Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales


Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, branded as simply Amgueddfa Cymru, is a Welsh Government sponsored body that comprises seven museums in Wales. Established by Royal Charter in 1907, it is one of the largest museum networks in the United Kingdom and Wales's most important cultural institution.
The organisation operates seven museums across Wales: National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National Museum of History, Big Pit National Coal Museum, National Wool Museum, National Slate Museum, Roman Legion Museum">Roman Britain">Roman Legion Museum, and the National Waterfront Museum. It also runs Oriel y Parc, a gallery partnership in St Davids, and maintains the National Collections Centre in Nantgarw as its storage facility.
Amgueddfa Cymru houses internationally significant collections spanning natural history, archaeology, art, and industrial heritage, with particular emphasis on Welsh cultural and scientific specimens. The network attracts over 1.89 million visitors annually, making it one of Wales's most popular tourist attractions. St Fagans National Museum of History, established in 1948, was the United Kingdom's first national open-air museum and remains Europe's leading open-air museum.
The organisation's mission, encapsulated in its vision "Inspiring people, changing lives", focuses on preserving and interpreting Wales's cultural and natural heritage. Originally conceived to illustrate the geology, mineralogy, zoology, botany, ethnography, archaeology, art, history and special industries of Wales, the institution has evolved to reflect contemporary museological practices whilst maintaining its core educational and research functions. The network is funded by the Welsh Government and admission to all sites is free.
WWW Official Site𝕏 AmgueddfaCymru

History

Founding (1905–1907)

The National Museum of Wales was founded in 1905, with its royal charter granted by King Edward VII on 19 March 1907. The 1907 Charter stated that the museum's purpose was to be achieved primarily by the complete illustration of the geology, mineralogy, zoology, botany, ethnography, archaeology, art, history and special industries of Wales. The establishment of the museum was part of a broader movement of Welsh cultural and educational institutions, coinciding with the founding of the National Library of Wales, which received its Royal Charter on the same date.
Part of the bid for Cardiff to obtain the National Museum for Wales included the gift of the Cardiff Museum Collection, then known as "Welsh Museum of Natural History, Archaeology and Art," which was formally handed over in 1912. The Cardiff Museum had previously been sharing the building of Cardiff Library and was a sub-department of the library until 1893.

Early development and construction (1908–1927)

Construction of the new building in the civic complex of Cathays Park began in 1912, designed by architects Arnold Dunbar Smith and Cecil Brewer. The Foundation Stone was laid by King George V on 26 June 1912. However, owing to the First World War, construction was significantly delayed and the museum did not open to the public until 28 October 1922, with the official opening ceremony taking place in 1927.
The first directors to lead the institution were William Evans Hoyle and the renowned archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, followed by Sir Cyril Fox, who oversaw much of the museum's early development and expansion.

Network expansion (1940s–1960s)

The museum began expanding beyond its Cardiff headquarters in the mid-20th century. The most significant expansion came with the establishment of St Fagans National Museum of History. The museum was founded in 1946 following the donation of St Fagans Castle and its surrounding 18 acres of land by the Earl of Plymouth. It opened to the public on 1 July 1948 under the name of the Welsh Folk Museum, becoming the first National open-air museum within the United Kingdom.
The concept was the brainchild of Welsh poet and museum curator Iorwerth Peate, who was inspired by Skansen, the outdoor museum of vernacular Swedish architecture in Stockholm. St Fagans' collections have their roots in the 'Welsh Bygones' gallery which opened at the National Museum in Cathays Park in 1926.

Modernisation and industrial heritage (1970s–1990s)

By the early 1970s, the Museum had new exhibition galleries, offices and workrooms. Three new galleries were opened: the Gallery of Material Culture in 1970; the Agricultural Gallery in 1974; and the Costume gallery in 1976.
By the 1980s, Wales' industrial communities were as threatened as the rural way of life had been in the 1940s. A change of direction was needed. In 1987, the Rhyd-y-car ironworkers' cottages from Merthyr Tydfil were relocated to St Fagans. This marked a significant shift in the museum's focus to include Wales's industrial heritage alongside its traditional rural collections.
The network continued to grow with the establishment of specialist museums focused on Wales's industrial past, including the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon, and the National Wool Museum in Dre-fach Felindre.

Contemporary developments (2000–present)

The 21st century has seen significant investment in the museum network. St Fagans underwent a six-year, £30-million revamp that was completed in 2018, and the museum was named the Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2019. This redevelopment included three new galleries showcasing Wales's history, improvements to buildings, and enhanced visitor facilities.
In 2015, Amgueddfa Cymru agreed a new Vision, "Inspiring people, changing lives", to guide all future activities. The organisation has also undertaken significant rebranding, with the current logo introduced in August 2022.
Under the leadership of successive directors, including Michael Houlihan, David Anderson, and the current Director General Jane Richardson, the museum has continued to evolve its mission of preserving and interpreting Welsh cultural and natural heritage for contemporary audiences.
In October 2025, the museum launched its digital image library, Amgueddfa Cymru Images, offering free access to more than 2,000 images from the national collection, including photographs and images of objects reflecting Wales' social, industrial and natural heritage. along with images of artworks from its collection by Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir.

Museums and sites

Amgueddfa Cymru comprises seven museums throughout Wales, plus one gallery partnership and a collections storage facility. The museums span different aspects of Welsh cultural and natural heritage, from fine art and natural history to industrial heritage and archaeology.
InstitutionType of collectionLocationOpenedVisitor numbers Image
National Museum CardiffNatural history, fine art, archaeologyCardiff
Cathays Park		1922 539,550
St Fagans National Museum of HistorySocial history, vernacular architecture, Welsh cultureCardiff
St Fagans		1948 553,090
Big Pit National Coal MuseumCoal mining history and industrial heritageBlaenavon, Torfaen1983 141,969
National Waterfront MuseumMaritime history, industrial heritage, innovationSwansea2005 268,622
National Slate MuseumSlate quarrying and Welsh industrial heritageLlanberis, Gwynedd1972 145,969
National Roman Legion MuseumRoman archaeology and historyCaerleon, Newport1850 70,021
National Wool MuseumWelsh textile industry and wool productionDre-fach Felindre, Carmarthenshire1976 36,909
Oriel y ParcWelsh landscape art and Pembrokeshire heritageSt David's, Pembrokeshire2005—
National Collections CentreCollections storage and conservationNantgarw, Rhondda Cynon Taf1993—

The industrial heritage museums, Big Pit National Coal Museum, National Slate Museum, and National Wool Museum, preserve and interpret Wales's industrial past, offering immersive experiences including underground mine tours at Big Pit and working demonstrations of traditional crafts at the other sites. The National Roman Legion Museum houses one of Britain's most important collections of Roman military artefacts from the Isca Augusta fortress.

Collections

Amgueddfa Cymru's collections span multiple disciplines and include internationally significant holdings. The natural history collections comprise over 6 million specimens including botanical, zoological, geological, and palaeontological materials, with particular strength in Welsh biodiversity and geological formations. The archaeology collections encompass material from prehistoric times through the medieval period, with notable Roman finds from Caerleon and prehistoric artefacts from across Wales.
The art collections include Welsh works from the 16th century to the present, European Old Masters, and one of the world's finest collections of Impressionist art, largely formed through the Davies sisters' bequest in the 1950s and 1960s. The industrial heritage collections document Wales's role in the Industrial Revolution, including tools, machinery, and social history material from coal mining, slate quarrying, and textile production.

Administration

The following persons have served as Directors of the National Museum of Wales:
PortraitDirectorTerm startTerm end
1William Evans Hoyle19081924
2Sir Mortimer Wheeler19251926
3Sir Cyril Fox19271948
4D. Dilwyn John19481968
5Gwyn Jones19681977
6Douglas Bassett19771985
7David W. Dykes19861989
8Alastair Wilson19891993
9Colin Ford19931998
10Anna Southall19982002
11Michael Houlihan20032010
12David Anderson20102023
13Jane Richardson2023Incumbent