Charltons Village Institute Records

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In 1905, the institute was formerly known as Slapewath & Spawood Mines Institute.The purpose of the institute was for use of the miners in the local ironstone mines & their families. The Institute address is Charltons Village (Slapewath) which a mining village 2 miles east of Guisborough & 2 ½ miles south of Skelton. The village & mine were owned by Wm. Charlton, for the sole use of the mine workers. Sacked workers lost their job & their home. The institute was used for reading, playing billiards, social events such as whist drives & weekly dances and bathing (baths were found underneath the Institute building). The Institute was run by a management team including a president, Vice-president, treasurer, secretary, librarian & a committee of 12. All were officials & workmen of the Slapewath & Spawood Mines. AGM were held in January. General Meetings took place quarterly, with regular meetings monthly. Subscriptions of one shilling were collected monthly. Extra payments included a rent for the miners garden (called garden pence). In 1917 a team from the Institute were Cleveland Amateur Billiard League Winners.