Aberdare Hall was one of the first halls of residence built at Cardiff University. It was built in 1893  with the intention of being an all-female hall. In _ _ _ _ the hall was extended and Library Wing and Garden Wing were created to accommodate more students.

Aberdare is the closest hall of residence to the main campus - only a 2 minute walk away from many of the university buildings including the Students' Union (the largest in the Uk i must add!). It is a 10 minute walk away from the bustling town centre with all of its shops, pubs, clubs, cinemas etc and everything else a student could wish for.

The neareset supermarket is Lidl, just a 5 min walk towards the Woodville (the closest studenty pub). Otherwise there's a Co-Op on Crwys Rd (15 mins) or the huge Tesco Extra up by Talybont (30 mins).

The many Cathays pubs, popular amongst the university students are just a stone's throw away. The Flora, the Woodville, The Social, Gassy Jacks, and the slightly more upmarket Incognitos for good food and cocktails, to name just a few.

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Nowadays Aberdare Hall houses 125 female students of different nationalities. Unlike other halls of residence at Cardiff University, students at Aberdare Hall are invited to remain in halls after their first year of study and if they wish, for the duration of their course and even during post-graduate study. Also, Aberdare offers the choice of catering to those who prefer not to, or can't cook for themselves. For students on catered contracts, breakfast and evening meals are provided Monday to Friday and breakfasts only at weekends. Self catered students can purchase meals from the Lodge whenever they wish.

As I have already mentioned, Aberdare is divided into 3 sections, Old Hall, Library Wing and Garden Wing.

Old Hall, as it's name suggests, is the oldest part of the building, and is infact the original hall itself before additions were made. O.H. houses mainly students on a catered contract in varying sized rooms. There are some very large (by any university standard) rooms which you have to pay extra for. Most rooms however are of a nice size, all with single bed, wardrobe, desk, bookshelves and chest of drawers. You must bring your own bedding as you are only provided with a single pillow. Note that wardrobe sizes vary, some are rather small, so if like me you like to have clothes for every possible occasion in your wardrobe, you may have slight difficulty in shutting the door.

All rooms throughout the hall have internet connection points which will connect you to the university RESLAN network (the cost for which is included in the hall fees)

Students in Aberdare Hall share bathroom and kitchen facilities. In Old Hall, on average 17 students share 2 small kitchens, 2 showers and a bath, 4 toilets and 6 washbasins. Although 17 may sound like a large number of people to share a couple of small kitchens, you must remember that students in this part of hall are catered for, therefore only occasionally need to use the kitchen. Kitchens contain microwave, oven/s, fridge, freezer, kettle, toaster, cupboards and sink.

Library Wing provides rooms for both catered and self catered residents, therefore kitchen facilities are larger than those in Old Hall and are equipped with the same applicances as O.H.. On average, 10 students share the kitchen as well as 2 toilets, 2 showers, a bath and 3 washbasins.

Rooms in Library Wing are all of a good size with the afore mentioned furniture. On each floor there are one or two slightly larger rooms aswell, again with internet connection points.

Garden Wing provides rooms for self catered students, particularly favoured by international students who prefer to stick to their own cuisine. Kichens in Garden Wing are large, providing a space to prepare all meals. Some of the kitchens include a dining table and chairs, although most students eat in their rooms. Roughly 12 students share the kitchen facilities as well as 2 showers, toilets and washbasins.

Rooms in Garden Wing are a little smaller than elsewhere in the building, but comfortable nonetheless, and still contain the same furniture as elsewhere.

There are two flats in Aberdare Hall, located on the ground floor of Garden Wing and on the top floor of Library Wing. Each flat contains private kitchen, living area and bedroom. These flats tend to be popular amongst postgraduate students wishing to live in halls, but have a little more privacy and quiet in which to study.

 

Aberdare offers three spacious common rooms for its residents to relax together in. Two of the common rooms contain televisions - groud floor by the telephones, and on the top floor of Library Wing. There are also three pianos which girls are free to use - a Grand Piano in the Main Common Room adjoining the Dining Room and an upright piano in the other ground floor, and top floor common rooms.

Aberdare also has it's own library with a selection of text books, dictionaries and novels which can be borrowed using an informal loan system. The collection is not extensive nor bang up to date, however campus libraries are only a 2 minute walk away. For students who prefer to complete course work in a quiet atmosphere, there are plenty of tables available in the library. There are four computers in the library, each connected to the Cardiff University RESLAN Network with which you can access the internet and software which otherwise are only available in your home school. The library is situated on the ground floor of Library Wing and overlooks the garden.

The laundry is also situated on the ground floor of the Library Wing. The laundry offers two top-loader washing machines and two tumble driers, sinks for hand washing, irons and ironing boards and a handful of airers. Costs to use the washing machines and driers are listed below. The laundry is open from 9am until 10.30pm, seven days a week.

• washing machines - £1.40 per wash. Machines only accept £1 and 20p coins.
• tumble driers - 20p for 20 minutes. It is possible to put the machine on for longer than 20mins by inserting several coins. Machines only take 20p coins.

The Lodge open 9am to midnight every day bar Sunday (when it opens at 1pm) is found just inside the entrance to the hall, and provides security to the residents of Aberdare Hall. No non-residents are permited to go up into the hall without first being signed in. All guests and friends of residents must be signed-in and out using the visitors book in the Lodge and any repairs to be reported in the repairs book.

The Lodge offers various snacks such as bars of chocolate, crisps, sweets, cold drinks, milk, tins of baked beans, pot noodles and loaves of bread for residents to buy when feeling a little peckish. It is also where you go to collect your post during opening hours, pay for evening meals if you are self-catered or want to invite a friend for dinner, book the guest room or just come for a friendly chat with Peter, Andrew, Jackie or John who work there

Contrary to popular belief, Aberdare Hall is not run by nuns, does allow men to pass through the doorway, and (sorry boys to ruin your fantasies), is not full of lesbians or virgins having pillow fights in their underwear!

. I hope this page has provided you with useful information, particularly if you are thinking of choosing it as your home whilst you are at Cardiff University. If you have any questions, or would like more information about Aberdare Hall, Cardiff University or Cardiff itself, please contact me, Emma, through the Contact Us section of the site.