The next time you travel past the General Hospital heading towards Pontmorlais, you may very well see a street sign on the left for ‘The Rink’….but why ‘The Rink’?
In the first decade of the 20th Century, a new craze hit Britain – roller-skating. In Merthyr, skating rinks were opened at the Angel Hotel and also at the disused theatre of the Old Market Hall, but in 1909, a purpose built skating rink was begun in Pontmorlais. Commissioned by The South Wales Rinks Co. Ltd in partnership with Messrs Cross and Cross of Walsall, the rink was designed by Mr Longworth to accommodate 3,000 people. A prospectus was issued by the company, and 2,000 shares were sold in the first weekend alone. The building which was 208 ft long and 70 ft wide, had a hard rock maple floor, orchestral gallery, lounges, a refreshment buffet, and was lit by 30 electric pendant lights. The Rink opened on 19 March 1910.
When completed, it became one of Merthyr’s major venues (and certainly one of the largest), and as well as being used for roller skating (the Olympia Rink even had its own roller-hockey team), the building was used for balls, political meetings and other special events. Following the death of Keir Hardie, the former Merthyr MP, a Memorial meeting was held at the Olympia Rink.
Sadly, with the advent of the First World War and the inevitable wane in interest in roller-skating, the Olympia Rink began to lose money, and by the end of 1916, was put up for sale. Very little information is available about the building after this, and it sadly burned down in the 1920’s.
If you have any information about the Olympia Rink you would like to share, please leave a comment to the left or email me at: merthyr.history@gmail.com