Boys Village
Encyclopedia
St Athan Boys Village was a village
-style holiday camp
located in West Aberthaw
, Vale of Glamorgan
, Wales
.
, it offered them a place to play and be free, as well as being close to the nearby beach. Over the ages its usage developed (but not necessarily changed) to be used as a camp for youths and apprenticeships, etc., as well.
The buildings included a dining hall, dormitories, a gym, swimming pool and a church. There was also a full-sized cricket pitch and pavilion. The site also includes a war memorial. There are rumours about Boys Village being haunted or plagued by a troubled past.
The site declined in line with the decline in coal mining in the Welsh valleys and without the money put in by the miners, it no longer had the finances to operate and subsequently closed in the late 1960s.
In 2010, the owner placed the site on the market. Unprotected by any form of conservation order, the site could be cleared for redevelopment.
post-hardcore
band Funeral For A Friend
shot the video to their song "Serpents in Solitude" from their EP Young and Defenceless there.
In 2011 the BBC aired a short film "Boys' Village" starring students of Stagecoach Theatre Arts and Cardiff High School
on BBC2 (Wales).
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
-style holiday camp
Holiday camp
Holiday camp, in Britain, generally refers to a resort with a boundary that includes accommodation, entertainment and other facilities.As distinct from camping, accommodation typically consisted of chalets – small buildings arranged either individually or in blocks. Some had three or four storeys,...
located in West Aberthaw
Aberthaw
Aberthaw is a village of the Vale of Glamorgan west of Barry on the coast of South Wales.The village is split into two halves - East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw, separated by the River Thaw. It is home to Aberthaw Cement Works and Aberthaw Power Station a coal power station plant that was linked to...
, Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Development and operations
Opened on August 8th 1925 as a summer camp for the sons from families in the South Wales CoalfieldSouth Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
, it offered them a place to play and be free, as well as being close to the nearby beach. Over the ages its usage developed (but not necessarily changed) to be used as a camp for youths and apprenticeships, etc., as well.
The buildings included a dining hall, dormitories, a gym, swimming pool and a church. There was also a full-sized cricket pitch and pavilion. The site also includes a war memorial. There are rumours about Boys Village being haunted or plagued by a troubled past.
The site declined in line with the decline in coal mining in the Welsh valleys and without the money put in by the miners, it no longer had the finances to operate and subsequently closed in the late 1960s.
Status
Sold in 2000 to a new owner, it was stripped of its equipment and rented to a family. When they moved out in 2008 it was taken over by graffiti artistes and vandals. Various buildings were demolished from 2008 due to extensive fire damage, including the Sir Maynard Jenour building, which was built in the 1980s, the recreation building and a few residential and administrative buildings. The swimming pool roof which collapsed many years after the site's closure was also removed. Much of the debris that littered the remaining buildings was cleared.In 2010, the owner placed the site on the market. Unprotected by any form of conservation order, the site could be cleared for redevelopment.
In Popular Culture
In 2010 the WelshWelsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band Funeral For A Friend
Funeral for a Friend
Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band, from Bridgend. Formed 2001, they have released five studio albums, seven EPs, sixteen singles, one DVD, and one compilation album.-Formation and Early Years:...
shot the video to their song "Serpents in Solitude" from their EP Young and Defenceless there.
In 2011 the BBC aired a short film "Boys' Village" starring students of Stagecoach Theatre Arts and Cardiff High School
Cardiff High School
Cardiff High School is a comprehensive school in the Cyncoed area of Cardiff, Wales. Cardiff High School is two miles from the city centre, serving a neighbourhood of privately-owned houses. According to the 2007 ESTYN Report, "Cardiff High School is a very good school with many outstanding...
on BBC2 (Wales).