Pontypool Museum
Pontypool Museum
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
39 reviews
Excellent
22
Very good
13
Average
3
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Don K
Cardiff, UK16 contributions
Sep 2013 • Solo
This little Museum is a Gem, tucked away in Pontypool with friendly knowledgeable staff.
They now have lauched the Vintage Tearoom which yes... is small but very atmospheric!
The Museum is well planned and is user friendly.. there is always something of interest going on
also the Gallery hosts a wide cross section of exhibiting artists.
Look out for the section on Japanware which Pontypool was famous for !
Well worth a visit ! recommended....
They now have lauched the Vintage Tearoom which yes... is small but very atmospheric!
The Museum is well planned and is user friendly.. there is always something of interest going on
also the Gallery hosts a wide cross section of exhibiting artists.
Look out for the section on Japanware which Pontypool was famous for !
Well worth a visit ! recommended....
Written September 20, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
danfoster40
Tenby, UK199 contributions
May 2014 • Friends
A great little museum, with a mixture of display and a little gallery.
I really did find it interesting.
I really did find it interesting.
Written December 19, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrsMG2014
Pontypool, UK76 contributions
Sep 2014 • Solo
Thanks to local funding they are again able to open on Saturdays. Located at the gateway to beautiful Pontypool Park. the museum has helpful staff and many interesting collections.
Written September 23, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrsMG2014
Pontypool, UK76 contributions
Mar 2014 • Friends
Sited in the old stable block of the Mansion previously owned by the Hanbury's, this museum has lots to offer. Wonderful examples of old Japanware, unique to Pontypool. An excellent gift and book shop with a Vintage tearooms and toilets. Well worth a visit.
Written April 15, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MorgyGwent
Cwmbran, UK114 contributions
Oct 2016 • Family
Great small museum. We took our 9 year old grand daughter who completed the quiz on the way around. Afew hands on exhibits for the younger ones and interesting exhibits of Japanware and ICI Fibres. My Dad worked there for years and I have fond memories of the parties, tennis courts etc growing up.
There is a charge , we paid £5 for a family ticket I thought it money well spent.
We stopped off in the tea room. I found this expensive. £2.25 for a hot choc made with a Tassimo machine(Ive got one myself} and cake out of an Asdas box!
The tea room could be so much more. We thought to stop there to aid the museum but if you have a couple of kids it would be very expensive.
The staff were very friendly and welcoming , a credit to the museum.
There is a charge , we paid £5 for a family ticket I thought it money well spent.
We stopped off in the tea room. I found this expensive. £2.25 for a hot choc made with a Tassimo machine(Ive got one myself} and cake out of an Asdas box!
The tea room could be so much more. We thought to stop there to aid the museum but if you have a couple of kids it would be very expensive.
The staff were very friendly and welcoming , a credit to the museum.
Written November 6, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eve N
Tewkesbury, UK61 contributions
Sep 2012 • Couples
This interesting museum is full of the life of Pontypool, if I had a criticism, it is very dominated by the 19th century mining and iron foundries, rather than earlier periods, possibly because few artifacts have been found from Roman and Celtic eras. There is a little bookshop and a pleasant little coffee shop as well, and it is well worth a visit.
Written August 13, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sam S
Wales, UK123 contributions
Feb 2013 • Family
I took my two sons here recently and we were pleasantly surprised. Firstly, because we had Torfaen Library cards we all got in free. Secondly, I was expecting 3 or 4 rooms, a gift shop and an exit.
How wrong I was! First of all the gift shop is in reception and it's very good. It also gets the gift shop nagging out of the way when you take kids round. Secondly, there are loads of rooms to see and explore. This place is like a Tardis. Not many people know about it or go there, but they really should, and the Museum should big itself up more too with more publicity!
There must have been around a dozen rooms, many of which involved multi media: films of bygone days, blackboards and chalks to design your own Japanware, info sheets and quizzes for kids, and even a huge boardroom table laid out with paper and coloured pencils for visitors to just sit and draw. They also have a toy corner with traditional toys that children are encouraged to handle and play with. My sons loved the bongo drums, triangle, tambourine, puppet theatre and puppets.
The displays include some magnificent furniture owned by the Hanbury family, oil paintings that reach the ceiling, original Japanware, photos of old Pontypool when it was bustling and in demand, old fashioned antique toys and musical instruments, history of the area's development, and displays on well known local figures, not to mention the Pontypool Front Row!
Pontypool is sadly in decline now, but this Museum will make you see it in a different light. Plus it's right next to the Park Entrance- a trip to a Museum combined with a visit to 200 acres of parkland can't be a bad day out in anyone's book.
My one complaint would be that it's only open from 2pm to 5pm on Saturdays. I think it should be open earlier. In the week its open from 10am until 5pm. Much better to open all day on a non school day.
How wrong I was! First of all the gift shop is in reception and it's very good. It also gets the gift shop nagging out of the way when you take kids round. Secondly, there are loads of rooms to see and explore. This place is like a Tardis. Not many people know about it or go there, but they really should, and the Museum should big itself up more too with more publicity!
There must have been around a dozen rooms, many of which involved multi media: films of bygone days, blackboards and chalks to design your own Japanware, info sheets and quizzes for kids, and even a huge boardroom table laid out with paper and coloured pencils for visitors to just sit and draw. They also have a toy corner with traditional toys that children are encouraged to handle and play with. My sons loved the bongo drums, triangle, tambourine, puppet theatre and puppets.
The displays include some magnificent furniture owned by the Hanbury family, oil paintings that reach the ceiling, original Japanware, photos of old Pontypool when it was bustling and in demand, old fashioned antique toys and musical instruments, history of the area's development, and displays on well known local figures, not to mention the Pontypool Front Row!
Pontypool is sadly in decline now, but this Museum will make you see it in a different light. Plus it's right next to the Park Entrance- a trip to a Museum combined with a visit to 200 acres of parkland can't be a bad day out in anyone's book.
My one complaint would be that it's only open from 2pm to 5pm on Saturdays. I think it should be open earlier. In the week its open from 10am until 5pm. Much better to open all day on a non school day.
Written February 28, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
welsh girl
Newport, UK108 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
We had planned to visit here on the way to a return trip to nearby Big Pit. We were not certain how long it would take to visit here, as some museums can be on the smaller side and could be visited entirely in an hour at most. We were pleasantly surprised by what we found inside. As three adults entry cost us £5 for a family ticket, extremely reasonable and we assume that this would also contribute to the upkeep of the museum (?) So more than happy to pay this. In the end we did not bother to visit Big Pit, we did arrive just after noon and by the time we had seen almost everything it was close to three o'clock. That's not to say that it's not possible to combine the two but personally we decided not to on this occasion. There's a wealth of information about the history of Pontypool and surrounding areas, in fact towards the end of our visit I was starting to feel that I couldn't absorb any more information, but that's not a criticism, more an indication of the amount of interesting information available. If you like museums and learning about local history then you should certainly consider a visit. We didn't have any refreshments as we'd brought our own. The toilets were very clean and well maintained. I have a particular interest in the iron industry for personal reasons but there's a lot more to see than that. You could easily spend an afternoon or morning here. As other reviews have stated it is next to a school, so likely to be heavy traffic around the start and end of a school day, but we visited during the school holidays.
Written August 3, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
booming
Swindon105 contributions
Jul 2017 • Family
Very good museum with lots of local interest. Has a good exhibit on Pontypool Japan ware which I had heard of but knew nothing about before.
There is a cafe and a picture gallery. Many of the exhibits would appeal to schoolchildren
There is a cafe and a picture gallery. Many of the exhibits would appeal to schoolchildren
Written July 25, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alanp145
Pontypool, UK7 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
Japanware not my thing but still it s all good history .Lots of other things related to Pontypool area of interest there. It s only a small place but well worth the hour or so you will take to see the exhibits,
You can even get a cup of coffee,
You can even get a cup of coffee,
Written June 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can you tell me where parking facilities are for the museum. Are they a fair distance away or quite close. Thanks
Written May 11, 2015
As you croos the bridge you will see the brown road sign foor a Museum. Turn onto the cobles and then right directly. The museum has a car park to the rear, you turn in by Sight Cymru and go through to the end. It is only about 100 yards around to the front where the door is.
Written May 12, 2015
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