The Maindy & Eastern Workmen's Institute opened in 1895 having been funded by a levy on the wages of workers at the Maindy Pit and Eastern Pit in Ton Pentre. It takes its name in recognition. Originally providing a library, newspaper reading room, and committee rooms, the building was extended in 1904 to include a theatre. From 1908, the Hall began to shown silent films and a sound system was added in 1931 to allow talkies to be shown. According to the Kinematograph Year Book, the seating capacity of the cinema prior to the First World War was 1,000. By the 1940s, this had been reduced to 630 seats. Financial difficulties that followed the closure of many of the collieries in the years after the Second World War prompted a change of name to the Ton Pentre Workmen's Hall and Institute although it remained a cinema throughout. In 1971, the cinema closed and the Hall became a popular venue for bingo. This remained its primary use until 1989 when the bingo hall closed down. Standing empty for two years, the present Phoenix Cinema opened in 1991.

Daryl Leeworthy, RCAHMW, 8 September 2011.