Visted with Randomnut, Catscratch and Jim
This was the 1st stop on our Wales road trip. Nice little site pretty bare and trashed but still worth a look if anything for the pool and church.
History
Boys Village, St. Athans opened in 1930 as a summer camp for boys from mining communities in the South Wales Valleys. 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 training camp for youths and apprenticeships etc as well.
Now a derelict village, demolition work commenced late 2008. Since then several buildings have been removed or cleared including the fire-damaged 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 has also been removed from site. Much of the debris that littered the remaining buildings has been cleared, partially by looters and partially by the demolition services.
Despite being derelict, on-site there is no evidence of drug users or homeless persons inhabiting Boys Village. There is however much vandalism from local youths and it is frequented by numerous graffiti artists. Much of the graffiti is in the gym, as the walls are both large and clear, thus acting as perfect canvases for graffiti art.
There are many rumours about Boys Village being haunted or plagued by a troubled past. This is entirely untrue; there were no murders in the church or fires that killed many young boys. Much of this folklore is spread by locals who simply think of explanations to themselves as to why it is left in its derelict condition. The simple answer is, times have change as have social trends regarding holidays. Also, there is a great big power station next to it that obviously wasn't there when it opened.
My Pictures
Matt
This was the 1st stop on our Wales road trip. Nice little site pretty bare and trashed but still worth a look if anything for the pool and church.
History
Boys Village, St. Athans opened in 1930 as a summer camp for boys from mining communities in the South Wales Valleys. 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 training camp for youths and apprenticeships etc as well.
Now a derelict village, demolition work commenced late 2008. Since then several buildings have been removed or cleared including the fire-damaged 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 has also been removed from site. Much of the debris that littered the remaining buildings has been cleared, partially by looters and partially by the demolition services.
Despite being derelict, on-site there is no evidence of drug users or homeless persons inhabiting Boys Village. There is however much vandalism from local youths and it is frequented by numerous graffiti artists. Much of the graffiti is in the gym, as the walls are both large and clear, thus acting as perfect canvases for graffiti art.
There are many rumours about Boys Village being haunted or plagued by a troubled past. This is entirely untrue; there were no murders in the church or fires that killed many young boys. Much of this folklore is spread by locals who simply think of explanations to themselves as to why it is left in its derelict condition. The simple answer is, times have change as have social trends regarding holidays. Also, there is a great big power station next to it that obviously wasn't there when it opened.
My Pictures
Matt
