Opened in 1908, the Celynen Collieries Institute was set up by a committee of local people to provide their mining community with social and educational opportunities. The original building provided a library, billiards room, committee room and reading room.

In 1924 the Memorial Hall was built on a site adjacent to the Institute, dedicated to those who lost their lives in the First World War. With a theatre and cinema on the first floor and a ballroom on the ground floor, it quickly established itself as a social hub for the surrounding area. The 'Memo', as it was affectionately called, held dances three or four times a week, cinema screenings three times daily, and regular theatrical and musical performances, as well as dance and drama competitions.

To this day, the Memo is used regularly by the local community for a wide variety of social and educational purposes. The beautiful theatre is in want of major restoration, but still provides an atmospheric set for film and television.