Oakdale Workmen's Institute - Britain All Over Travel Guide

Oakdale Workmen’s Institute, near Cardiff, South Wales

The Oakdale Workmen’s Institute is a fine example of the workmen’s institutes which were the centres of community life in South Wales valley towns. The institutes were centres for both entertainment and education, and they often housed libraries, reading rooms, cinemas, and theatres.

History

The institutes were paid for by the workers themselves. The Oakdale Workmen’s Institute opened in 1917, and the institute operated until 1967 in the small mining community of Oakdale in Gwent.

The Oakdale Workmen’s Institute was donated to the Museum of Welsh Life (aka St Fagans National History Museum) in 1989 and has been painstakingly reconstructed on its current site in the museum grounds. Other places of interest at the open-air museum include Tolldy Tollhouse, St Teilo’s Church and the Gwalia Stores.

Information panel

Access – Getting There

The Museum of Welsh Life (St Fagans: National History Museum; Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru) is located 4 miles west of Cardiff City Centre, just off the A4232. Visitors to the Museum of Welsh Life may also want to visit nearby Caerphilly Castle, Caerleon Fortress Baths, Caerleon Amphitheatre or Roman Legionary Museum Caerleon.

St Fagans National History Museum
Cardiff
CF5 6XB
Tel: 029 2057 3500

Stay Nearby

The are dozens of hotels in and around Cardiff which cater to every budget. These range from backpacker accommodation as cheap as £10 per night to luxury accommodation such as the Royal Hotel Cardiff.