Youth Roots

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £24,500 to Penarth Arts and Crafts Ltd to coordinate a research project into the history of the Penarth Pavilion during its heyday as the ‘Marina Ballroom’ in the 1940s.

Today the Pavilion building remains a focal point for the Penarth community, but is closed to the public. In the 1940s, the Pavilion drew crowds of visitors from Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and across South Wales. Thousands flocked to Penarth to dance to the music from local bands. It was also a dating hotspot, and often the initial meeting point for many local couples who went on to marry in the post-war years.

Titled ‘The Penarth ‘Marina’ Ballroom: Memory, Costume and Music’, the social history project will be run specifically for young people aged 13-25. The award will fund a series of research visits and creative workshops throughout 2010, and culminate in an exhibition of the project findings and creative outputs at the Washington Gallery. Material will also be published in book form, and designed and edited by participants.

The programme will start in January 2010 and teach young people how to record oral history from Penarth residents past and present who remember the 1940s ballroom. Participants will also visit other ballroom sites, and learn how to access information in local archives. Following this historical research period, participants will use their knowledge of 1940s culture to recreate period costumes and music. As well as the exhibition and publication, the project will celebrate the participants’ achievements in the form of a themed 1940s ball, to be held at a Penarth venue towards the end of 2010.

Commenting on the award, Director Maggie Knight said: ‘We are very pleased to have such an opportunity to offer young people. Through this programme they will make their own connections to the Pavilion which becomes part of their own heritage to be valued.’

Explaining the importance of the award Jennifer Stewart, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Wales, says: ‘It is so important for young people to learn about their past and understand where they come from. We are delighted to support this project which will enable young people to research the history of the Penarth Marina Ballroom in its 1940s heyday and by doing so will learn a host of new skills, boost their confidence and create a sense of place in their community.’

If you are aged between 13-25 and would like to participate in the programme, or you are a past visitor of the Marina Ballroom and would like to share your memories, please contact Kate Garner, Project officer at Penarth Arts and Crafts Ltd on 02920 712100 or info@washingtongallery.co.uk.

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