Making History at St Fagans
Making History is an exciting £20 million project to transform the visitor experience at St Fagans: National History Museum.
St Fagans has changed a lot since it opened over 60 years ago and we are continually striving to improve this national treasure.
We will be extending the timeline of the stories told at the Museum, so that visitors can follow the development of Wales from the very first human inhabitants to the present day and beyond.
We would like to know what you think about the redevelopment, so please give us your feedback on the current proposals.
What we hope to do
Extend the timeline
At the moment, St Fagans concentrates on the history of the people of Wales over the last 500 years. We will bring the national archaeology collections from National Museum Cardiff to St Fagans, to help us to tell the story of the first people to live in Wales 250,000 years ago and to place the story of Wales in the context of world history.
Create an all-weather attraction
As well as improving the open-air aspect, we will be developing the under-cover offer. The galleries in the main building will be totally refurbished to create new learning and exhibition spaces and a brand new structure will be built in the woodlands for visitors to experience Wales’s history and the nation’s treasures.
Events
There will be more activities and events to support the extended timeline with an emphasis on giving visitors a chance to take part. Visitors will also be able to experience open-air archaeology and we're keen to create opportunities for volunteers and to work closely with community groups.
Provide new routes into Welsh history
By suggesting new ways of navigating St Fagans and updating the interpretation around the site, we will be making it easier for visitors to find out more about specific aspects of Welsh history and plan their experience according to interests and time restraints.
Enjoyment
Our visitors are at the core of the project, and we will be improving facilities to try and provide the best possible experience. There will be safe places for our younger visitors to learn through play and new places to eat and meet. The under-cover improvements will make St Fagans a place to enjoy all through the year, whatever the weather.
The benefits for Wales
St Fagans is the second most visited open-air museum in Europe, attracting over 600,000 visitors a year. It has become the home of Welsh history - part of the fabric of Welsh identity and place to which many people from Wales and all over the world make a pilgrimage and expect to experience the story of Wales.
This 10-year investment will present a strong message of change and exciting new directions. It will reinforce the position of St Fagans as a must-see attraction for visitors to Wales - an essential element of Welsh heritage tourism that will benefit the whole of Wales.
Alongside Government backing, this bold new investment will also look for additional funding from the business community, grant-awarding bodies and private individuals who want to support Wales in the 21st century.
Making History Together
Over the next 10 years St Fagans: National History Museum needs your help to develop into a Museum which meets the needs of the people of Wales today.
With support from the Welsh Government, the Creu Hanes - Making History project will be seeking a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to transform the visitor experience by completely revamping the main building, opening exciting new galleries and learning spaces and improving visitor facilities.
The new vision for St Fagans will be achieved through the following changes:
- new reconstructed buildings illustrating life in Iron Age and medieval Wales
- a brand new sustainable building with display and activity spaces to try out traditional skills
- improved access to the Castle and gardens
- new play areas
- reinstating the historical landscaping in the woods at the south of the site
- landscaping and environmental improvements to the car park.
Extension and alterations to the Main Building include:
- new activity-rich exhibitions and galleries
- a new Learning Centre for activities, workshops and access to collections
- roofing the existing courtyard to provide a new welcoming orientation space
- a new shop and cafe.
We would like to know what you think about the redevelopment. Please take a look at the plans and give us your feedback below
Architectural Plans (Click an image to download the PDF)
New building (Click an image for more detail)
Main building (Click an image for more detail)
Send an email
Events
St Fagans: National: History Museum in Cardiff is preparing an ambitious plan to create a new kind of museum.
By mixing the display of archaeology and history using galleries, re-erected historical buildings and the landscape we’re hoping to create an exciting visitor experience that will be the home of Welsh history.
Making History: 1500-1700
Wales, like many other countries, witnessed great changes between 1500 and 1700. This was the period of the kings and queens of the Tudors and Stuarts; religious upheaval; the union of Wales with England and civil war.
Step back in time into the Museum’s historic buildings, experience living history re-enactments, see amazing objects from the Museum’s collections and come and listen to expert talks. We will provide you with a glimpse of some of the turning points in Welsh history.
As part of the preparations, the Museum will be experimenting with a series of events reflecting the tumultuous two centuries between 1500-1700.
Making History: 1500-1700
Combining our historical and archaeological collections, this exhibition provides a glimpse of some of the turning points in Welsh history during these 200 years.
The Making History project will transform the visitor experience at St Fagans: National History Museum. We are extending the range of stories, so that visitors can follow the history of the development of Wales from the very first human inhabitants.
We begin by looking at the period AD 1500-1700 – a time of great change.
Wales, like many other countries, witnessed great changes between AD 1500 and 1700. This was the period of the Tudors and Stuarts, religious upheaval, the union of Wales with England and civil war.
Objects in the exhibition include:
Kemeys Rood Figure
In Wales around 500 years ago, carvings such as this one would have been seen in every church. Discovered walled-up in Kemeys Inferior Church, Monmouthshire, in the 1800s. Of the four known to have survived, three were found in Wales.
St Catherine wall-painting
An image of St Catherine that remained hidden for centuries under layers of limewash at St Teilo’s Church in Pontarddulais, near Swansea. It came to light in the 1980s.
1588 Bible
The first complete Welsh Bible, translated in 1588. Queen Elizabeth I endorsed a translation of the Bible not to save a language, but to promote Protestanism among the Welsh.
Sir Rhys ap Thomas bed
One of the earliest surviving four-poster beds from Wales, made 500 years ago for Sir Rhys ap Thomas, a member of the ancient Welsh upper classes.
Justice’s chair
Before 1600, chairs were rare pieces of furniture. Most people sat on benches or stools, or on the floor. This chair comes from Tregib, an important estate in the Tywi Valley, Carmarthenshire. Did it belong to Morgan ap John ap Harry of Tregib? He was a Justice of the Peace in 1581 and later Sheriff of Carmarthenshire in 1602.
Ewenny armour
A cache of armour deliberately concealed in a field near Ewenny Priory, Vale of Glamorgan. It may have been hidden during the 1646 Royalist uprising led by Sir Edward Carne, who owned the land at this time.
Tregwynt Hoard
One of Wales’s finest coin hoards was discovered by Roy Lewis at Tregwynt Mansion, north Pembrokeshire, in September 1996 after ground was levelled to build a tennis court.
Making History: Get Involved!
Welcome to the Making History consultation pages. Here you can:
- Find out how you can get involved in our consultation programme
- Have your say and send your comments to us
- Your views are important - so join in and make a difference!
News
The Museum has been successful in the first stage of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) funding process. The project will now develop in two phases. The final bid will be submitted to the HLF early 2012 and, if the museum is successful, the building works will start in 2013 with an anticipated completion date in 2017. However, these timings will depend upon the availability and timing of funding.
We are currently thinking about what we should display in our new galleries. We have appointed a design team of architects, engineers and exhibition designers who are looking at options to improve the site.
Have your say
You can email us at makinghistory@museumwales.ac.uk
Or write to us:
Making History Project Office: Consultation response
St Fagans: National History Museum
Cardiff
CF5 6XB
Or fill out a comment card at any of our museum sites.
The consultation responses will be collected and carefully considered by staff at Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales. We will take your views into account when developing our plans for the site and your responses will contribute to the final bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Making St Fagans relevant to you!
- We can offer opportunities for individuals, groups and organisations to work with the Museum to develop 'people-focused' histories of Wales.
- Help us ensure the stories we tell at St Fagans: National History Museum are interesting and relevant to the communities that live in Wales today.
- Create stronger links/working partnerships with local communities in Wales.
- Take part in volunteer placements at the Museum. Come and learn new skills, meet new people and have lots of fun.
- St Fagans: National History Museum needs you! Have fun by taking part in lots of new and exciting activities to develop the content of YOUR museum.
