Risca Industrial History Museum
Volunteer-run museum in a 1916 miners’ institute showing the coal, iron, tramroad and railway heritage of the Risca area, with an Edwardian chemist’s shop.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum belongs to the Oxford House Industrial History Society, which was formed in 1971 after a course of lectures on industrial archaeology at the Oxford House Adult Education Centre in Risca. Over the years the society gathered objects, photographs and documents that illustrate the industrial past of the area, including coal mining, the iron industry, tram roads and railways.
The collection was shown in Pontymister Upper School until flooding in 1979. It now occupies the ground floor of the former Risca Colliers Institute on Grove Road, a Grade II listed building put up in 1916 for local miners. After the colliery closed in 1967 the building was used as a benefits office and later as a campaign office; in 1995 Islwyn Borough Council bought it with European heritage funding and the museum moved in. The council that took over the building later disposed of it, in 2016.
Volunteers from the society still run the museum. Displays cover coal mining, iron and steel, tinplate, tramroads, railways, canals and buses, as well as printing and commercial equipment. Highlights include an Edwardian chemist’s shop with its original fittings and an 1832 printing press that is demonstrated on set dates.
Highlights
- Collection on the coal, iron, steel and tinplate industries of the South Wales valleys
- Edwardian chemist’s shop with original fittings
- Columbian printing press of 1832, demonstrated on set dates
- Photographs, maps and artefacts on tramroads, railways, canals and buses
- Housed in the Grade II listed Risca Colliers Institute of 1916
Permanent exhibitions
- Industrial history of the Risca area – Objects, photographs and maps on coal mining, iron and steel, tinplate, tramroads, railways, canals and buses.
- Edwardian chemist’s shop – A shop interior with the original fittings of the chemist W. H. Thomas.
- Printing press of 1832 – A Columbian press from the Starling Press, shown with printing and commercial equipment and demonstrated on set dates.
- Operated by
- Oxford House Industrial History Society (volunteer-run charity)
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Admission is free.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
Parking is next to the museum.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | Local experts are on hand on opening days to answer questions. The society meets in the museum on Friday evenings from September to May, and visitors with an interest in industrial history are welcome. |
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