St Fagans National History Museum - part one
Museum of Welsh Life (Amgueddfa Werin Cymru), Cardiff.
(Photos/words © editor, urban75, December 27th 2007)

We continue our wander around the cottages, church and castle before the winter light fades.

Because we arrived over the Christmas period, some of the attractions weren't open, but on other days you can watch a T blacksmith and a potter at work and buy some fresh bread baked in the traditional way.

Most of the friendly staff speak Welsh, so if you are visiting it's worth learning some basics:

Hello = Helo or S'mae?
So long = Hwyl, Hwyl fawr
Good morning = Bore da
Good afternoon = Prynhawn da
Good evening = Noswaith dda
Good night = Nos da
Thank you = diolch
Goodbye = Da boch chi
Welsh phrasebook


A row of workmen's cottages from Rhyd-y-car, near Merthyr Tydfil, with each one furnished to display how coal miners conditions changed from 1805, 1855, 1925, 1955 and 1985.


These were my favourite part of St Fagans and you could really get a feel for how people lived years ago.

Many of the buildings had smoky coal and wood fires burning in the grates and the temptation to pull up a chair and settle down for a few hours in the warmth was a tough one to resist.


The topical Christmas decorations added authenticity.





Outside loo.




1955 shed.


Interior from 1955. The 1985 one was awful to look at!


Prefab aluminium bungalow from 1948.


Pleasant walk to the church.


The medieval church of Saint Teilo, formerly at Llandeilo Tal-y-Bont in western Glamorgan.




The church has been restored to its pre-Reformation state.








White walls around the church.




Victorian school house. Visiting kids on on class trips are often given a 'Victorian lesson' here, complete with slates and chalk. But not, we imagine, the dreaded and feared 'Welsh Not'.

The Welsh Not or Welsh Note was a piece of wood, inscribed with the letters 'WN', that was hung round the necks of children who spoke Welsh in some schools in the 19th century. The 'not' was given to any boy overheard speaking Welsh, who would pass it to a different boy he overheard speaking Welsh. By the end of the day, the wearer of the "not" would be given a lashing. The idea of the "not" was to discourage pupils from speaking Welsh, at a time when English was considered by some to be the only suitable medium of instruction.
Welsh Not


Thatched and timbered barn from Flintshire, built about 1550.


Interior of the wool mill.


With parts of the site dating back to the 13th-century, St Fagans castle was restored in the 1850s, and was presented to the National Museum of Wales in 1946.


Castle approach.






Castle detail.


Ponds and gardens around the castle.


The cafe and visitor centre. We had some lovely Welsh cakes in the cafe earlier!





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