Aura Wales is thrilled to announce the opening of the refurbished Mold Museum

AURA WALES IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE OPENING OF THE REFURBISHED MOLD MUSEUM FOLLOWING THE LAUNCH CEREMONY ON 25 JUNE

On Tuesday morning, 25 June, Aura Wales was delighted to invite key local stakeholders and service users, together with children from local primary school Ysgol Bryn Gwalia, to the much anticipated official launch of the refurbished museum at Mold Library.

The refurbishment scheme represents a £360,000 investment in the county’s heritage, with Aura securing £300,000 from the Welsh Government’s Museums, Archives and Libraries Division (MALD) and the remaining sum being match-funded by Flintshire County Council and Aura.

The enhanced museum now serves as a fitting tribute to the rich and varied history of the town of Mold, and it is hoped that it will be a draw for both local residents and tourists visiting North Wales. Mold is already synonymous with the wonderful Bronze Age Cape discovered in 1833, the original of which is housed in the British Museum in London. However, an amazing replica is on display in Mold’s Museum and provides a window through which we can look into the past. In more recent times, nearby Rhydymwyn Valley was involved in the initial research and development of nuclear weapons, the precursor to the Manhattan Project.

The new displays at Mold Museum provide an insight into the unique and fascinating stories from the area. With improved museum cases and environmental conditions, Aura is now able to display a number of artefacts for the first time including 12,000-year-old animal bones from the last Ice Age found at Gop Cave which tell a story of significant climate change when rhino and cave lions made this area their home.

A ‘threads of inspiration’ theme has been adopted to link the artistic talents of the town, with Daniel Owen, arguably Mold’s most famous son, using material threads in his tailor’s shop and threads of words from his lively novels based on characters from the town. Similarly, this local thread is reflected in the work of artist Richard Wilson who used the landscape of the area to inspire his paintings, a number of which are now on display.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, prior to cutting the official ribbon, Sara Mogel OBE, Chair of Aura, thanked users of Mold Library for their invaluable insight in helping to decide what should be included in the refurbished museum and how it should look. Mrs Mogel said: “Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work and reinforces Aura’s commitment to investing in the local community. I hope that the much improved museum at Mold will engage families, local groups and schools, and create a sense of ownership and pride in the town’s history.”

For further information regarding Aura’s museums, visit www.aura.wales/heritage or email heritage@aura.wales.

Image 1: Aura’s Sarah Pevely (Assistant Curator), Sophie Fish (Museums, Heritage and Culture Manager) and Sara Mogel (Chair of the Board) oversee the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Image 2: Pupils from Ysgol Bryn Gwalia in Mold listen to Sarah Pevely (Assistant Curator).

Image 3: Pupils from Ysgol Bryn Gwalia observe the replica of the Bronze Age Cape on display in Mold Museum.