Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum

One of our prominent exhibitions is our collection of Japanware.
The pieces featured here are a dining set made up of three trays and a bread tray. The pieces were made in Birmingham by Jennings and Butteridge in the period between 1830 - 1850.
The set is intricately decorated with a flower and willow pattern which stands out beautifully on any wall.

We had a fantastic day today at the book launch for 'The Return'. The event had an amazing turn out and was filled with lovely conversations, an incredible harpist and beautiful readings of the poetry of Myfanwy Haycock.

Thank you to everyone who came out today and for all the hard work that went into bringing these events to life!

For anyone wanting to buy a copy of 'The Return' there are a number of copies being sold in our shop here at the museum.

Share with someone who loves Poetry & Pontypool….

Don't forget this Saturday (2nd December) is the book launch for 'The Return'

The event is free and runs from 12-4! So come along, meet the author, and celebrate all things Myfanwy! 🎉

Our wonderful Myfanwy Haycock exhibition is sadly coming to an end in December to make way for our Winter Art Show.
The amazing Jenni Crane will be at the Museum on 2 December to launch her new book 'The Return' and will be talking all things Myfanwy.
You still have until the 11th December to come down and learn all about her incredible life, you could even follow the Myfanwy Haycock Poetry Trail and make a day of it!
We look forward to seeing you soon!

Lovely to have Chwarae Torfaen Torfaen Play in the Museum today!
Come along every Tuesday morning and have a great time with your little one!

Just a quick reminder that Chwarae Torfaen Torfaen Play will be running their session at the Museum tomorrow morning from 10.00 - 11.30.
We can't wait to see you there!

Our wonderful Myfanwy Haycock exhibition is sadly coming to an end in December to make way for our Winter Art Show.
The amazing Jenni Crane will be at the Museum on 2 December to launch her new book 'The Return' and will be talking all things Myfanwy.
You still have until the 11th December to come down and learn all about her incredible life, you could even follow the Myfanwy Haycock Poetry Trail and make a day of it!
We look forward to seeing you soon!

Lots of amazing stalls at the Museum today! Pop down and grab yourself some crafty treats, we are here until 4!

It's a beautiful day for a Craft Fair!
Come along to Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum today to pick up all of your Christmas goodies!
Open from 11am - 4pm.
Santa will visiting from 12pm-3pm too!
We look forward to seeing you.
Please note that our cafe will be open serving hot drinks on a cash only basis.

It may not be snowing, but we've got that Christmas feeling!

Don't forget that this Saturday will be the Christmas Fair at the museum!
The fair will be held from 11-4 and will have craft stalls, performances and lots more! 🎄

Join us on Saturday 11th November here at the museum for a Christmas Fair! 🎄

The fair will take place 11-4 and will have lots to see and do - Craft stalls, performances and even a visit from Santa! 🎅
It will be the perfect excuse to start getting ready for the holiday season!

We are happy to announce that from tomorrow (7th November) the museum will be open for business as usual! 🎉

We thank you for being patient and understanding during our short closure and we look forward to seeing you all again soon!

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum will be TEMPORARILY closed until further notice.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Please keep an eye on our website and social media for any updates.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to welcoming you back to the museum soon.

Yn anffodus, oherwydd amgylchiadau annisgwyl bydd Amgueddfa Torfaen ar gau DROS DRO hyd nes y clywir yn wahanol.

Ymddiheurwn yn ddiffuant am unrhyw anghyfleustra a achosir.

Cadwch lygad ar ein gwefan a chyfryngau cymdeithasol am unrhyw ddiweddariadau.

Diolch am eich cefnogaeth barhaus. Edrychwn ymlaen at eich croesawu yn ôl i'r amgueddfa yn fuan.

As it is the night before Calan Gaeaf here is a tale from the local area of Pontnewynydd that speaks of strange goings on! 🎃

(This story comes from the book 'Ghost Stories of Torfaen' by Alan Roderick).

THE OAK TREE
According to Welsh folklore, fairies revered oak trees. If anyone were foolish enough to damage a tree the fairies would take their revenge. In October 1975 the Pontypool Free Press reported strange happenings at Oakdale Square after the oak tree was chopped down. Spooky tales were reported from houses surrounding the square.
A case in point was the old oak which formerly stood on the left hand side of the road, near the public house in Newcastle, near Monmouth. When William Coxe passed this way in 1801, he was informed by one of the local villagers, that several "profane persons" had suffered for their boldness in attacking the tree. One had fallen from the tree while chopping down a branch and broken his arm. Another had fractured his leg whilst a third had died soon after attacking the tree.

It's not long until Halloween night, so how about another Calan Gaeaf fact! 🎃

It is said that Welsh boys were to cut ten ivy leaves, throw one away and put the other nine under their pillows and this would allow them to see into the future! However, if they touched these leaves they would see witches when they slept! 🌿

There was a similar practice with Welsh girls too - The girls would have to grow a rose in a large hoop shape and slip through this hoop three times before they cut the rose and placing it under their pillow. This too would allow them to see the future! 🌹

Have you heard of these traditions before? What do you think? 👻

As it is spooky season, here is another Calan Gaeaf fact! 👻

There are lots of stories of spooky apparitions as well as the traditions that surround them - In North Wales, people were scared by Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta (the Black Sow without a tail) and as soon as the Nos Calan Gaeaf fire had burnt out everyone would run home so Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta would not eat their souls!

While in South Wales, people were terrified of the Lady in White - It was sometimes implied that this apparition was sometimes headless! It is said that this Lady in White would trick people or lure them by offering treasure, sending them to their end!

What do you think of these stories? Do you know of any other spooky Welsh traditions?

Join us on Saturday 11th November here at the museum for a Christmas Fair! 🎄

The fair will take place 11-4 and will have lots to see and do - Craft stalls, performances and even a visit from Santa! 🎅
It will be the perfect excuse to start getting ready for the holiday season!

In the lead up to Halloween here is an interesting fact: Halloween (or Calan Gaeaf) was a festival held as a time to pay off seasonal farm workers and to say goodbye to departed loved ones. They would celebrate the night with a dish called 'stwmp naw rhyw' which was a mash made of nine different root vegetables mixed with milk, butter, salt and pepper.

If you are looking for something fun to do this Saturday then why not pop in to the museum and enjoy our 'spooky' ghost trail!
You can enjoy the trail and hunt for ghosts while enjoying the exhibitions here are the museum. 👻

The museum will be open 1-4pm - We look forward to seeing you!

Unfortunately there will be no play session at Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum today. We are really sorry for any inconvenience.
As next week is half term, the next session with Chwarae Torfaen Torfaen Play will be on 7 November.
See you then!

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Museum will be closed to the public tomorrow (14 October).
Why not take the opportunity to get some fresh air and take part in the Myfanwy Haycock Poetry Trail leading through the beautiful Pontypool Park instead?

We're hiring!🎉

We are seeking an enthusiastic, creative and highly motivated individual for the post of Curator.

HOURS: 37 hours per week
LOCATION: Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum, Pontypool 10am - 4pm Tuesdays - Fridays with remaining hours to be fulfilled either on site or at home
SALARY: £30,151 p.a.
CONTRACT: 1 year with a view to continuation pending funding.

To apply, please email [email protected] for the full job description.
CLOSING DATE: 09.10.23

This teapot is a commemorative item or 'memento' that celebrated the coming of age of the 'Abersychan, British and Talywain Co-operative Society'. These particular celebrations of the society took place in 1911.

The first store opened its doors in January 1890 where it stayed for 6 years before moving to a larger high rise premise on High Street in Abersychan in 1896; the following year a bakery was built and established.

The co-op later changed its name to 'Abersychan and Pontypool Co-operative Society.'

These paintings depict scenes from Talywain in the 1930's. These artworks were created by Maurice Sochachewsky, a London based artist who travelled to Talywain in the 1930's.

It was here that he spent 8 months painting portraits of miners and their families, displaying the scenes of poverty that affected the area at this time.

These paintings are currently on loan to us from Amgueddfa Cymru and are on display in our Art Gallery as part of our Myfanwy Haycock exhibition until December.

Join us this Saturday with the Afon Llwyd Writers to celebrate the launch of their debut collection of flash and micro fiction! 🎉

The event is free and will take place at the museum between 2-4pm.

Did you know that we don't just have contemporary objects on display at the museum, we also have objects that have a long history!

These pieces are from 'The Trevethin Hoard' and date back around 3,000 years (c. 950-800 BC). The pieces are made of bronze and consist of 3 socketed axes and 2 spearheads. These pieces are a significant Bronze Age discovery as they were found in an area where Bronze Age activity was previously unknown.

The pieces were discovered by Gareth Wileman in November 2014 and conservation work was carried out on them at Amgueddfa Cymru before they found their home with us at the museum.

Don't forget that today is Open Doors! We are open from 10am - see you there!! 🎉

On Saturday the 16th of September we will be taking part in Open Doors!

We will be open from 10am until 3.30pm with FREE ENTRY which will offer access to take a sneak peek at some unseen objects as well as some objects from our 'Pooler' collection.

There is no need to book - just come along during the open times stated above!

For more information and directions please visit:
Open Doors: https://cadw.gov.wales/open-doors-amgueddfa-torfaen-museum

Our Website: https://www.torfaenmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/

A rare and important member of our collection is this Mickey Mouse cuddly toy! Mickey was made in Dean's Pontypool Toy Factory in the 1930's and was saved from being discarded and made it's way onto us.
He was discovered alongside a cuddly bear, however we do not know much about his origins as of yet!

5 DAYS until open doors!! 🎉

On Saturday the 16th of September we will be taking part in Open Doors!

We will be open from 10am until 3.30pm with FREE ENTRY which will offer access to take a sneak peek at some unseen objects as well as some objects from our 'Pooler' collection.

There is no need to book - just come along during the open times stated above!

For more information and directions please visit:
Open Doors: https://cadw.gov.wales/open-doors-amgueddfa-torfaen-museum

Our Website: https://www.torfaenmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/

On Saturday the 16th of September we will be taking part in Open Doors!

We will be open from 10am until 3.30pm with FREE ENTRY which will offer access to take a sneak peek at some unseen objects as well as some objects from our 'Pooler' collection.

There is no need to book - just come along during the open times stated above!

For more information and directions please visit:
Open Doors: https://cadw.gov.wales/open-doors-amgueddfa-torfaen-museum

Our Website: https://www.torfaenmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/

This portrait is of the locally celebrated poet and artist Myfanwy Haycock as painted by Sybil Williams. Myfanwy was incredibly talented in displaying the beauty of the world around her and bringing a voice to some very important issues.

This portrait is currently being hung at our Myfanwy exhibition until December, so feel free to come along and learn more about her impressive career.

There is also a broadcast by Jenni Crane that details the undiscovered story of Myfanwy that can be found at this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001pcg3?fbclid=IwAR3qe5brsLAJZxckCisi6tJNPHMbNnYAK5B_YrTzegLyj3FPdVRdOZONZHE

At the museum we have multiple pieces from various schools and organisations from past and present Torfaen. These pieces come from the St. Albans Convent school which was located in Pontypool Park House from 1920 until 1963 when it was passed on to the Archdiocese of Cardiff to become St. Albans RC High School.

LOCATION CHANGE: We can't promise you the "burnished blackberries shining in the sun" so to protect our performers and instruments we're relocating Emily Harris - Harpist and our young poetry recital winners to Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum . Come along to hear them at 11am on Saturday.

Things are getting busy at the Museum as we prepare for Saturday’s exhibition launch. There’s so much to discover about Myfanwy Haycock and we just keep finding more material to display !!

Looking for some fun activities this Saturday? As part of our poetry trail launch, you can head over to Amgueddfa Torfaen Museum for some free arts and crafts activities with Head4Arts and the fab Toni Ann from Freedom Facepainting. What mystical Myfanwy creature will you be?

Our Myfanwy Haycock Exhibition opens this Saturday as part of the new Myfanwy Haycock Poetry Trail. Join us in celebrating the work of this incredible Pontypool poet and artist this Saturday, along with a whole range of events in the Park. Or, the exhibition will be open during Museum opening hours so why not visit the exhibition over summer?
For more information, contact us at [email protected].

What a fabulous night !! We were so excited to host the Myfanwy Haycock Poetry Event on Friday evening with such wonderful readers. Keep an eye on our page for future poetry evenings.