Oakdale Workmen's Institute

The Oakdale Workmen's Institute is a preserved building from a mining community in Wales that provided spaces for education and gatherings. It features a reading room, library, committee room, and hall designed to serve different purposes for workers and their families.

The Institute was founded in 1917 with backing from the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, which supported the project through worker contributions. It continued to develop during the 1920s as the community's needs expanded and new facilities were added.

The building served as a gathering place where miners could access books and participate in community events together. It reflects how important shared activities were for workers in shaping their lives outside the mine.

The building can be visited today at St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff, where it has been reassembled in its original form. Visitors can explore the preserved interior spaces and gain insight into how the mining community lived and worked.

The Institute added its own cinema hall in the 1920s with seating for hundreds, making it a major entertainment destination for the community. This addition reveals how recreational needs and the role of such facilities shifted within mining culture.