Hengwrt Heritage Centre, Llandeilo

Photos © Martin Smith

Located at the heart of Llandeilo, the building ‘Hengwrt’ has a rich history, seeing service as the Town Hall, a corn exchange, the Police Headquarters, the Magistrate’s Court and finally the Town Council’s headquarters. Transferred to the stewardship of Menter Dinefwr in 2018 and renamed to reflect one of the buildings main uses over the last 2 decades (Hengwrt means ‘Old Court’), the building has undergone a complete renovation, thanks to the support of the Community Lottery Fund and Welsh Government. The building has now been rebranded as a new community centre as well as headquarters for Llandeilo Town Council and Menter Dinefwr themselves.

We were commissioned by Menter Dinefwr (a voluntary social enterprise with a focus on promotion of the Welsh language and community development), to design, manufacture and install all elements of a new Heritage Centre located on the ground floor of Hengwrt. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and open to the public this space needed to convey the buildings (and surrounding areas) deep history while inspiring visitors to explore other sites nearby.

“As a community organisation, our vision was to develop an accessible and welcoming space, that not only reflected the area’s rich heritage, but also inspired local people to share their own stories. Hengwrt has been central to life in the town of Llandeilo for over 200 years and continues in that role, not only as a community centre, but as a place that safeguards and celebrates local history and culture. It’s great to see the heritage centre fully open and being enjoyed by both the community and visitors alike.”

 

– Owain Gruffydd, Chief Executive Officer of Menter Dinefwr

We worked closely with Elen Jones from Menter Dinefwr, our primary point of contact for the project, in her own words;

“This is the first exhibition of its kind in Llandeilo, which celebrates the area’s varied and fascinating story. We wanted to create a vibrant and welcoming heritage centre in Hengwrt, a multi-purpose community building at the heart of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, and Blackbox-av helped make our vision a reality! The exhibition blends perfectly with the rest of the community centre and shop, and most importantly, reflects the special spirit of Llandeilo and the surrounding area.”

The resulting exhibition utilises a blend of vibrant graphics, low-tech interactives as well as various hardware and software integrations. For example, on the one hand our in-house developed software ‘Hotspot’ (part of our Lightbox 3 Multi-App Package) powers an interactive map of Carmarthenshire. This Wayfinder unit contains hotspots detailing the many historical sites available in the area (turned into friendly graphics by us), particularly Dinefwr.

While on the other-hand these graphical representations of each location were also used in an activity book we developed for younger visitors. Some pages of which you can see below;

You can also see how Lightbox 3 and an assortment of its applications where used on a freestanding 22″ and wall mounted 42″ touchscreen, the 42″ being positioned in the temporary exhibition space and designed to be easily updated as and when required while the 22″ allows access to layered content relating to the adjacent ‘themes wall’ – a series of numbered graphics panels.

We also used two Android Tablets to create easily changed archive displays, where the items located in protective boxes either side can be labelled using the tablet. With Lightbox Lite (our android software) Menter Dinefwr can quickly change the information available as new archive items are added

Colourful, informative graphics were used on the perimeter of the space with a central unit creating a clear visitor flow and break between the exhibition and visitor shop. In the temporary zone a birch ply peg board was installed to allow ultimate flexibility in future.

“Every aspect of the project was completed to a high and professional standard, from the planning to the design, and production. The end result is a vivid, enticing, and multifaceted display that reflects the local area’s rich heritage.”

The central unit not only houses the wayfinding touchscreen but offers a place for the original judges chair to sit with a social media call-to-action. On the other side a table and chairs for children to complete activities is located, while another panel makes postcard like sheets of paper available for visitors to write memories and feedback on, to then be attached to the wall.

A physical timeline stretches across one wall, covering the building’s 200-year history, from court and corn exchange, to police headquarters and military recruitment centre, to the centre of a trial that sparked international interest. It’s up to each visitor to raise the flap and literally uncover the building’s history.

A looping introductory animation to the timeline sets the tone for the visit, with our friendly graphical design of Hengwrt being constructed before transitioning into a Welsh-to-English translation of what Hengwrt means.

“The combination of traditional methods of interpretation and digital interactives provide visitors with a multi-media experience, bringing the area’s history to life. There’s something for everyone – from exploring historical sites on an interactive map, listening to local people’s memories to solving puzzles and memory games!”