Location Brecon, Powys, Wales Address Brecon LD3 7AD, UK | Type Local history, art Function Museum | |
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Website Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery Similar South Wales Borderers, Theatr Brycheiniog, Newport Museum, Carmarthenshire County Museum, Abergavenny Museum Profiles | ||
Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery is a museum managed by Powys County Council in Brecon, the historic county town of Brecknockshire or Breconshire in Mid Wales. Built off Captain's Walk, The Watton in 1824 as a shire hall, the building later functioned as an assize courts until its closure in 1971, re-opening in 1974 as a museum. One of Brecon's most significant pieces of architecture, the building has been Grade II* listed since 1952. The Brecknock Society and Museum Friends are closely associated with the museum.
Exhibits, artifacts and the collection
The museum displays a wide range of local artifacts from both prehistory covering the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the period of Roman Britain, Roman Wales and the Dark Ages and the emergence of Brycheiniog, plus exhibits from the historical period covering medieval and later history.
The rural life and agricultural and farming life of the county is also reflected through both artifacts and art work such as paintings by local and national artists on display.
Rare exhibits include a Dugout (boat) or primitive canoe from Llangorse Lake and a tombstone of a cavalryman from Y Gaer, Brecon Roman fort.
The museum also has an art gallery. It is sited within the shire hall, where in previous years Assize court cases, including murder trials, were held [1].
The museum has been closed to the public since November 2011 to enable major refurbishment and redevelopment to take place.