"Powysland Museum in Welshpool was founded by the Powysland Club in 1874 and housed in a purpose-built museum on Salop Road.

In 1974 the running of the museum was taken over by Powys County Council. By then it was obvious that the building was no longer suitable as a museum and in 1990 the museum collections were moved to an old warehouse by the Montgomeryshire Canal, which had been carefully restored and refurbished to house a modern museum.

The museum collections cover the archaeology and social history of the Eastern part of Montgomeryshire and the three permanent galleries reflect these areas. In the first room on the ground floor the displays depict three important aspects of life in the county: the Montgomeryshire Canal; the Cambrian Railways and the Welshpool to Llanfair Light Railway and the agricultural heritage of the county.

The archaeological collections are housed in one of the rooms on the first floor. The exhibition begins with an introduction on the Powysland Club, the start of the museum and the first collections.

Then follows a chronological display from the Stone Age, through the Bronze and Iron Ages to the Romans. As is typical of many local history museums there is a huge gap in the collections between the archaeology, which usually runs dry after the Romans until the middle to late 19th century.

This is true of the Powysland Museum, which has very few artefacts from this period. The exhibition therefore has to rely on the written words and the 19th century is introduced with a display on royal memorabilia going back to Queen Victoria.

In the Social History gallery, also on the first floor, the collection is divided into themes and the exhibition includes displays on: coopering, the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry; French Prisoners of War during the Napoleonic Wars; and the two World Wars as well as the Victorian household, Friendly Societies and Law and Order.

The museum's fourth gallery is reserved for temporary exhibitions. One of the most important ways to create a vibrant and interesting museum is by offering a programme of changing temporary exhibitions and since the opening in the canal premises in 1990 the museum has held over 65 exhibitions most of which have been created in-house.

Themes have included: Prisoners of War in Japan during World War II; The geology of Montgomeryshire; beer-making; butterflies; the Civil Wars and Montgomeryshire; the artwork of the Queen of Denmark; the workings of a museum; European food and drink and the Montgomeryshire Canal. Every Christmas we celebrate the festive season with a special exhibition and subjects here have included: "Santa Claus"; European Christmas traditions; animals connected with Christmas; winter festivals of other religions and the British pantomime tradition.

The museum also offers a wide variety of education facilities including worksheets, handling collections and various activities often connected with the temporary exhibition at the time.

These facilities are devised and led by the museum's two education officers who are trained teachers with a wealth of knowledge and experience between them.

The Powysland Museum is a museum, which appeals to all ages and all types of people. We look forward to welcoming you."

Article written by Eva Bredsdorff