Site Record

The Welfare Park, Garth, was opened on 24 May 1924 by Vernon Hartshorn MP (Labour, Ogmore). It cost £7,000 to lay out of which £2,000 was met by a grant from the Miners' Welfare Fund. Built by local volunteers, the site featured open-air swimming baths (NPRN: 415084), a children's playground (opened 25 April 1925), bowling green, tennis courts, and a large playing field for cricket and rugby. A pavilion was added later. The site has retained many of its original features and its origiinal layout. Aside from the removal of the bowling green from its initial position (Grid Reference: SS8618990133) to its present position (Grid Reference: SS8632890184), the demolition of the pavilion, and the loss of the open-air baths in the 1980s, the park is as it was in the 1920s. The bowling green was laid by George Chappell & Sons who also laid the green at Maesteg Welfare Park.

Daryl Leeworthy, RCAHMW, 5 March 2012.