Retaining our heritage
Posted on Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 2:56pm
one response
It is disappointing that Maerdy Workingmen’s hall is set to be demolished. When I worked in the Rhondda, I used to see so many old, yet fascinating derelict buildings that were once vital hubs for the community-be it for hosting social activities for people of all ages, a place to provide educational courses for those in the surrounding area, and so on. This is not unique to the Rhondda, it has to be said. The miner’s hall in Merthyr is in a really bad way, and so too are other halls the length and breadth of Wales.
I really think that we should do much more in Wales to retain our heritage- not only in the form of our landscape, but in retaining our old chapels and halls. Of course we need to develop their usage, and there are many success stories. Yet I remember growing up in Merthyr, only for the council to knock down the old Bethesda Chapel that was being used for cultural events and political meetings at the time, as well as taking down the only arcade ( much like a smaller version of Cardiff’s Victorian arcades) in the town, which housed a lovely old fashioned cafeteria and cobblers to make way for the new train station. There’s no denying that we need to develop the economy for new businesses to make their home in the South Wales valleys, but there is room to be more creative in the buildings that we offer such companies, and how best to market ourselves as part of the growing tourist economy.
Perhaps it is too late to save the hall in Maerdy, but I am sure that we can be much more strategic in maintaining other such halls and chapels in Wales, so that our children are not bereft of historical sites to visit or to promote in years to come. This may be quite sad to admit, but I love looking through history books of various Welsh towns and villages to compare how the main street or the buildings looked like then, and now. It is heartening to see that many towns make the effort to celebrate their heritage, but in other places, the towns have been ruined to make way for new shops and developments which often lead to main streets looking identical to one another.
I guess the natural reaction is for me to set up a meeting with Alun Ffred Jones, the Heritage Minsiter to see how he is developing plans in this area. I know that he has recently announced £1.5 million to be invested in 35 historic buildings across Wales, including two in the Neath area (St Matthew’s Church in Duffryn, and Eglwys Soar, Maes yr Haf) Perhaps developing some of these sites will facilitate a larger sense of belonging, and of community integration. That is something which we should aspire to, at least.
