Welfare Hall

Cadw's description

Location

On the main Rhondda Fach thoroughfare near the centre of the community.

History

A Working Men's Club and Institute and Library were first established in Tylorstown in 1882 and this separate hall was built both as an institute and for entertainments in 1933 with donations from workers' wages, colliery companies and the public. It contained in the basement a library, reading room, snooker and games room and has always been used as a meeting place for local organisations. On the upper two floors is a large hall built as a dance and entertainment hall and used also as a cinema. This is a particularly important building type in the South Wales coalfield; the Institutes were a focus for enlightenment in new mining commutities.

Exterior

Built in the Baroque style, more fashionable in the first quarter of the century than at the time of construction. Red brick with pale stone dressings, rendered to sides and rear, Welsh slate roof and terracotta ridge tiles. A large rectangular two storeyed hall with pitched roof and basement. Symmetrical 5 bay frontage is divided by deeply channelled pilasters and quoins which support a heavy cornice with billet moulding and parapet above; central bay has an open billet moulded pediment, central high oculus with decorative surround and a 2 light square headed window above a large relief inscription band over a wide segmental headed entrance doorway with deep channelled quoins and bracket keystone and recessed doors. Flanking bays on each side have long staircase windows and square headed ground floor windows both with architraves; also keystones at ground floor. These in turn are flanked by narrow bays each with a high keyed oculus and small staircase window above side doorway with deep channelled voussoirs. All doors are panelled below and glazed above with billet moulding to central set of double swing doors which have some coloured glass, protected by external metal gates. Mostly renewed window glazing; some multipane windows survive to sides and rear. Frontage has a return bay on each side. Behind frontage pediment is a second with datestone 1993 recording restoration and fire escape provision for projection room: fire escape gallery outside left and at first floor level right. Decorative metal railings and gates to sides.

Interior

Basement still retains suite of rooms for different activities; some decorative terrazzo flooring Hall has curved raked gallery to rear retaining cinema seating. Wide rectangular proscenium arch, plain except for fluting. Plenty of decorative moulded plaster panels: to gallery front, to ceiling ventilators and to side and rear walls. Segmentally arched ceiling is in narrow bays separated by moulded ribs.

Reason for designation

Listed as a well-preserved example of this important building type, retaining definite quality and character.