Press Releases

St Fagans: National History Museum in Cardiff is working on an ambitious plan to create a new kind of museum that will be at the heart of cultural tourism in Wales. The aim is to integrate the display of archaeology and history using thematic galleries, re-erected historical buildings and landscape to create an exciting visitor experience. As part of the preparations, the Museum will be experimenting with a series of events from 9 April reflecting the centuries between 1500 and 1700.

Making History: 1500-1700 will be combining displays of historical and archaeological collections, specialist talks, living history re-enactments and the Museum’s unique re-erected buildings to provide visitors with a glimpse of some of the turning points in Welsh history over these 200 years. Wales, like many other countries, witnessed great changes between 1500 and 1700. This was the period of the kings and queens of the Tudors and Stuarts, religious upheaval, the union of Wales with England and civil war.

The exhibition includes the ornately carved bed of Rhys ap Thomas of Dinefwr, one of Wales’s most powerful men who was instrumental in Henry VII’s victory in the Battle of Bosworth Field, a beautiful sculpture of Christ on the cross saved from the destruction of the Reformation and a treasure hoard, possibly hidden from view of Oliver Cromwell’s Parliament army in a Pembrokeshire outbuilding.

The Opening of Making History: 1500-1700

Schedule of events for 9 April 2011

10.30am-12.30pm The Organ in the Church

A beautiful replica of a medieval organ will be played for the first time in the Museum’s reconstructed medieval St Teilo’s Church. The highly decorated organ is based on a few surviving medieval organs parts and has been built using traditional materials and manufacturing techniques and using cutting edge research and ‘creative archaeology’ to recreate the lost sound of the medieval organ.

1pm-2pm, Taking part in history, Oriel 1

A sneak peek at the year’s events with re-enactors and craft workshops.

2pm, Head of the Museum, Bethan Lewis will be opening the new exhibition

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven national museums across Wales. These are National Museum Cardiff; St Fagans: National History Museum; National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon; Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon; National Waterfront Museum, Swansea; National Wool Museum, Drefach and the National Slate Museum, Llanberis.