 Logo used since August 2022[1] | |
 National Museum Cardiff, its main site | |
| Locations of its branches (in red) and other sites (in blue) connected to the body. | |
| Established | 1907 (1907) |
|---|---|
| Location | Cardiff;Blaenavon;Llanberis;Swansea;Caerleon;Dre-fach Felindre;St Davids |
| Type | Welsh Government sponsored body |
| Visitors | 1.89+ million (2017) |
| Director | Jane Richardson, Director General |
| Website | museum |
Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, branded as simplyAmgueddfa Cymru (formerly theNational Museums and Galleries of Wales and legallyNational Museum of Wales), is aWelsh Government sponsored body that comprises seven museums inWales. 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 (its flagship site),St Fagans National Museum of History,Big Pit National Coal Museum,National Wool Museum,National Slate Museum,National Roman Legion Museum, and theNational Waterfront Museum. It also runs Oriel y Parc, a gallery partnership inSt Davids, and maintains the National Collections Centre inNantgarw 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,[2] 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.
The National Museum of Wales was founded in 1905, with its royal charter granted byKing Edward VII on 19 March 1907.[3] 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 theNational Library of Wales, which received its Royal Charter on the same date.[4]
Part of the bid forCardiff 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.[5] TheCardiff Museum had previously been sharing the building of Cardiff Library and was a sub-department of the library until 1893.[4]
Construction of the new building in the civic complex ofCathays Park began in 1912, designed by architects Arnold Dunbar Smith and Cecil Brewer.[6][7] The Foundation Stone was laid byKing George V on 26 June 1912.[8] 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.[9]
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The first directors to lead the institution wereWilliam Evans Hoyle (1908–1924) and the renowned archaeologistSir Mortimer Wheeler (1925–1926), followed bySir Cyril Fox (1926–1948), who oversaw much of the museum's early development and expansion.[10]
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.[11] The museum was founded in 1946 following the donation ofSt Fagans Castle and its surrounding 18 acres of land by theEarl of Plymouth.[12] It opened to the public on 1 July 1948 under the name of the Welsh Folk Museum, becoming the first Nationalopen-air museum within the United Kingdom.[13]
The concept was the brainchild of Welsh poet and museum curatorIorwerth Peate, who was inspired bySkansen, 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.[14]
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;[15] the Agricultural Gallery in 1974;[16] and the Costume gallery in 1976.[17]
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.[18] 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 theNational Slate Museum in Llanberis,Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon, and theNational Wool Museum in Dre-fach Felindre.
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.[19] 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.[20] The organisation has also undertaken significant rebranding, with the current logo introduced in August 2022.[1]
Under the leadership of successive directors, including Michael Houlihan (2003–2010), David Anderson (2010–2023), and the current Director General Jane Richardson (2023–present), the museum has continued to evolve its mission of preserving and interpreting Welsh cultural and natural heritage for contemporary audiences.[citation needed]
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 byVan Gogh,Monet andRenoir.[21][22]
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is:2017 visitor figures. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2024) |
Amgueddfa Cymru comprises seven museums throughoutWales, plus one gallery partnership and a collections storage facility.[23] The museums span different aspects of Welsh cultural and natural heritage, from fine art and natural history to industrial heritage and archaeology.
| Institution | Type of collection | Location | Opened | Visitor numbers (2017) | Image | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Museum Cardiff | Natural history,fine art,archaeology | Cardiff Cathays Park | 1922 |  539,550 | | [24][2] |
| St Fagans National Museum of History | Social history,vernacular architecture,Welsh culture | Cardiff St Fagans | 1948 | 553,090 |  | [25][2] |
| Big Pit National Coal Museum | Coal mining history andindustrial heritage | Blaenavon,Torfaen | 1983 | 141,969 |  | [26][2] |
| National Waterfront Museum | Maritime history,industrial heritage,innovation | Swansea | 2005 | 268,622 | .jpg) | [27][2] |
| National Slate Museum | Slate quarrying andWelsh industrial heritage | Llanberis,Gwynedd | 1972 | 145,969 |  | [28][2] |
| National Roman Legion Museum | Romanarchaeology and history | Caerleon,Newport | 1850 | 70,021 |  | [29][2] |
| National Wool Museum | Welshtextile industry andwool production | Dre-fach Felindre,Carmarthenshire | 1976 | 36,909 |  | [30][2] |
| Oriel y Parc | Welshlandscape art andPembrokeshire heritage | St David's,Pembrokeshire | 2005 | — | [31] | |
| National Collections Centre | Collections storage and conservation | Nantgarw,Rhondda Cynon Taf | 1993 | — | [23] |
The industrial heritage museums,Big Pit National Coal Museum,National Slate Museum, andNational 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. TheNational Roman Legion Museum houses one of Britain's most important collections of Roman military artefacts from theIsca Augusta fortress.
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 fromCaerleon 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 ofImpressionist art, largely formed through the Davies sisters' bequest in the 1950s and 1960s. The industrial heritage collections document Wales's role in theIndustrial Revolution, including tools, machinery, and social history material from coal mining, slate quarrying, and textile production.
The following persons have served as Directors of the National Museum of Wales:
| No. | Portrait | Director | Term start | Term end | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Evans Hoyle | 1908 | 1924 | ||
| 2 | Sir Mortimer Wheeler | 1925 | 1926 | ||
| 3 |  | Sir Cyril Fox | 1927 | 1948 | |
| 4 | D. Dilwyn John | 1948 | 1968 | ||
| 5 | Gwyn Jones | 1968 | 1977 | ||
| 6 |  | Douglas Bassett | 1977 | 1985 | |
| 7 | David W. Dykes | 1986 | 1989 | ||
| 8 | Alastair Wilson | 1989 | 1993 | ||
| 9 | Colin Ford | 1993 | 1998 | ||
| 10 | Anna Southall | 1998 | 2002 | [32] | |
| 11 | Michael Houlihan | 2003 | 2010 | [33] | |
| 12 | David Anderson | 2010 | 2023 | [34][35] | |
| 13 | Jane Richardson | 2023 | Incumbent | [36][37] |
Media related toAmgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales at Wikimedia Commons| Tourism organisations and projects |
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