Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery is home to a fantastic collection of artefacts spanning 2000 years of Merthyr's history and its Free to visit.

Opening Times:

1st April - 30th September

Daily, 10am - 5.30 pm (last admission 5pm)

1st October - 31st March

Closed Monday
Tues - Fri 10am - 4pm
Sat & Sun 12pm - 4pm

The museum houses the first steam whistle, the first voting ballot box and dresses by Laura Ashley and Julien McDonald.  The surroundings, Cyfarthfa Castle, home to William Crawshay II and family, serve as a reminder to the Ironmasters dominance over the town and the wealth the iron industry brought to the area.

The 'Ironmaster' William Crawshay commissioned Cyfarthfa Castle in 1824. This grand castellated mansion overlooked his immensely successful ironworks and has been called, "the most impressive monument of the Industrial Iron Age in South Wales".

At the Castle you can admire the extensive fine and decorative art collections.  This includes Swansea, Nantgarw and Wedgwood porcelain and art by Penry Williams, the Welsh Turner, and George Frederick Harris, the grandfather of Rolf Harris. Stroll through the atmospheric social and industrial history galleries which chart the rise of this once great ironmaking town.  Learn about Richard Trevithick's Penydarren Locomotive of 1804, the first locomotive to pull a load along rails.  Discover the roots of the Labour movement, from the Merthyr Rising of 1831, and the martyrdom of Dic Penderyn, to the first Labour MP - Keir Hardie.  Finally, see our curiosities from around the world including Ancient Egyptian grave goods.

Enjoy the elegant surroundings of this interesting museum and once family home, set in beautiful parkland, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The museum is a testament to the spirit of the working man, Merthyrs spirit and the story which makes Merthyr so important in history for Wales and Britain as a whole.

If you miss this museum whilst you are staying in Merthyr you have missed a treat!

We now offer Audio Tour guides £1.50 per Adult/£1.00 for concessions.

How to Find Us

See the map guidance on the Cyfarthfa Park and Museum page.

Cyfarthfa Castle
Brecon Road
Merthyr Tydfil
CF47 8RE

Alternative postcode for sat navs, which should bring you opposite the main park gates is CF47 8PA

From Cardiff / M4

M4, J 32 Follow signs for Merthyr Tydfil (A470) approx 18 miles north At Merthyr, go straight across 1st roundabout (Pentrebach). At 2nd roundabout go straight on At roundabout (with Cyfarthfa Retail Park on your right hand side) take the 3rd exit. Go straight over next roundabout. At traffic lights take a left and follow road to the end. At the mini roundabout take a left and then immediately right in through the main park gates. (For coaches you will need to use a different entrance, instead of taking the immediate right as instructed above follow the perimeter of the park and take your first right, and then a right into the coach entrance) Cyfarthfa Castle is at the top of the drive.

From Abergavenny / A465

Stay on A465, following signs for Merthyr Tydfil & then Brecon. Next take the A470 towards Cardiff At the roundabout take a left Go straight over next roundabout. At traffic lights take a left and follow road to the end. At the mini roundabout take a left and then immediately right in through the main park gates. (For coaches you will need to use a different entrance, instead of taking the immediate right as instructed above follow the perimeter of the park and take your first right, and then a right into the coach entrance) Cyfarthfa Castle is at the top of the drive.

From Swansea / A465

Leave A483 and head straightforward onto Fabian Way (A483). Enter the roundabout and leave at the 1. Exit onto B4290. Enter the roundabout and leave at the 2. Exit onto A465. Stay on A465 You are entering Merthyr Tydfil. Leave A465 and head straightforward onto Heads of the Valleys Road (A465). Enter the roundabout and leave at the 3. exit onto A470 At the roundabout take a left Go straight over next roundabout. At traffic lights take a left and follow road to the end. At the mini roundabout take a left and then immediately right in through the main park gates.

(For coaches you will need to use a different entrance, instead of taking the immediate right as instructed above follow the perimeter of the park and take your first right, and then a right into the coach entrance) Cyfarthfa Castle is at the top of the drive.