2013 has been an interesting year in our development and in our efforts to become a ‘fully fledged’ museum
From November 2012 to February 2013 we spent many hours cataloguing, recording, labelling and digitalising all of the items in the Collection
Management and Care of the Collection is a key area of our responsibility
We have books and prints, lithographs and oils, ironwork and wood, posters and photos and memorabilia – approaching 800 items – so plenty to see!
We started the year with the restoration of the John Hemingway portrait – a very exciting moment!
- John Hemingway – stonemason and contractor
After two years of fundraising and some anxiety around the restoration we were delighted to receive the restored portrait to hang as part of our exhibition and a part of Anglesey’s heritage
On 23rd March we held a Celebration Day
Peter Lord, Art Historian, officially unveiled the portrait and Howard Macro, the conservator, explained the process of restoration. A very cold walk followed to see some of the local topography. Snow prevented many people from coming and boy was it cold on the Waterfront!
- Jean Baker, Bob Daimond and guests at the Unveiling of the portrait
In the Spring there was a series of lectures
- The Story of the Cadnant Valley
- Holyhead Road and the Royal Mail
- The Bridges of Menai
- The Stonemasons of the Britannia Bridge
- Liverpool to Menai Bridge Pleasure Steamers
- Industrial Anglesey
- Mae Pobl Mon yn cyfri
- The Historic Engineering works of North Wales
- Spring Lecture Series
We did walks for the Anglesey walking festival
- under the Menai Suspension Bridge on a walk for the Anglesey Walking Festival
In the Summer we did some Talk and Walk sessions on Friday mornings
We had Talks on the people involved with building the Britannia Bridge, the story of the portrait of John Hemingway and the construction of the Menai Suspension Bridge. On the following walks we visited Church Island to see the Memorials, St Mary’s, Llanfairpwll to see the Monument and across the Suspension Bridge to view the Toll gates and the Bridge House.
- the monument to the men who died during the building of the Britannia Bridge
- the great chains of the Suspension Bridge
The Exhibition was open at Easter for three weeks and at Whitsuntide and for three months in the Summer
- iron artefacts from the Suspension Bridge
We had visitors from ……
all parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland as well as the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and W. Australia
who said ……..
excellent – real history!……..good fun – doing the quiz……….a trip down Memory Lane……….video particularly interesting……….good to learn of our Welsh Heritage…………so much we never knew about the bridges……..more to see than I expected……….need to return……..children had fun…………valuable for the boys interested in civil engineering………..brilliant display of local history …………will come again………….fascinating for ‘tall’ and ‘small’ engineers………….loved the museum – old style yet so interesting……….never knew you were here after years of being in the area……. well worth the money……….not far down the A55……….
Over the winter of 2013 – 2014 we plan to begin our World War I project. We already have some photos of people and events of the time but we should like to explore further and find out about the town of Menai Bridge during the years of the war – the shops, the pubs, the churches and chapels, the houses and people of course who were living at the time.
- soldiers on guard on the Britannia Bridge
We aim to create an exhibition for Sept 2014 to show our progress
If you think you might have something to contribute please get in touch –
email the Centre: info@menaiheritage.org.uk
or to Julie Stone: juliestone.butterworth00@gmail.com