Grade I listed museum gets £12m for redevelopment

The National Slate Museum opened in 1972 following the closure of Dinorwig slate quarry

A slate museum has been awarded £12m for redevelopment work aimed at preserving the heritage site for future generations.

Museum Wales has been given the grant as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund for work on the National Slate Museum in Llanberis, Gwynedd.

The Grade I listed building has been home to the museum since 1972 when it was first opened to the public after the closure of the Dinorwig slate quarry in 1969.

The money is intended to transform it into "a gateway to our history and culture".

In 2021, the slate landscape of north-west Wales became the UK's 33rd site on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The slate landscapes of Eryri - also known as Snowdonia - are said to have "roofed the 19th Century world" as slate from its quarries was exported around the globe.

Nowadays, the area is popular with tourists and nature enthusiasts.

Museum Wales said the planned redevelopment would "retain the essence of the industrial workshops which sit at the heart of the site", while "sharing and celebrating" the role the area played on a global stage.

Changes will include a new learning centre, play area, shop and cafe, as well as improving accessibility.

All staff at the museum speak Welsh, and bosses say the language "will be embedded at all stages of the project".

The redevelopment will also include the creation of new jobs, work placements and traineeships.

The museum is part of, and documents, the slate landscape of north-west Wales, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site

Jane Richardson, chief executive of Museum Wales, said she was "truly thrilled".

She added: "This is a key milestone in the Llanberis redevelopment project and is exciting news for us, for the wider community, and for everyone in Wales."

Andrew White, the National Lottery Heritage Fund director for Wales, added the money would "unlock vital opportunities for communities across north Wales".

The building is currently closed to the public, but work has already begun to move items from the museum to temporary locations in preparation for building works on site.