For the past eight months I have been gathering information about the questionnaires sent out by St Fagans National Museum of History in various decades during the twentieth century. The questionnaires focus on documenting everyday life in Wales and collecting information about what respondents knew about various subjects relating to the social and cultural life of the Welsh people. They open-up a fascinating insight into how people viewed the world around them and what they did in their everyday lives, as well as describing items they used for work or had in their homes. The responses are often very detailed about local knowledge. The earliest questionnaires in the collection are from 1937. Many respondents included sketches of the items they were describing and took time to give explanations about how they were used.

One respondent in the 1937 collection was W. Beynon Davies who gave information on the area of Dyffryn Aeron and central Cardiganshire. In this sketch he describes two different types of Gambo cart used in Duffryn Aeron, one with sides and the other with lower sides for different uses. G. Elfed Jones of Maesteg also gives many interesting facts about domestic items and interesting comments about his area including a sketch of a box iron and rubbings of a Crown Copper Penny dated 1811. Islwyn Ffowc Elis, who later became a Welsh author, was a school child at the time of the first questionnaires, includes pencil sketches of a goffering iron and other household items used in his home.

Other fascinating versions are questionnaires sent out in 1957 in collaboration with Anglesey Rural Community Council and the Welsh Folk Museum as St Fagans was known at the time. They listed in detail a typical day of work and eating patterns of rural workers. Questions included what time did respondents get up in the morning? What time did they have breakfast? What times of day did they work? What type of work did they do? What type of meals did they eat and what were the foods or meals called? It gives an unique picture of the hard work and long days often worked by rural workers.  Frances Grace Hughes of Llanfachreth records her working day would start at 5am, and ˈbedtime would be at 9pm. Servants would rise first and then the master and mistress of the house would wake. Before breakfast, the stables and cow sheds would be cleaned. Breakfast would be at 6am which would consist of bread and milk. Lunch would be at 12pm and consist of potatoes and bacon. Various tasks would be completed throughout the day including milking at 7am and 5pm and the evening meal would at 8pm. After supper they would amuse themselves by singing and telling stories or preparing meals for the next day.

In 1958, Lewis Williams, who was living in Treharris, vividly remembers Christmas traditions he enjoyed as a child in the Corris area and gives a detailed account of all the activities undertaken by the community including Calennig, and also the tradition of ˈcigaˈ during the hard winter of 1894 where neighbouring farms would give a donation of meat to struggling families.

During the 1970s and 1980s the questionnaires focused on dialect and language and housekeeping and food preparation. On the subjects of foods and cooking respondents were asked about the area they were giving information about e.g. on a farm, in a rural area, in a slate quarrying area or in a coal mining area. Respondents were asked to give information about foods eaten in different seasons, on different days and at every meal.

This is just a flavour of the information held in this collection and a window onto a period of Welsh life. The responses to the questionnaires and answer books can all be seen here.

Hello, I’m Rhodri Edwards and I’ve been e-volunteering with the National Museum Wales since January 2021. I’m currently studying A Levels in History, English Literature and Geography at Aberaeron Comprehensive School. I’ve been helping the History and Archaeology Department at St Fagans National Museum of History to transcribe some questionnaires that detail life in Wales from the 1930s to the 1980s. Everyone at the National Museum Wales has been extremely helpful and friendly, especially my supervisor Sioned Williams who always responds quickly to any queries I have and kindly offers lots of advice and support. Sioned gave a training session when I began which introduced us to the volunteering work, giving helpful tips such as using the word [sic] behind any spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes and putting question marks after any words that we are unsure of, which allows us to work effectively, independently and at our own pace. Through transcribing some of the questionnaires, I’ve learned a lot about the social history and heritage of my local area such as the agricultural and farming way of life, farmhouse features, what types of food farming families often produced and ate, for example dairy products like cream and cheese. Reading about people’s experiences has brought history to life for me and it is interesting to see how Welsh dialect has changed since the 1930s. I enjoy volunteering and working with the National Museum Wales, attending Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings where I listen to the experiences of other volunteers about what they have learned and discovered when they have been transcribing the historical questionnaires. Meeting other people working and volunteering for the National Museum Wales, joining events thoughtfully arranged by the National Museum Wales such as the virtual parties on Eventbrite and receiving a volunteering pack have all helped make me feel a valued part of the National Museum Wales. I’ve developed my proofreading skills by transcribing questionnaires and I’ve gained a greater insight into the subject of History which has provided me with valuable experience. Thank you very much to everyone for all their help and support, I appreciate the opportunity to be a volunteer at the National Museum Wales.

Amgueddfa Cymru is home to almost 1,400 paintings and drawings by Augustus John (1878-1961). A prolific portraitist, John painted many notable figures such as the poet and writer Dylan Thomas and the musician Guilhermina Suggia. He also made frequent sketches – in both pencil and oil paint – of unnamed people he encountered in everyday life. One such work in our collection has recently had its sitter identified thanks to the crowd-sourced resource Art Detective, where art lovers and experts can discuss artworks in public UK collections.

The work in question depicts a distinctive looking woman with cropped hair and a full fringe, sporting an inquisitive expression on her face. While the model’s dress and lower body is loosely sketched out, her face is richly detailed, suggesting that she was known to the artist.

A discussion about this painting was launched on Art Detective after Dr. Margot Schwass wrote in to share her research into Greville Texidor (1902-1964) and her belief that this is the “lost” Augustus John portrait of the author and world traveler. Schwass comments that: “When I chanced across an image of the portrait in the Amgueddfa Cymru collection, I knew straight away that it was Greville”. This prompted a lively and well-researched discussion among other Art Detective users, leading to our curatorial team being utterly convinced that this is in fact a portrait of Texidor, who, it was uncovered, worked as John’s secretary in the early 1920s.

We would like to thank Dr. Schwass for contributing her research and helping us learn more about this work in our collection. Her 2019 book All the Juicy Pastures is the first to tell the story of Texidor's extraordinary life.

You can read more about Art UK’s Art Detective Network here.

If you ask a primary school child what they did that day in school, they’ll often enthuse most about what they did at play time.  Play time is the time they get to decide what happens. They choose the games, the toys, even the players, within the safe parameters given them. And within these parameters, they are learning. Learning how to move and what they are capable of physically. Learning how to act socially, through sharing and caring. Learning how to deal with emotions when the game doesn’t always go their way. Playtime is vital.

And the learning starts long before school. Toddler Time is one of my favourite regular events that the museum runs. It’s a chance for parents to bring their little ones for some supervised play in a quiet, safe environment. We’re just there to assist, play a little, and give exhausted parents an extra pair of eyes on their little ones. The best part is that we get to use the resources the learning team has and put together a different themed experience every time.

If it’s jungle day, we set out the room with jungle themed soft play decorations.  Soft logs for toddlers to climb over, green fluffy rugs to crawl over. We can then bring out the animals: the tigers, the monkeys, the elephants. Children can play with them, making their own stories and adding their own sounds and movements. Even if a child isn’t talking yet, copying sounds and movements helps them learn.

Its not just movement and sound that children love. Touch is vital for early learning. Young children love to explore items with their hands, or even their mouths, so our toy boxes are filled with simple, easily cleaned blocks for them to examine. We have many thematic sensory boxes, filled with soft fake fur, rough leathery fabric, and all sorts of wonderful textures for the little ones to touch and feel.

When the children are played out, it’s time for a story. We have a huge collection of beautiful children’s books, related to our themes, which can be performed in a lively or calm manner, using audience interaction or not. The one thing we’ve learned is how to read a room.

While things are different at the moment, with certain parts of the museum still closed, we’ve managed to put together lots of online resourcese for the little ones. We’ve got stories, arts and crafts activities and lots of silly movement and rhyme in both Welsh and English to keep you going until we fully reopen.

National Wool Museum’s Exhibition of Hope… Exhibition Launch Date! 

We are very pleased to announce the Exhibition of Hope will open to the public at the National Wool Museum on the 2nd of October 2021 and will be on display until mid-January 2022. The opening will form part of the Museum Wales digital Celebration of Wool Event taking place between the 2nd and 3rd of October. Click here for more details about the event. Celebration of Wool | National Museum Wales 

The Exhibition will also be displayed at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea between July 2022 and October 2022. 

Thank you to all those who contributed to the creation of rainbow coloured squares. Contributions for the Exhibition of Hope closed at the end of March 2021. Since the initial call out for squares in April 2020 at the beginning of the nation’s Covid-19 lockdown, we have received nearly 2000 squares! Participants used any materials which were readily available to them at the time such as wool or acrylics to create their squares. From knitted squares to crocheted squares, the response has been fantastic!  

Crisis charity (South Wales), which supports homeless people, shared the Exhibition of Hope information on their Facebook pages and created physical packs including wool and instructions to send to services users to support them to take part. The Exhibition of Hope was featured in Adult Learners’ Week 2020 and two videos were released of National Wool Museum Craftsperson Non Mitchell giving a demonstration on how to create a felted and woven square. A collage of photographs documenting the Exhibition was submitted as part of the Connect to Kindness Art Project, a project which is run in partnership with the Connect to Kindness Campaign and Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services, which aims to capture community kindness and support during the pandemic.  

Nothing about this past year has been predictable and we have all had to adapt to huge changes. While we had originally planned to create one giant rainbow blanket from the squares, we have, on reflection, decided to create a number of smaller blankets instead. This is because we have received such an amazing number of squares and due to Covid-19 restrictions volunteers were unable to meet at the Wool Museum. National Wool Museum Volunteers and Museum Wales staff have therefore been joining the squares from home, creating wonderful unique blankets.   Following the Exhibition, we still plan on donating the blankets to charities to be used as they wish, whether that be for example, as blankets or as pieces of artwork. More blankets mean more flexibility for display, and we are working on some exciting display plans! 

Whilst our wonderful volunteers and staff have been busy creating the blankets, we have also been working on another aspect of the project. Over the past year we have received so many varied and beautiful squares from people up and down the country and it has been lovely to hear from many who have found that creating the squares has helped during the unprecedented and challenging times. We have therefore decided to capture some contributors’ experiences of taking part in the project. ‘Stories behind the Squares’ will be a brief interpretation video within the Exhibition and available online, documenting the thoughts and feelings of those taking part in the Exhibition. 

We are thankful to Ysgol Penboyr, the local school in the village of Dre-fach Felindre, where the National Wool Museum is located who have created a beautiful rainbow handprint artwork which will be displayed in the Exhibition too. 

Rainbows are often used as a symbol of peace and hope and as we know, they often appear when the sun shines following heavy rainfall. They serve to remind us that following dark times, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. The Exhibition aims to reflect spirit, hope and community during these challenging times. It is designed to be an immersive experience, a symbolic hug of kindness of the love that has been placed into every stitch and is created as a tangible embodiment of hope. 

As part of the Exhibition, there will be an online page on the Museum Wales website. The page will include, amongst other things, the Exhibition of Hope ‘Stories of the Squares’ video as well as a brief walk ‘round of the exhibition itself. 

We look forward to welcoming you to the Exhibition very soon. In the meantime, here is a brief video about the Exhibition of Hope, documenting some of the photographs that have been taken since the Exhibition was launched. 

Keep an eye out on our social media pages to find out the latest information. 

Thank you to The Ashley Family Foundation and Community Foundation Wales for their support with this project.