St Fagans is one of seven museums managed by Amgueddfa Cymru, two of which are in Cardiff. For The Future is in Our Hands campaign, we explore sustainability, both past and present, at St Fagans.
Esgair Moel Woollen Mill
The Esgair Moel Woollen Mill was originally built in Powys in 1760 when the woollen industry was one of the most important in Wales. It moved to St Fagans in 1949.
The mill is used by Dewi, the museum weaver. He makes loads of different woollen goods which are sold in the museum gift shop and around Wales.
The whole process of making sheep’s wool into woollen goods takes Dewi around 20 hours. The wool has to be washed, dyed, combed, spun and weaved.
Today, an electric motor powers the machinery used to make the woollen items. It was previously done by a water wheel.
Clogmaker’s Workshop
In St Fagan’s there’s a cosy clogmaker’s workshop where you can see Geraint, the Museum’s clogmaker, at work. Geraint is one of only two in Britain, and he continues to make clogs in the same traditional way as Tommy James, who originally owned the workshop.
Geraint starts by measuring both feet of a person. This is because everyone has one foot slightly bigger than the other! Then, he uses wood and leather to make the clogs, which takes about 6 months.
You can order your custom-fit, traditional clogs in a range of colours from Geraint.
The woods and wildlife
St Fagans is a great place to explore Welsh Wildlife and immerse yourself in nature.
Explore the woods by taking a walk, or visit their bird hide where you can see woodland birds feeding throughout the year.
In the summer, they host evening Bat Walks where you can see bats flying around the Museum as dusk falls.
Related Information
The Future is in our Hands is a campaign run in collaboration with Bloedd Amgueddfa Cymru, a collective working alongside 16–25 year olds to experiment, create and innovate.
