A Welsh Coal Mining Experience at Rhondda Heritage Park Museum is the lead venue for Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Heritage Service and acts as the Collections Centre for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.
Rhondda Heritage Park Museum was established in 1986 when a group of local people decided to preserve the recently closed Lewis Merthyr Colliery as a memorial to the individuals and communities who worked and lived with the mining industry.
Today, Rhondda Heritage Park Museum is a thriving tourist attraction visited by people from all over the world. Our exhibitions are free to visit during our opening hours, Tuesday – Saturday, 9am – 4.30pm.
Professional museum standards in collection management are followed in order to maintain our Museum Accredited Status, which was awarded in 2018.
The collection here is focussed on the strong heritage of the world-famous Rhondda Valleys and within this, several themes are represented, including the mining and industrial history of the valleys, local celebrities and sports personalities, domestic items and kitchenalia, fashion, costumes and religion.
If you would like to donate items to preserve and display, please read below for details.
The Heritage Service will accept offers of donations for the Rhondda Heritage Park Museum Collection if:
- There is a clear and direct link with the area or people of Rhondda Cynon Taf
- There is such sufficient social, scientific, or academic value to warrant the permanent retention and preservation of such items
The Heritage Service can provide adequate, continuing long-term care for the item and public access to it, without compromising standards of care and access relating to the existing collections.
The Heritage Service sadly cannot donations if:
- There is not sufficient social, scientific, or academic value to warrant display in the future
- There is not sufficient space in storage to be able to care for the item(s) when they are not on display
- There is a clear and obvious a health and safety risk
- There are duplicate items already within the collection
- There are not sufficient resources and expertise to care for and manage the item.
There is an emphasis on contemporary collecting to ensure that existing themes continue to be represented in the collection thus enabling the Museum to tell a more comprehensive history of Rhondda Cynon Taf. The museum is also interested in contemporary objects relating to LGBTQ+ communities, ethnic minorities, women’s history and the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have a donation enquiry, please contact us:
Email : heritageservice@rctcbc.gov.uk
Phone: 01443 680931
Alternatively, you can visit the Rhondda Heritage Park Museum and fill out an Object Donation Enquiry form.