The Background History of Torfaen Museum Trust
and Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

The Torfaen Museum Trust was formed in 1978 by Torfaen Borough Council and is based in Pontypool Museum at Park Buildings, Pontypool, which is the Grade II* listed, Georgian stable block of the former Pontypool Park House.

The Trust holds a wide collection of artefacts ranging from decorative arts to local domestic ware, all pertaining to the history and culture of the Torfaen Valley of South Wales.

Social & industrial artefacts; 19th & 20th century clothes and footwear; equipment and tools from local crafts, industries and horticulture also feature in the museum.

The Trust also has the Dobell-Moseley Library & Archive, which contains archive resources including documents, posters, maps and plans, and local newspapers, as well as a large collection of photographs.

Pontypool Museum
The museum was refurbished and opened to the public as the Valley Inheritance Museum in 1981. The Trust achieved full Registered Museum status for the museum in 2001.

In 2001 the Trust also introduced two free entry days per week for local people and more recently a scheme in partnership with the Local Authority to allow free entry for all local library service cardholders.

The Trust also administers the management of the seasonal opening of the two sites within the Torfaen County Borough Council’s Pontypool Park, the Folly Tower and the Shell Grotto.

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre

Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre occupies a former Victorian Gentleman’s residence on the edge of Cwmbran New Town’s shopping centre, in the County Borough of Torfaen. The site however, has been occupied since the 12th century.

The Work of The Grange
Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre is the main Visual Arts & Crafts exhibition venue in south east Wales, with a changing programme of temporary exhibitions by artists and makers in an international and art historical context.

Alongside the programme of seven exhibitions a year, it provides an extensive programme of educational activity to the local community starting from the age of five. They also carry out work with socially excluded young people.

A policy of emphasising the educational aspects of the work has paid considerable dividends in attracting visitors, especially schoolchildren to the classes, workshops and similar events.

The Collections
Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre holds a small collection of work, predominantly oil paintings, 2003 being the first year this collection went on show to the public.

The collection includes work by Earnest Zobole, American born printmaker Paul Peter Piech and twice Eisteddfod Gold medal winner Brendan Burns to name but a few. It is anticipated that during the coming years the Grange will develop and increase its collection of contemporary Welsh painting and printmaking.