St Fagans Castle to close for essential repairs and conservation work

ST FAGANS Castle will be closed for three months to begin essential roof repairs and conservation work, as part of a major investment into Amgueddfa Cymru’s (National Museum Wales’) historic buildings.

The Grade I listed castle, one of the most significant historic buildings at St Fagans National Museum of History, will undergo roof refurbishment over the next two years, protecting the building’s long-term future.

The castle closure forms part of £1.8m the Welsh Government is providing for improvement works across the St Fagans site. This includes restoration work on the museum’s historic glasshouses – the only two remaining in the grounds from the late nineteenth century. The restoration is also supported by a significant grant from Colwinston Charitable Trust, along with a number of other contributors.

The St Fagans investment is part of a wider programme of additional support for Amgueddfa Cymru this financial year, totalling £11.5million:

• St Fagans National Museum of History – around £1.8m for castle restoration, glasshouse repairs and site improvements
• National Museum Cardiff – almost £3.5m for priority building works, on top of £1.3million provided last year
• National Slate Museum – £3.3m towards the ongoing redevelopment, bringing the total Welsh Government investment in the project to £5.8m
• Welsh Government Energy Scheme – £1.5m towards decarbonisation projects
• Storage and collections care – over £780,000 to help protect Wales’ national collections
• Visitor experience improvements – over £706,000 for St Fagans and the National Waterfront Museum, to include an upgraded shop and more accessible toilet facilities.

This is on top of the £5m capital funding Amgueddfa Cymru also receives as part of its annual grant funding. 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.

Chief Executive of Amgueddfa Cymru, Jane Richardson said: “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.

“I’m delighted that along with Colwinston Charitable Trust, Welsh Government are also supporting the restoration of our historic glasshouses at St Fagans.

“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.”

St Fagans is a popular heritage attraction in Wales and ranks among the UK’s top ten free attractions as voted by TripAdvisor users. The rest of the museum’s site, including its historic buildings, galleries and grounds, will remain open throughout the castle works.

Minister for Culture, Jack Sargeant, said: “St Fagans Castle is a treasured part of our national story, and this investment will ensure it can be enjoyed by visitors for generations to come. Once the work is complete, the hope is that the public will be able to explore some of the upstairs again.

“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.

“Our Priorities for Culture set out a clear ambition for Wales’ collections and historic assets to be protected and used to support learning, creativity and wellbeing. This investment delivers on that commitment, ensuring our most loved heritage sites remain at the heart of communities across Wales.”

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