The Minister for Heritage, Alun Ffred Jones, today announced £1m of new funding for St Fagans National History Museum, one of Wales’ most popular visitor attractions.
The open-air museum has seen strong visitor figures during the summer, and was also recently voted one of the top 10 free sites across the UK by users of leading web-rating site Trip Advisor.
The Museum’s popularity with visitors over the years has placed a strain on the site’s infrastructure – with up 20,000 visits expected over the August bank holiday weekend.
The funding, following on from £400,000 last year from the Welsh Assembly Government, will enable the Museum to carry out essential maintenance and crucial modernisation works across the site such as upgrading electrical and water capacity.
Although much of the investment will not be immediately visible to the public, it is vital in terms of maintaining St Fagans’ iconic status as a must-see destination – at the heart of Welsh tourism.
This work will also lay the foundations for the longer term wider re-development of the site by ensuring that the site is able to support new galleries and visitor services which are planned. This long-term project received a recent boost with the announcement of a £450,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Museum to work up more detailed plans.
Under the exciting plans currently being drawn up, St Fagans would see the introduction of the National Archaeology Collection and an extended time-line to cover the 250,000 years of human inhabitation of Wales. There would be significant investment in interpretation across the site and the creation of a new indoor space in the grounds, providing an important all-weather facility away from the existing main building. The existing galleries and visitor facilities would also be upgraded.
Alun Ffred Jones said:
“We are keen to ensure that St Fagan’s maintains its position at the heart of Welsh cultural life and its status as Wales’ premier free tourist attraction. It is vital that this much cherished national institution is upgraded and improved in order to present a modern, confident and diverse image of Wales to visitors.”
It is anticipated that the re-developed St Fagans will provide a major economic boost both during the construction phases and for the wider tourist economy.
St Fagans National History Museum was opened in 1948 as the first open-air museum in the UK, with the aim of portraying how the people of Wales lived, worked and spent their leisure time over the last 500 years.
Today, St Fagans has over 40 original buildings, moved from various parts of Wales and re-erected to show different periods in history. It is Wales’s most popular visitor attraction and the second most visited open-air museum in Europe, attracting over 600,000 visits a year.
Entry to the museum is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government, with visitor figures doubling since free entry was introduced.
Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central, Leanne Wood, added:
“I’m pleased this money will be going towards St Fagan’s Museum. It is one of the jewels in the crown in the Welsh Museum portfolio because it illustrates the rich history of our country so vividly. It is renowned across Europe and we should be very proud of it here in Wales.
“Having charted the progress of St Fagan’s over the years, I am looking forward to it going from strength-to-strength. This money, announced by Plaid Cymru’s Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones, will allow that development to take place.”
