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
The News and Events
Reopening on 23 April 2024, so plan your visit now.
We are planning a wonderful opening week so that visitors to the Wonderwool event can come to see us as they travel to and fro. Extra days of opening on Sunday 28th and Monday 29th April, plus a bonus Braid Society demonstration on the Monday. Don't miss our first week special.
Full details of all the exciting events planned for the rest of the summer are now available.
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.
Accreditation granted
We are delighted to tell you that we were awarded Full Accreditation by Arts Council England in 2023. We were congratulated on a very strong application which was the result of a lot of hard work by all those involved with the Museum, in particular the members of the committee. This status will help us going forward, in particular with applications for grants which are vital to our future.
(For those unsure what Accreditation is all about, it means that we have been assessed against agreed standards for managing our collection properly, engaging with our visitors and being governed appropriately - all important things for running a museum well).
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.
Reception and shop
The Museum has really benefitted from the new Reception and shop area that was re-developed over the winter. It would not have been possible without the help of the Newtown & Llanllwchaiarn Town Council and the Ashley Family Foundation so a big thank you to them. Don't forget to check out the variety of things we have for sale when you visit. The sales support both local artisans and the Museum. If you would like to know more about our suppliers, check out their details here.
Exhibition for 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.
The Museum Shop
Some of the items for sale in our shop
Review of the year 2022
If you would like a detailed account of the highlights of 2022, it is available here, or on the Policies and Downloads page. You can also find details of the previous years' activities. We would like to invite everyone who has visited in the last 6 years since we took over the Museum, to come and take another look inside the Museum which has changed a lot . We will reopen on May 2 2023 and look forward to seeing you then.
Are you a bookworm?
A recent visitor told us of a novel that referred to the flannel mills in Newtown: Not one of us by Alis Hawkins. We have started to put together a list of books which we are told feature the weaving industry in Newtown or just the life of the town which we will put on display for visitors. Check out this list for the suggestions so far:
We need help on two fronts? Have you heard or read any more books featuring Newtown and or the weaving industry in Wales. And do you have any copies which you could donate or lend to the Museum for this project. If you can help please contact Christine Davies on committee02@newtowntextilemuseum.co.uk She would love to hear from you.
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
Another development. We are now featured on Twinkl's Museum Campaign - an education website of teacher-created planning and assessment materials. Twinkl also have a wide variety of museum-related resources on their site.
Photography
In 2019 we had a visit from a local photographer - Polly Lovegrove. She took some great photos and a few are displayed below. Thanks Polly. ©Polly Lovegrove
