At Shire Hall you can find out about the events associated with the Newport rising through courtroom and cell displays and audio-visual guides. Staff have been working to increase the exhibitions and activities throughout the building and visitors can now see:

Ground floor

• Eddie Butler History of Monmouth video
• Children’s activities including colouring, puppet theatre and show
• Changing exhibitions
• A model of Monmouth town

First Floor

• Short film – 15 minute heritage of Monmouth

Courtroom 1

• Chartist video
• Dressing up

Courtroom 2

• Henry V tapestry
• Rockfield interactive
• Changing Temporary Exhibition

Judge’s room

A mockup of the judge prior to sitting in court

Public gallery

Sit above the courtroom and take in the atmosphere

Cells

Witness first-hand the environment that prisoners would have experienced

Monmouth is very rightly proud of its connections with Nelson and people have been asking us what is happening with it whilst it is not on display.  We have been carrying out a programme of works on the collection, thanks to funding from Welsh Government and the Federation of Museums and Galleries of Wales, which include:

• rehousing the manuscript collection in conservation grade packaging.
• carrying out conservation work on the books
• working with an academic and the National Maritime Museum to carry out a significance assessment of our collection
• beginning a programme of work talking to groups to find out what stories they would like to see in the new displays
• compiling inventories of the Nelson Collection and inputting that information onto our computer database
• adding Nelson stories to our collections website https://www.monlifecollections.co.uk/

Currently we are working to move Monmouth Museum and its collections into Shire Hall. This has been made possible thanks to a large grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The development phase of this project is taking place between August 2023 and February 2025. During this time, we have had two teams working on consultation and collections development, reviewing the stories and objects available to showcase the town’s rich history.

We now have architects and museum design teams in place. They will build upon our consultation feedback to develop plans. Ultimately, this work will contribute to Monmouth having a newly developed museum in Shire Hall (with regular updates along the way), showcasing the town’s incredible local history and Nelson artefacts. For this, we will need the support of our communities and visitors and we hope that you will join us on this exciting journey.

For more information, keep an eye on the MonLife website, our social media pages or come and visit the Shire Hall to see our changing exhibitions.