Alistair Hardaker | Image: St Fagans Castle ()
St Fagans Castle will close for three months as part of £11.5m Welsh Government funding for Amgueddfa Cymru’s historic buildings and collections.
The Welsh Government is providing £1.8 million this financial year for restoration work at St Fagans National Museum of History, including essential roof repairs to the Grade I listed castle and conservation of historic glasshouses.
St Fagans Castle will close for three months from this week to begin roof refurbishment work that will continue over the next two years. The project aims to protect the long-term future of one of the most significant historic buildings at the museum.
The funding will also support restoration of the museum’s two remaining nineteenth-century glasshouses. This work is additionally supported by a grant from Colwinston Charitable Trust and other contributors.
The St Fagans investment forms part of a wider programme of support for Amgueddfa Cymru totalling £11.5 million this financial year. This includes almost £3.5 million for priority building works at National Museum Cardiff, £3.3 million towards the ongoing redevelopment of the National Slate Museum, £1.5 million for decarbonisation projects, over £780,000 for storage and collections care, and over £706,000 for visitor experience improvements at St Fagans and the National Waterfront Museum.
The funding is additional to the £5 million capital funding Amgueddfa Cymru receives as part of its annual grant. The Welsh Government is also working with Amgueddfa Cymru to carry out building condition surveys across the St Fagans site to inform future investment priorities.
Minister for Culture, Jack Sargeant, said: “This is about more than one building. We’re investing nearly £11.5million this financial year to care for our national museums, for essential works at National Museum Cardiff and the transformation of the National Slate Museum.
The rest of the museum site, including its historic buildings, galleries and grounds, will remain open throughout the castle works.
Chief Executive of Amgueddfa Cymru, Jane Richardson added: “The works which are starting at St Fagans Castle this month will help to safeguard the building for the future and we are extremely grateful to the Welsh Government for their investment.
“It’s exciting to see so much work taking place to protect, conserve and develop our museums right across Wales, which will ultimately help us to widen access to the national collection for everyone.”
