Watercolour painting of train and Newtown

A place with a past

Education Guide

This short guide, which you can download here, provides an introduction to the history of our Victorian weaving factory which is now a museum. It is designed to help schools to meet the requirements of the Curriculum for Wales2022 and provide some guidance for planning a visit.   

Interested in the history of Newtown, the woollen industry and the Museum ?- this is the place...
This page has a variety of stories about the town in the heyday of the woollen industry. You can also find links to the census information from 1841 - 1901 for Penygloddfa. In addition there are some bilingual videos telling individual stories as well as providing an introduction to the town's history. 

Stories of Newtown

Each of the titles below will lead you to a story of one aspect of local history which we hope you will enjoy.

Did your ancestors live in Penygloddfa in the 1800s?

Were they working in the Woollen Industry? 

We are interested in the people who lived in Penygloddfa where the Museum is located. Census information for the area has been extracted so you can search it through the relevant years. Do get in touch if your ancestors appear here.
It has not been possible to be certain who lived in our building as house numbers were not often included. The 1911 census just shows the residents of our building.  There are no plans at present to complete the rest of the 1911 data. 
This small area of Newtown, shown on the right, has been chosen because it includes the area surrounding the Textile Museum.  It reflects the huge changes in the town during the 1800s and particularly for this area, the period after 1827 when the Long Bridge was built, and the woollen industry was at its peak. There is a very noticeable change in the occupations of the residents over the 60 year  span. It is also clear that this was not a very Welsh-speaking area.  
Map of Penygloddfa area of Newtown around the middle of 1800s
David Pugh, local historian, made a video of the history of Newtown. Watch it here. 
Watch a video

This short video of images and details about Newtown's Flannel Industry has Welsh and English sub-titles. 

The Museum tells the story of one family who lived in Commercial Street in 1841 -  Thomas and Mary Clayton.

Come to the Museum and find out more about Mary, Thomas, and Samuel Evans, a Factory owner. 
Mary Clayton 1841 - her story is available as a short video in Welsh or English