Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute

About

The Blackwood Miners Welfare Institute (Welsh: Sefydliad y Glowyr Coed Duon) is an entertainment venue located at the north end of Blackwood High Street in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Wales and run by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Opened in 1925 as a miners' welfare institute, it originally was a single floor snooker hall but was expanded eleven years later. In the 1980s, the institute was the venue for some of the earliest performances by the Manic Street Preachers, a band formed in Blackwood in 1986.

The hall was sold to Islwyn Borough Council in 1989 after falling into disrepair and was reopened as an entertainment venue in February 1992. It is a receiving venue for comedy, theatre and music and a producer in its own right. Its co-productions with Black Rat Theatre Company tour across Wales.

The institute is a Grade II* listed building. In July 2024, Caerphilly County Borough Council announced plans to close the venue as a cost-saving measure. A petition opposing the closure gained over 1000 signatures within a day of its launch.