The Textile Museum in Newtown

Our museum just over the bridge into Commercial Street, gives visitors a chance to see how the handloom weavers of the mid-19th century lived and worked.

Exhibition 2023 - Amelia Ray: a Victorian entrepreneur at the cutting edge'

If you missed our 2023 exhibition, we have made some of the information boards available for you,  which complement the You-Tube video available on the link below.

They feature Amelia Ray, who ran a successful draper's shop in High Street, Newtown for a decade during the 1870s where the shopping experience was changing rapidly with the coming of the railways and the postal service. We have a large collection of papers about her business which tell us about her customers and her suppliers. She was in direct competition with Pryce Jones whose shop was nearby until he moved his business to the new Royal Welsh Warehouse near the station in 1879. 

To catch up on what you missed, head for the Past Exhibitions where you can see several of our past exhibitions listed.  NB these links work better if you have a full screen on your computer, or a tablet device. You will be surprised by some of the interesting jobs that a draper's shop took on at the time. We have an excellent Exhibition Guide, a few copies of which are still available if you contact us, which tells more of the story. 

If you would like a short preview of the exhibition, check out this YouTube link. 

Exhibition guide front cover. Amelia Ray
Kay-lee Davies was our weaver in residence in 2023.  She had recently graduated from the BA Textile Design course at Carmarthen School of Art, and has been developing new designs in wool which are intended to be for menswear.  The "Canterbury' loom that we use for demonstrations wasn't working very well when she arrived, so she set about replacing the old strings on the loom with new stronger ones, and it is now operating more smoothly.  She also enjoyed chatting to visitors and explaining the different processes involved in weaving fabric.  Thanks Kay-lee!
Her Instagram page is here: https://www.instagram.com/kayleesofiastudio/ 
Museum Crush
It was great to be included in the May 2023 edition of Museum Crush, the online digest of exhibitions in Britain run by Culture24. You can read the article, written by our curator John Evans, in the edition found on this link

The Museum Shop

 Some of the items for sale in our shop
Hand-woven bags for saleWoven pursesKnitted blue titsFelt broochesGreetings cards with sheep pictureswoven book marks and glasses casesMugs and neck warmers for saleShopping bags and quilted items for sale

Testing captions

Want to help?

We are always keen on recruiting additional volunteers to join our friendly team of hosts.  You probably know that the Newtown Textile Museum is an independent museum, managed and run entirely by volunteers. We are enthusiastic and dedicated but we need to grow our team so we need your help. Hosts receive training and work in pairs to run the museum on the days it is open to the public.  Some tasks continue over the winter when we are closed, but they are still important.  If you have some time to give, maybe you could help in....
  • welcoming visitors to our reception and shop

  • engaging with our visitors - bringing local history to life

  • assisting with our schools and group visits

  • caring for our historic collection

  • providing DIY skills

  • looking after our building

  • documenting museum artefacts

  • organising events

Contact us on: volunteer@newtowntextilemuseum.co.uk
We are looking for a new member of our team, a marketing and engagement person. Check out the How to Help page for details.

The logos below link to our supporter's websites

Braid Society Exhibition

This will run for three weeks.  It will showcase the results of their work,  is for everyone interested in the art and craft of making constructed and embellished braids and narrow bands

Braid Society - Demonstrations and workshop

During the Braiding exhibition, there will be demonstrations and a workshop where participants can learn some of the skills involved in this great craft.  

The demonstrations are free, but there will be a charge for the workshop. Details on the Events page.

Wonderwool Wales

Wonderwool Wales is the premier Wool & Natural Fibre Festival in Wales and is held annually on the last weekend in April at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells, Powys.

The festival celebrates the green credentials of Welsh wool and its versatility as a material for creative crafts, designer clothes, home furnishings and more.

The Museum will have a stall at the show and will look forward to seeing you there. 

A great day out. 

Summer activities in the museum 2023

Victoria set up a wonderful program of textile-based workshops and demonstrations at the museum over the summer of 2023.  Our Textile Trail quiz was back in action too. 
The free Tapestry Tuesday workshops were a success again. Check out the events page for workshops and courses that will be running in 2024.
Young visitor with weaving projectKay-Lee Davies setting up loom stringsWarping up the large loom

Photo studio - Dressing up

Portrait photos were very popular in the second half of the 1800s. We have quite a collection from the studio of John Owen who worked in Newtown from the 1860s. We thought we would create a photo studio of our own! 
We now have a collection of Victorian-style clothing in our Recreated Bedroom where you can dress up and take a photo that is reminiscent of the Victorian times. Loads of fun to imagine living in our cottages and working on the looms, but many of those having their portraits taken in the old days would have lived in better housing as the photos were not cheap! 
A young visitor dressed up as the Artful dodgerJo dressing up for her portrait photoPryce Jones and his wife EleanorThe reverse of one of John Owen's photos
David Pugh, local historian, made a video of the history of Newtown. Watch it here. 
Watch a video
All donations are handled by our own registered charity -  Newtown Textile Museum. (Charity number: 1188651). All money comes direct to the Museum.

We would be even more grateful if you could make your donation into a regular payment and become a NTM Friend.

By giving us a regular payment (monthly or annually) we can feel more secure about our planning for the future. All the money will be used to care for the building and its contents. 
Establish a recurring payment via the BACS system by Standing Order with your bank (details above) for a (modest) regular donation and complete the online membership form below. 
New members will receive a free e-copy of the Museum guide (or a printed copy on request). 

Please Gift Aid your donation if you are eligible. 

Photo gallery

Thinking of Joining Us

We are always keen on recruiting additional volunteers to join our friendly team of volunteer hosts for the summer season even though we are have closed for now. Hosts receive training and work in pairs to run the museum on the days it is open to the public. Now is a great time to get involved, there are are still jobs that need to be done over the winter.
We can arrange for you to visit the Museum so we can tell you about the ways you can share in telling our story. Email us at:

 volunteer@newtowntextilemuseum.co.uk

We all need friends.  The Museum needs Friends too. We encourage you to join the NTM Friends group to help us keep the Museum open and vibrant into the future.  Check out the How to Help page for details. 

Superscript

Block title

This is a block description. To edit, click and type the text or replace it with your own custom content

5 - 7 Commercial Street Newtown Powys, SY16 2BL

01686 622 024

admin@newtowntextilemuseum.co.uk

Open on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week from 12.00 - 4.00 during the summer season.