The National Wool Museum, located in

Drefach Felindre Dre-fach Felindre is a village in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. It is located four miles south-east of Newcastle Emlyn. It lies at the confluence of three fast-flowing streams, the Nant Bargod, Nant Esgair and Nant Brân, where their steep-sided ...

Llandysul Llandysul is a small town and community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. As a community it consists of the townships of Capel Dewi, Horeb, Pontsian, Pren-gwyn, Tregroes, Rhydowen and the village of Llandysul itself. Llandysul lies in sout ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

is part of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales.

Background

Historically and into the 19th century, the

woollen industry in Wales The woollen industry in Wales was at times the country's most important industry, though it often struggled to compete with the better-funded woollen mills in the north of England, and almost disappeared during the 20th century. There is continue ...

, including spinning and weaving, surpassed even

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

as the most important of Wales' industries. The Teifi Valley was the centre of the

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheub ...

woollen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

industry, earning itself the nickname "The

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

of Wales."

Cambrian Mills

David Lewis erected Cambrian Mills on the site of a former small water-powered

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

workshop in 1902. The new mill was to supply the need for woollen cloth for working men in the coal and steel industries. In 1915, a hundred people were employed and flannel was produced for military uniforms for WWI. In 1919, fire broke out in the carding and spinning department and the damage caused was estimated at £20,000. A workman on the top floor had a lucky escape when, having found his exit route blocked by flames and smoke, he climbed onto the roof and was rescued with the aid of a long ladder. The mill was subsequently rebuilt despite the recent decline in orders for woollen textiles. In 1965 the mill was put up for sale with 30 people being employed at that time and in 1976 the museum was opened to the public.

The museum

Both the mill and the village of Drefach Felindre are a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

. Launched as the Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry in 1976, it reopened in March 2004 as the National Wool Museum following a two-year, £2 million refit partly funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

.CWLS(2)-04-04 Paper 6
/ref> 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.BBC NEWS , Wales , Mid Wales , National Woollen museum re-opens
/ref> The renovation was part of a £40m museum strategy for Wales and opened by

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

Culture Minister

Alun Pugh Alun John Pugh (born 9 June 1955) is a Welsh politician who served as the Member of the National Assembly for Wales (AM) for Clwyd West from 1999 to 2007. A member of Welsh Labour, he is a former Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Culture, ...

. The strategy embraces three existing site-specific museums; the National Wool Museum, the National Slate Museum at

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking ...

; Big Pit National Coal Museum in

Blaenavon Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Th ...

; and development of the new National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

References

External links

Official website – National Wool Museum

Welsh Costume held at the museum (from Gathering the Jewels)
{{authority control Museums in Carmarthenshire National museums of Wales Textile museums in the United Kingdom Industry museums in Wales Museums established in 1976 1976 establishments in Wales History of Carmarthenshire Wool organizations