Brecknock Museum


Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery was a museum managed by Powys County Council in Brecon, the historic county town of Brecknockshire or Breconshire in Mid Wales. Built off Captain's Walk, The Watton in 1842 as a shire hall and assize courts until its closure in 1971, re-opening in 1974 as the new home for Brecknock Museum. One of Brecon's most significant pieces of architecture, the building has been Grade II* listed since 1952. The Brecknock Society and Museum Friends are closely associated with the museum.

Exhibits, artefacts and the collection

Until 2011, the museum displayed a wide range of local artefacts from both prehistory covering the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age and the period of Roman Britain, Roman Wales and the Dark Ages and the emergence of Brycheiniog, plus exhibits from the historical period covering medieval and later history.
The rural life and agricultural and farming life of the county was also reflected through both artefacts and art work such as paintings by local and national artists on display.
Rare exhibits included a dugout or primitive canoe from Llangorse Lake and a tombstone of a cavalryman from Y Gaer, Brecon Roman fort.
The museum also had a shared art gallery / temporary exhibition space. It was sited within the shire hall, where in previous years Assize court cases, including murder trials, were held.
The museum was closed to the public from November 2011 to enable major refurbishment and redevelopment to take place. The new 'cultural hub' for Brecon, promoted under the label y Gaer incorporating the former museum together with the town library opened 5 December 2019.