In 1923 it was decided to build a Miners’ Welfare Institute in Slamannan on the Smithy Field which was also known locally as the Haugh. The work was begun in 1924 and required the importation of a large quantity of material to raise the ground level and the installation of drains to deal with the water-logging. The work was completed by June 1925, and on 19 September of that year the opening ceremony was performed by T Ball, commercial manager of Jawcraig Colliery, who was presented with a souvenir silver key.
The building was of a single storey of a simple cottage type, and cost just under £2,500. The exterior was roughcast with a brick base and steel casement windows. The billiard room had two full-size tables, and another apartment was devoted to carpet bowls, while a third took the form of a reading room in which various winter games could also be played. A hall completed the recreational side of the building. In another part were the offices, a well-equipped kitchen, and rooms containing plunge and spray baths. The following were the tradesmen: architect – John Rogerson, 172 Bath St, Glasgow; measurer – Matthew Allan of John H Allan & Sons, 224 St Vincent St, Glasgow; builder – Donald B Marquis, Yoker; joiner – David Cupples, Airdrie; slater – Frank G Price, Glasgow; plasterers and roughcasters – Matthew Thom & Co, Coatbridge; plumbers – John Anderson & Co, Glasgow; heating engineer – J N Hayden, Glasgow; gas fitters – John Paterson & Co, Glasgow; painters – Chisholm Bros, Glasgow; furnishers – J D Bennett & Co, Glasgow.
Miners contributed 3d a week to the maintenance of the hall. Initially £2,000 had been allocated from the Scheme but this was increased by £500 after discussion. Upon opening, the local Ex-Service Men’s Club vacated their “Slamannan District Institute” situated nearby and shared the new facilities.
The ground to the south of the building had been prepared to take tennis courts and a children’s corner with swings, but the money was insufficient to complete that part of the scheme. However, even these were ready by June 1926.
The Slamannan Miners’ Welfare had one of several public halls in the village and it was used for many purposes. In August 1931 when the public school was being renovated its rooms were converted into classrooms. During the Second World War it provided a home for the Home Guard. Here they had lectures on the use of weapons and here they conducted indoor exercises and drill. The floor had been built at a high level in order to prevent damp and it was found that the sub-floor area, with its sleeper walls, was sufficiently high to enable miniature firing ranges to be inserted (Bailey 2008).
Although still with a creditable balance sheet, the members of the Slamannan Miners’ Welfare decided to dispose of the hall for community purposes and offered it free of charge to the County Council. The Society had £130 in the bank and this was also to be transferred. The Council accepted the offer in November 1946. However, there seems to have been a misunderstanding. Ownership of the hall lay not with the local Society but with the Central Committee. The local people merely acted as trustees. Consequently the transfer did not go ahead and in 1950 the building was up for sale:
“SLAMANNAN MINERS’ WELFARE INSTITUTE. FOR SALE, by private bargain. Brick and Roughcast BUILDING, comprising three large rooms (one divisible by means of sliding partition), small kitchen, etc; central heating, electric light and water services; the building is situated in Slamannan, on ground adjoining the War Memorial; feu-duty, £5; premises can be seen by arrangement with Mr A McMillan, Manse Road, Slamannan. Offers to be submitted within 21 days of the appearance of this advertisement to Mr R O BROWN, Secretary, Divisional Welfare committee, 24 Royal Circus, Edinburgh, 3.”
(Falkirk Herald 2 September 1950, 4).
For some time it was run as a social club, but around 1990 the building was converted into three dwellings.
Falkirk Local History Society 