The ‘Museum of Two Halves’ is our shorthand name to describe the project that will see the development of the Football Museum for Wales and a new Wrexham Museum in the current museum building on Regent Street in Wrexham, Wales.
Wrexham Museum is already home to the Welsh Football Collection. Established in 2000 it is the largest collection of Welsh football memorabilia held in public ownership in Wales. Selected items from the collection are often used for temporary exhibitions, as well as being a resource for researchers, but we do not currently have space to put the entire collection on display.
The new football museum will celebrate Welsh football, past and present, in all its diversity, from grassroots clubs to the national teams, as well as highlighting Wrexham’s historic achievements in the sport and celebrating the rich heritage of the County Borough. New galleries will be created to display the Wrexham Museum collections, and the museum will host a programme of activities and events to inspire all who visit to learn, be active and achieve their potential.
This survey is an important opportunity to share your ideas and comment on our plans.
The survey should take under 10 minutes to complete.
If you wish to be put into a prize draw for £50 of shopping vouchers you’ll have the opportunity to give your details at the end. This prize draw is for UK respondents only.
The deadline for completion is 11pm on September 17th 2023. The winner will be selected at random and notified by 11pm on September 24th 2023. See full terms and conditions outlined at entry.
This is an independent survey being conducted on behalf of Wrexham County Borough Council.
Wrexham Museum, Café and Archives will be closing temporarily for a short period as part of the ‘Museum of Two Halves’ redevelopment project.
The project will see the creation of a new Football Museum for Wales alongside a fully refurbished Wrexham Museum in the current museum building on Regent Street in Wrexham – a major new national attraction for Wrexham City Centre.
The temporary closure in August will allow some initial work to be carried out. Full redevelopment work is due to start at the end of the year.
The Football Museum and refurbished Wrexham Museum are expected to open in 2026.
Full closure dates
The museum galleries will be closed from Friday 4th August and will reopen from Saturday 12th.
The Courtyard Café and shop will be closed from 2.30pm on Friday 4th August and will reopen from Saturday 12th August.
Visitors will not have access to the galleries on the 4th August – just the café and shop until 2.30pm.
The Archives search room will be closed from Friday 4th August and will reopen from Monday 14th August.
Great progress being made
Cllr Paul Roberts said: “We are now seeing some great progress being made in the development of this major new attraction for the city centre. As well as the building work, we’ve also now appointed activity planners for the project, our team have started running football heritage tours in Wrexham, and our football museum engagement officers have been working extensively with clubs and communities across Wales, building links and collecting stories.
“The team will have a stall at this year’s national Eisteddfod in Boduan next week – another fantastic opportunity to engage with national audiences and spread the word about what we’re doing here in Wrexham.
“We look forward to announcing more exciting developments for the project as it continues to progress over the next few months.”
A further £5.4m is being provided by Welsh Government for the development of the new Football Museum for Wales in Wrexham, the spiritual home of Welsh football.
The funding is part of an agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.
Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden made the announcement on a visit to the city and comes at a time when interest in Welsh football is at an all-time high.
The development of the new Football Museum is part of a wider project that will see the current Wrexham Museum building on Regent Street fully refurbished and transformed into a ‘museum of two halves’ – a major new national attraction for the city centre.
The Football Museum half of the building will celebrate Welsh football, past and present, in all its diversity, from grassroots clubs to the national teams, as well as highlighting Wrexham’s historic achievements in the sport and celebrating the rich heritage of the County Borough.
Meanwhile, in the same building, new galleries will be created to display the Wrexham Museum collections, which means an enhanced experience for visitors and a first-class, modern venue for discovering the fascinating and eventful story of our region of North East Wales.
Celebrating Wrexham’s ‘unique cultural heritage’
Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety at Wrexham County Borough Council, Councillor Paul Roberts, said, “I’d like to thank the Welsh Government for their continued support for Wrexham, the spiritual home of football, to continue to develop the Football Museum for Wales.
“This is a really exciting project as football plays such a large part in our culture and identity and the people of Wrexham and across Wales can now be assured that the Welsh Football Collection will be preserved for present and future generations in Wales.
“This will be developed alongside a new museum for Wrexham which is currently home to a large and interesting collection of historical objects which shows the unique cultural heritage of Wrexham.”
‘We are now at a very exciting stage’
Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden said: “Wrexham is the birthplace of Welsh football so it’s the ideal location to celebrate the sport’s heritage.
“We have seen many successes, especially in recent years, in men’s and women’s football, and ensuring the dramatic and emotive events on the international stage, the history and development of club football in Wales and the spirit and diversity of the Welsh football community is told in one place will be vital for present and future generations.
“The new museum will become a key venue in the city as well as for North Wales’ tourist and visitor offer. It also comes at an exciting time for Wrexham AFC as they aim to get back into the Football League.
“I am grateful to all our partners who we continue to work closely with on this project including Wrexham County Borough Council and the FAW.
“We are now at a very exciting stage and the funding announced today, subject to conditions and approval of a Full Business Case in due course, will see community and pan-Wales engagement on the project continue as well as developing the content, collections and exhibitions through to construction and opening of the new Football Museum for Wales.”
‘Working together to make it happen’
Many themes will be showcased at the Football Museum for Wales in Wrexham including Welsh language communities, fan culture, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and LGBTQ+ experiences.
Since 2020, more than £800,000 in Welsh Government funding has already ensured the appointment of a dedicated Football Curator and Engagement Officers, the progression of designs, and a pan-Wales public engagement and community consultation to develop proposed plans and content.
Designated Member Siân Gwenllian said: “We have all seen the pride and joy the national team has brought us in recent years and how important football is to Wales.
“This redeveloped museum will celebrate our nation’s contribution to the game and the heritage and legacy it provides for us all. Wrexham, a city steeped in football history, is a fitting home for this exciting project and I am delighted we are working together to make it happen.”
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There’s been plenty of focus on the plans for the Football Museum for Wales, but what about the other half in the ‘museum of two halves’ project: a new museum for Wrexham?
We’ve put together this whistle-stop tour of the designs for the new galleries and spaces, plus some of the ideas for the themes and content you’ll discover during your visit to the new museum.
The development of the plans for the football museum galleries is part of the Museum of Two Halves project which will create a Football Museum for Wales and a new museum for Wrexham. This development work has been funded by Welsh Government and Wrexham County Borough Council.
All images courtesy of Hayley Sharpe Design.
For a start it will be all change on the ground floor of the current museum building: a new learning suite for schools and community events; a gallery dedicated to the history of the building, an expanded temporary exhibition space and a bigger souvenir shop.
The historic courtyard at the centre of the museum building (now the location of the main gallery) will be re-instated; creating Wrexham’s own version of the ‘Great Court’ at the British Museum.
Objects and LED displays will introduce the themes of the two museums: football heritage and Wrexham’s heritage.
This artist’s impression (see above) shows the introductory atrium as viewed from the bottom of the new central stairwell looking towards the doors into the learning suite.
The Football Museum and the Wrexham Museum galleries will all be on the first floor of the building; mostly in spaces currently not open to the public.
The Wrexham Museum galleries will be located on the eastern side of the building. Currently this wing is at two different levels and much work will be necessary to convert a series of rooms into workable gallery spaces.
One of the many improvements that would happen as part of the ‘museum of two halves’ project would be permanent galleries dedicated to specific aspects of Wrexham’s past.
Up to now we have had to cram everything into one gallery. With a fair wind and the necessary funding, Wrexham Museum can finally have the gallery space our heritage and our local communities deserve.
Visitors will enter the Wrexham Museum galleries through an introductory zone: This is Wrexham!
This will be a mix of sound, film and images introducing the history of Wrexham and the variety of the county borough, and referencing the themes of the galleries to come. The immersive experience will highlight our heritage right up to the present day.
The first gallery, Beginnings, will be devoted to archaeology and prehistory, including Brymbo Man, Bronze Age treasures such as the Rossett Hoard, and a display case featuring changing archaeological displays of local material. There will be activities to entertain and educate younger visitors too.
There is the potential here to display temporary loans from Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales) such as the Acton Hoard and the Burton Hoard (Bronze Age), the Esclusham Hoard (Roman period) and the Wrexham Hoard (the Middle Ages).
Previously we used to focus the industrial heritage displays at Bersham Heritage Centre, but since its closure the museum service has only been able to tell Wrexham’s industrial story through temporary exhibition.
All would change as part of the ‘museum of two halves’ project as Court No.2 (the current Education Room) would become the permanent gallery devoted to Wrexham’s industrial and agricultural history, the world of work and Wrexham’s origins as a market town.
There will be space to showcase some great objects from the collection; while projected at each end of the gallery would be the people and places connected to our industrial and commercial past.
There will be loads of opportunities for all ages in the planned ‘Trade and Industry’ gallery: shopping in old Wrexham, a market activity for children, a chance to find out about the different jobs that used to exist, a place to share memories of your first/worst/best job, and for the outgoing – a chance to dress up in some historic workers’ costume.
There will be displays about Wrexham’s breweries and old pubs. The ‘pub crawl’ may be alcohol-free, because you will need your wits about you to do the ultimate Wrexham pub quiz.
The story of the Gresford Colliery Disaster is such an important part of Wrexham’s modern history that there will be a section in the Conflict and Struggle gallery dedicated to the disaster and its repercussions.
The Miners’ Rights section will explore the turbulent history of the Denbighshire coalfield from the first rumblings in the 1830s through to the 1984/85 strike.
The other side of the Conflict & Struggle gallery will concentrate on Wrexham’s experience of the two World Wars with a case display, oral testimony and a giant map illustrating the area’s home front history.
Wrexham’s munitionettes, war veterans and those who served on the Home Front will be commemorated. Finally the one and only Powell Motorbike will go on permanent display.
The next gallery, Communities, will lighten the mood as the displays celebrate the social and cultural side of local life in modern times. There will be a section on making a life in Wrexham, and display cases illustrating sport in Wrexham and how our predecessors spent their free time.
We will be introducing a changing selection of characters from Wrexham’s past: the controversial, the comic, the notorious and the news worthy.
We will be working with the local community to populate these displays and there will be a call out for suggestions and contributions via social media.
We said the mood would be different in the ‘Communities’ gallery; it’s going to be colourful, lively and hopefully refreshing. However, the plan is to be able to dim the lights and turn down the volume for ‘quiet times’ when visitors don’t want to be overwhelmed.
The final gallery in the planned Wrexham Museum would focus on ‘Daily Life’. One display case will showcase objects connected to the key stages in everyone’s life from childhood to old age; while a second case will be about life in the home and how it has changed.
Once again we will be involving local people in choosing the objects and the stories they would like to see in this gallery.
At the very end there will be an area for children – a chance to explore the history ‘home’ and a cast of special puppets for children create their own dramas about Wrexham long ago.
Hopefully that brief tour of the plans for the new Wrexham Museum galleries provides plenty of reasons for you to visit and even get involved.
It is forty years since Wrexham Maelor Borough Council first appointed a Museum Research Officer in 1982. The museum’s potential is there to be realized in these new spaces when all the funding has been secured. Fingers crossed and with the right backing, Wrexham will have a museum fit for the newest city in Wales.
We recently held consultation events to gather feedback on the new design plans for the Football Museum and refurbished Wrexham Museum.
The design plans were put on display for public viewing at an open day event, held at Wrexham Museum.
Members of the museum and design teams attended the events to discuss the plans with visitors and gather thoughts and suggestions.
We organised an online presentation to enable a wider audience to view and comment on the design plans.
We also consulted with the various football specialist and community focus groups that we’ve assembled to work alongside us throughout the design process.
All the sessions included a presentation/display of the latest proposals and an opportunity for questions and feedback.
Your thoughts
Here are some of the highlights from the dozens of comments submitted at the various sessions….
Loyalties & Rivalries
“It would be good to see more about the rise of women’s football and that there is still a long way to go for all clubs to have a women’s team. Historic material related to this may have been lost.”
“The grassroots football film could include regional tournaments or the community cup that exists in Wales. The gallery also needs to show stories from diverse clubs including refugees / asylum seekers, LGBTQ+ community and those with a range of disabilities.”
Heartbreak and Glory
“It would be good to look at how press/media have covered Wales teams across time, as coverage was previously very negative and now it is all positive. Welsh teams and fan communities have prevailed despite this.”
“It would be good to show the experiences behind the scenes and all the different processes involved in setting up for a match e.g. use of clappers during the match and the process of design / manufacture”
Education
Teachers suggested that it would be great to get children to input in the design process and a number of teachers said they would like their schools to be involved in this.
Wayfinding throughout the galleries could also be playful and potentially incorporated into the flooring.
Suggestions for additional interactive elements included:
Ability to commentate on game
Within the galleries or externally there should be the opportunity to kick a football.
The themes within the galleries tie in well with the Welsh Curriculum and a wide variety of subjects could be taught using the galleries.
Accessibility
Acoustics of the gallery spaces to be considered in development.
Provide good light levels along circulation routes.
Consideration of how the visitor welcome incorporates BSL to let visitors know it is used and that they are welcome – this could be done in-person or on a screen.
Wrexham History
Suggestions for additional themes / stories which could be included in the Wrexham galleries included:
The canal and railway connections which have supported the growth of the city.
Religion and diversity
The ‘black’ years when Wrexham felt “downtrodden” and “undervalued”
The galleries should be used to help signpost visitors to other heritage / cultural sites around Wrexham e.g. Bersham.
The links with Tŷ Pawb are important as this venue is seen as a multi-cultural hub which helps to brings diverse communities together and highlights the changing identity of Wrexham.
Next steps
The project is continuing to make fantastic progress. Your valuable feedback will be used to help inform the next stage of design work. We’ll be keeping you updated on this via this blog and our social media channels.
The new ‘museum of two halves’ is going to be a major new national attraction for Wrexham City Centre, celebrating Welsh football, past and present, in all its diversity, alongside an enhanced, first-class venue for discovering the fascinating and eventful story of our region of north-east Wales.
We’re now delighted to be able to share the latest design plans.
There will be an opportunity to come and view the plans in person at Wrexham Museum, this October.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to watch a online presentation of the plans, delivered by the design team.
Open Day at Wrexham Museum
The event will be an opportunity to view large scale, illustrated displays of the design plans for the new museums.
You’ll also be able to speak to the project design team in person, ask questions and offer feedback and suggestions.
This will be family friendly event. The new museums are being designed to appeal to visitors of all ages so we’d love to see as many children and families as possible coming along to come see the plans and let us know what they think!
The open day event will take place on Wednesday 26th October at Wrexham Museum on Regent Street.
There will be two opportunities to attend on the day. An afternoon session from 1.30pm-3.30pm and an evening session from 6pm-8pm. Everyone is welcome to attend either session – or both.
We’ve organised an interactive online presentation to take place on Monday 24th October from 6.30pm-8.00pm.
During the event, the design team will guide you through the latest illustrated plans for the new museums, including the revamped public spaces, galleries and other new features of the building.
You’ll also be able to see and hear about some of the planned exhibits and activities.
You’ll be able to ask questions about the project during the event via the chat box. The team will try to answer as many as possible.
Public feedback has helped ‘inform latest design plans’
Cllr Paul Roberts, Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety said: “The design team have been making great progress with the plans for the new museums so we’re delighted to offer this opportunity for the public to come and view the proposals up close, and online, and speak to the team in person.
“Over 500 people took part in the public consultation last year. The feedback received has helped inform the latest design plans and we’ve also assembled a number of specialist and community focus groups who are working closely with us throughout the project.”
“This is a huge development for Wrexham city centre which promises to attract new visitors from around the country and beyond so I hope as many people as possible will make the most of the opportunity to view the plans at this key stage of its development.”
