St Fagans National Museum of History explained
St Fagans National
Museum of History |
| Native Name: | Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru |
| Native Name Lang: | cy |
| Pushpin Map: | Wales Cardiff |
| Map Type: | Cardiff |
| Coordinates: | 51.4869°N -3.2725°W |
| Established: | 1948 |
| Location: | St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales |
| Visitors: | 610,155 (2010)[1]
* Ranked 21st in the UK |
| Former Name: | St Fagans National History Museum |
St Fagans National Museum of History (; Welsh: Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru|links=no), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Welsh people. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.[2]
It consists of more than forty re-erected buildings from various locations in Wales, and is set in the grounds of St Fagans Castle, a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house.[3] In 2011 Which? magazine named the museum the United Kingdom's favourite visitor attraction.[4]
A six-year, £30-million revamp was completed in 2018 and the museum was named the Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2019.
History
The museum was founded in 1946 following the donation of the castle and lands by the Earl of Plymouth.[5] It opened its doors to the public in 1948, under the name of the Welsh Folk Museum. The museum's name in Welsh (also meaning "Welsh Folk Museum") has remained unchanged since that date, whereas the English title was revised to Museum of Welsh Life, thereafter St Fagans National History Museum, and again to its current title.[6]
The brainchild of Iorwerth Peate, the museum was modelled on Skansen, the outdoor museum of vernacular Swedish architecture in Stockholm. Most structures re-erected in Skansen were built of wood and are thus easily taken apart and reassembled, but a comparable museum in Wales was going to be more ambitious, as much of the vernacular architecture of Wales is made of masonry.
2017 refurbishment
A redeveloped main reception building was opened in July 2017.[7] The six-year, £30-million redevelopment of the site, which was funded by a number of sources, notably the Welsh Government and the National Lottery, was completed in October 2018.[8] [9]
The £30-million redevelopment project provided many benefits, including three new galleries showcasing Wales’ history, improvements to buildings such as the Iron Age farmstead, Bryn Eryr, and Medieval Prince's court and Llys Llywelyn, as well as a refurbished main entrance building and a new restaurant, play area and learning spaces.[10] One of the new buildings, the Gweithdy ('workshop'), features Stone Age tools and stick chairs.[11]
In June 2019, St Fagans was named UK's Museum of the Year 2019 by the Art Fund, which commended the facility's "exceptional imagination, innovation and achievement".[12]
Buildings and exhibits
The museum comprises more than forty buildings representing the architecture of Wales, including a nonconformist chapel (in this case, Unitarian),[13] a village schoolhouse, a toll road tollbooth (below), a cockpit (below), a pigsty (below), and a tannery (below).
The museum holds displays of traditional crafts, with a working blacksmith forge, a pottery, a weaver, a miller, and a clog maker. It also includes two working water mills: one flour mill and one wool mill. Part of the site includes a small working farm which concentrates on preserving local Welsh native breeds of livestock. Produce from the museum's bakery and flour mill is available for sale.
The medieval parish church of Saint Teilo, formerly at Llandeilo Tal-y-bont in west Glamorgan (restored to its pre-Reformation state), was opened in October 2007 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and still serves as a place of worship for Christmas, Easter, and Harvest Thanksgiving. A Tudor merchant's house from Haverfordwest was opened in 2012.[14] A relocation of the historic Vulcan public house from Newtown in Cardiff to St Fagans was completed in May 2024.[15] [16]
Although the museum was intended to preserve aspects of Welsh rural life, it now includes several buildings that depict the industrial working life that succeeded it, that being almost extinct in Wales. There is a row of workers' cottages, depicting furnishing from 1800 to 1985, from Rhyd-y-car near Merthyr Tydfil (below), as well as the pristine Oakdale Workmen's Institute. A post-war prefabricated bungalow (below) represents later domestic lifestyles.[17]
From 1996 to 2012, the museum hosted the Everyman Summer Theatre Festival when it re-located from Dyffryn Gardens. This festival, which includes a Shakespeare play, a musical, and a children's show, has become part of the Welsh theatrical calendar since its founding at Dyffryn in 1983.[18] [19]
Scenes from the Doctor Who episodes "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" were filmed at the museum.[20] [21] [22]
Based on archaeological findings, a reconstruction of Llys Rhosyr, a thirteenth-century court of the princes of Gwynedd,[23] [24] was completed and opened to the public in October 2018. Called Llys Llewelyn ('Llewelyn's Court'), it was opened with the intention that schoolchildren would be able to stay in the buildings overnight, from spring 2019.[25]
The Gweithdy ('Workshop'), a sustainable building designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, was first opened in July 2017;[26] a café was later added. The new gallery was opened in October 2018, housing improved facilities for visitors while supporting the study of collections and hosting demonstrations and workshops by traditional craftsmen.
List of structures
| Image | Name | Date | Re-erected | Original site | County
(historic) | Unitary Authority
(modern) | Listing |
|---|
| Main entrance and administration offices
(Dale Owen of Percy Thomas Partnership architects). | 1968–74 | — | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | | |
|---|
| St Teilo's Church | (present form:) | 2007 | Llandeilo Tal-y-bont, near Pontarddulais | Glamorgan | Swansea | |
|---|
| Boathouse and nethouse | | (Reconstruction) | | | | |
|---|
| Cilewent farmhouse | (present form: 1734) | 1959 | Cwmdauddwr | Radnorshire | Powys | | |
|---|
| Clogmaker's workshop | — | — | Ysgeifiog, near St Davids | Pembrokeshire | Pembrokeshire | |
|---|
| Tudor Merchant's House | | 2012 | Haverfordwest | Pembrokeshire | Pembrokeshire | |
|---|
| Hendre'r Ywydd Uchaf farmhouse | 1508 | 1962 | Llangynhafal, near Llandyrnog | Denbighshire | Denbighshire | | |
|---|
| Y Garreg Fawr farmhouse | 1544 | 1984 | Waunfawr | Caernarfonshire | Gwynedd | |
|---|
| Stryt Lydan barn | | 1951 | Penley | Flintshire | Wrexham | | |
|---|
| St Fagans Castle | 1580 | — | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | | |
|---|
| Dovecote | 18th century | — | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | | |
|---|
| Hendre Wen barn | | 1982 | Llanrwst | Denbighshire | Conwy | |
|---|
| Hawk and Buckle Inn cockpit
(Denbigh Cockpit) | | 1970 | Denbigh | Denbighshire | Denbighshire | | |
|---|
| Kennixton Farmhouse | 1610 | 1955 | Llangennith | Glamorgan | Swansea | | |
|---|
| Lead cistern in east forecourt
of St Fagans Castle | 1620 | | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | | |
|---|
| Abernodwydd farmhouse | 1678 | 1955 | Llangadfan | Montgomeryshire | Powys | | |
|---|
| Llawr-y-glyn Smithy | | 1972 | Llawryglyn | Montgomeryshire | Powys | | |
|---|
| Rhaeadr Tannery | | 1968 | Rhayader | Montgomeryshire | Powys | | |
|---|
| Esgair Moel woollen mill | 1760 | 1952 | Llanwrtyd | Brecknockshire | Powys | | |
|---|
| Llainfadyn cottage | 1762 | 1962 | Rhostryfan | Caernarfonshire | Gwynedd | | |
|---|
| Nant Wallter cottage | | 1993 | Taliaris, near Llandeilo | Carmarthenshire | Carmarthenshire | |
|---|
| Southgate tollhouse
(Penparcau Tollhouse) | 1772 | 1968 | Penparcau, Aberystwyth | Cardiganshire | Ceredigion | | |
|---|
| Pen Rhiw Unitarian chapel
(Capel Pen-rhiw) | 1777 | 1956 | Dre-fach Felindre | Carmarthenshire | Carmarthenshire | | |
|---|
| Cae Adda byre | | 2003 | Waunfawr | Caernarfonshire | Gwynedd | |
|---|
| Pigsty | | 1977 | Hendre Ifan Prosser | Glamorgan | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |
|---|
| Rhyd-y-Car ironworkers' cottages | | 1986 | Rhyd-y-Car, Merthyr Tydfil | Glamorgan | Merthyr Tydfil | |
|---|
| Llwyn-yr-Eos farmhouse | | — | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | | |
|---|
| Gorse mill | | 1983 | Dôl-wen | Denbighshire | Denbighshire | |
|---|
| Melin Bompren corn mill | | 1977 | Cross Inn | Carmarthenshire | Ceredigion | |
|---|
| Maentwrog Hayshed | 1870 | 1977 | Maentwrog | Merionethshire | Gwynedd | |
|---|
| Summer House | | 1988 | Bute Park, Cardiff | Glamorgan | Cardiff | |
|---|
| Gwalia Stores | 1880 | 1991 | Ogmore Vale | Glamorgan | Bridgend | |
|---|
| Maestir School | | 1984 | Maestir, near Lampeter | Cardiganshire | Ceredigion | |
|---|
| Ty'n Rhos Sawmill | 1892 | 1994 | Tŷ'n Rhos, near Llanddewi Brefi | Cardiganshire | Ceredigion | |
|---|
| Tailor's shop | 1896 (extended 1920s) | 1992 | Cross Inn | Cardiganshire | Ceredigion | |
|---|
| Ewenny Pottery | | 1988 | Ewenny | Glamorgan | Vale of Glamorgan | |
|---|
| Derwen bakehouse | 1900 | 1987 | Thespian Street, Aberystwyth | Cardiganshire | Ceredigion | |
|---|
| Urinal | | 1978 | Llandrindod railway station | Radnorshire | Powys | |
|---|
| Oakdale Workmen's Institute | 1916 | 1995 | Oakdale | Monmouthshire | Caerphilly | |
|---|
| Saddler's workshop | 1926 | 1986 | St Clears | Carmarthenshire | Carmarthenshire | |
|---|
| Blaenwaun Post Office | 1936 | 1992 | Blaenwaun, near Whitland | Carmarthenshire | Carmarthenshire | |
|---|
| Newbridge War Memorial | 1936 | 1996 | Caetwmpyn Park, Newbridge | Monmouthshire | Caerphilly | |
|---|
| Anderson air raid shelter | | | | | | |
|---|
| Prefab bungalow | 1948 | 1998 | Gabalfa, Cardiff | Glamorgan | Cardiff | |
|---|
| House for the Future/ Ty Gwyrdd | 2000[27] | — | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | |
|---|
| Bryn Eryr Iron Age roundhouses | | 2015[28]
(Reconstruction) | | Anglesey | Anglesey | |
|---|
| Gweithdy | 2016
(opened 2018) | — | St Fagans | Glamorgan | Cardiff | |
|---|
| Llys Llewelyn, 13th century royal court | 1200s | 2016–18
(Reconstruction) | Rhosyr | Anglesey | Anglesey | |
|---|
| The Vulcan Hotel | 1853 | 2012-2024 | Adamsdown, Cardiff | Glamorgan | Cardiff | | |
|---|
Minor exhibits
Future developments
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Visits made in 2010 to visitor attractions in membership with ALVA. Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. 22 October 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101031142218/http://www.alva.org.uk/visitor_statistics/. 31 October 2010.
- Web site: The history of the suburb of St. Fagans. Witty. Matthew. www.cardiffians.co.uk. en-gb. 18 October 2018.
- News: The story of Wales' best-loved museum as St Fagans hits 70. Clements. Laura. 2018-08-04. walesonline. 23 October 2018.
- News: National History Museum at St Fagans soars to the top of UK's favourite tourist sites . Clare Hutchinson . WalesOnline . 29 September 2011 . 22 October 2011.
- News: Welsh History Month: St Fagans’ 100-acre site now contains more than 40 original buildings that demonstrate many aspects of Wales’ architectural history. Pyke. Chris. 2014-10-09. walesonline. 18 October 2018.
- News: St Fagans celebrates 60 years. WalesOnline. 2008-06-30. walesonline. 18 October 2018.
- News: St Fagans museum's redevelopment opens. 2017-07-13. BBC News. 2018-10-23. en-GB.
- Web site: 'Story of Wales': history museum's six-year revamp completed. Morris. Steven. 18 October 2018. the Guardian. en. 18 October 2018.
- News: The £30m revamp at St Fagans National Museum of History. Bevan. Nathan. 2018-10-18. walesonline. 2018-10-23.
- News: Doors reopen at St Fagans after multimillion-pound redevelopment The National Lottery Heritage Fund . 20 June 2021 . Heritage Fund . 18 October 2018.
- News: Pickford . James . St Fagans wins museum prize after overhaul . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/vsazM . 11 December 2022 . subscription . 20 June 2021 . Financial Times . 3 July 2019.
- News: Brown . Mark . Revamped St Fagans in Wales is 2019 Art Fund museum of the year . 20 June 2021 . the Guardian . 3 July 2019 . en.
- Web site: Opening ceremony of Pen-rhiw Chapel at the Welsh Folk Museum, St. Fagans, 21 June 1956. Peoples Collection Wales. en. 18 October 2018.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18664538 BBC News, "Haverfordwest Tudor trader home opens at St Fagans museum", 2 July 2012
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-18816130 BBC News – "Work starts to move Cardiff's Vulcan pub to St Fagans museum", 12 July 2012
- https://museum.wales/stfagans/buildings/the_vulcan_pub/ "Historical Buildings at St Fagans - The Vulcan Hotel"
- News: St.Fagans: Time for Welsh History. British Heritage. 2018-10-18. en.
- News: The Power of Everyman: Cardiff's Theatre Festival. 2015-08-04. Wales Arts Review. 2018-10-18. en-US.
- News: Everyman takes plays outdoors. Owens. David. 2010-07-01. walesonline. 2018-10-18.
- Web site: BBC – Wales – Arts – Doctor Who in Wales – St Fagans Natural History Museum, Cardiff. www.bbc.co.uk. en-GB. 18 October 2018.
- News: Close encounters with the Welsh world of Dr Who – World Travel Guide. World Travel Guide. 2018-10-18. en-US.
- News: 13 Doctor Who filming locations you can visit in South Wales. Radio Times. 18 October 2018. en.
- News: St Fagans £24m revamp takes a step forward. Wales Online.
- News: One of Wales' favorite museums is having a big revamp and this is what you can expect. Wales Online. 5 December 2016. 23 October 2018.
- News: 'Story of Wales': history museum's six-year revamp completed . theguardian.com . 18 October 2018 . 23 October 2018.
- Web site: This is what St Fagans looks like after the latest part of its £30 million makeover is complete. 13 July 2017. Joshua Knapman. WalesOnline. 21 August 2019.
- News: First tenants meet house of the future . BBC Wales . 30 September 2000 . 9 March 2016 .
- http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/blog/2015-08-18/Bryn-Eryr-from-house-to-home/ Bryn Eryr: from house to home
- News: St Fagans: National History Museum police station plans . 21 July 2011 . BBC News. 6 May 2012.
