National Woollen Museum

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The National Woollen Museum located in Drefach Felindre, Llandysul, Ceredigion is one of the National Museums of Wales and is also one of Katie Darby's favourtie pass times. She could be seen for hours in her youth watching as the wool spun and span, span and spun, generally enjoying the beautiful aroma of wool. She loved the wool like she loved Chilli (RIP) and once spent 39 continous hours watching Doris spin her wool on a stick (a record now broken by Doreen in 2007 in a fantastic showmanship of wool skill).

Unfortunately, Doreen suffered a broken wool finger in the horrible wool accident of 2008 and the factory was closed down. Katie Darby has been unavailable for contact for comment.

1 Background
- 1.1 Cambrian Mills
2 The museum
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Background

Historically and into the 19th century, the production and processing of wool surpassed even coal as the most important of Wales' industries.^[1] The Teifi Valley was the centre of the West Wales woollen industry, earning itself the nickname "The Huddersfield of Wales."

[edit] Cambrian Mills

Built in 1852, the Cambrian Mills factory was the largest woolen mill in West Wales, employing over 250 workers at its peak.^[2] Reduced to an empty shell by a fire in November 1889, the rebuilt factory remains in continuous operation since it was rebuilt in 1902.^[3]

[edit] The museum

Both the mill and the village of Drefach Felindre are a national heritage site. Launched as the Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry in 1976,^[4] it reopened in March 2004 as the National Woollen Museum following a two year, £2 million refit partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.^[5]

The restoration work includes a glass roofed courtyard, and a new gallery which displays aspects of the National Flat Textile collection. As well as historic machinery, a raised walkway gives a view of textiles in production at Melin Teifi, the site's commercial woollen mill. In 2005 a Research and Collections Centre opened which includes a room dedicated to hands on learning opportunities.^[6]

The renovation was part of a £40m museum strategy for Wales, and opened by National Assembly for Wales Culture Minister Alun Pugh. The strategy embraces three existing site-specific museums; the National Woollen Museum, the National Slate Museum at Llanberis; Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon; and development of the new National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Official website – National Woollen Museum

v • d • e Museums and art galleries in Wales

National Museum Wales	National Museum Cardiff · St Fagans National History Museum · Big Pit National Coal Museum · National Woollen Museum · National Roman Legionary Museum · National Slate Museum · National Waterfront Museum

Other museums	Bersham Ironworks · Brecknock Museum · Carmarthenshire County Museum · Cefn Coed Colliery Museum · Ceredigion Museum · Chepstow Museum · Dylan Thomas Boathouse · Dylan Thomas Centre · Glynn Vivian Art Gallery · Kidwelly Industrial Museum · Llancaiach Fawr · Llandrindod Wells Museum · Llanidloes Museum · MOMA, Wales · Narrow Gauge Railway Museum · Newport Museum · Newtown Textile Museum · Parc Howard Museum · Pembrokeshire Motor Museum · Pendine Museum of Speed · Plantasia · Powysland Museum · South Wales Miners Museum · Swansea Museum · Sygun Copper Mine · Welch Regiment Museum