Narberth Museum

About the museum

Narberth Museum has been housed since 2012 in the Bonded Stores in Church Street, a building designed to keep people out. It once held hundreds of kegs of duty-free whisky, brandy and rum behind double locks that could only be opened when the revenue officer and the stores manager were both present with their keys. The two keys became the museum’s logo.

The displays tell the story of a town that appears in the Mabinogion tales as the court of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, and that grew into a busy market town in the nineteenth century. A scale model shows what Narberth Castle once looked like, and an interactive game explains the tactics of medieval siege warfare. A working model of the railway station runs trains to an original timetable, and visitors can walk through a re-creation of the town’s shops around the turn of the twentieth century.

One of the most popular areas for young families is the Mabinogion woodland glade, where panels retell the stories and a storytelling chair plays Welsh folk tales in English and Welsh. Changing and visiting exhibitions run throughout the year, and the building also holds an independent bookshop and a coffee shop that can be visited without a museum ticket.

Highlights

• Scale model of Narberth Castle with a medieval siege game
• Working model of the railway station
• Re-created shop streets from around 1900
• Mabinogion woodland glade with storytelling chair
• Independent bookshop and coffee shop

Permanent exhibitions

• Permanent collection: the story of Narberth – Artefacts, documents and interactive displays covering Narberth from the legends of the Mabinogion to the nineteenth-century market town, including a castle model and a working model railway station.
• Mabinogion woodland glade – A children’s area retelling the Mabinogion stories with panels, a storytelling chair and puzzles.

Founded

1989

Admission & discounts

Prices shown are the standard admission without Gift Aid. The Gift Aid prices include a voluntary 10% donation (adult £6.50, concession £5.50, child £3.50, family £16.50). The bookshop and coffee shop can be visited free of charge.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The ground floor with the bookshop, café and accessible toilet is reached by a ramp. A lift serves the upper floor, where the museum is on a single level.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly

The Mabinogion woodland glade is popular with young families, with a storytelling chair for Welsh folk tales in English and Welsh, plus puzzles and games for younger children.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in Church Street, at the top of the High Street. There are bike racks for four bicycles at the front door and staff will look after cycle helmets.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Wi-Fi

Coffee shop (licensed, with cakes and snacks) and an independent bookshop on the ground floor, both open to visitors without a museum ticket. Wi-Fi is listed by Visit Pembrokeshire.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Room hire can be arranged outside normal opening hours; contact the museum.

Plan your visit