still available for private
hire. We the public, owe a great debt to
the valuable efforts of the volunteers, who from the early years, struggled to
provide this amenity for the people of Loughor and District.
