Summerhill Institute
Summerhill Institute, which was constructed in 1925, is located in New Road, Summerhill.
The land on which the Institute stands in New Road was given to the villagers of Summerhill by a group of local business men, together with a playing field situated directly opposite the building as was an area of land at Parsonage Farm which was to be held in Trust for the benefit of the villagers of Summerhill.
The Institute was built by local Steel and Coal Mines workers who gave a certain amount of their weekly wage towards the cost of the construction works.
The building became the main focus of the village life with weddings, dances, snooker/billiards, numerous local clubs meetings and the Summerhill carnival were just a few of the activities that were held in the Institute.
Unfortunately, the building fell into a state of disrepair in the early 1980’s and was under threat of being demolished until a few local residents banded together and with determined and continued effort and hard work they brought the Institute back to its former glory. The premises are now well used for a range of activities including weekly bingo sessions, carpet bowls twice a week, meetings, a local Welsh playgroup, parties with the building also being used as a polling station for elections.
The Institute’s current Committee, the Officers of which were among the group of residents who were dedicated in their efforts to restore, refurbish and, indeed, have successfully continued to improve the facilities available within the building and its immediate surrounds, are proud of what has been achieved given, particularly, the once imminence of the building’s demolition. This achievement is all the more admirable in that it honours the memory of all those who gave so willingly and worked so hard all those years ago to provide the village of Summerhill with the Institute.