Jeremy Vine praises Welsh museum following visit

Molly Stubbs

Presenter and journalist Jeremy Vine took to Facebook to praise a “truly amazing” Welsh museum, and share several photos and videos from his visit.

In a post on Friday, 16 January, Vine told followers he had spent a “Wonderful morning just outside Cardiff at St Fagans, where they have rebuilt ancient homes, farmhouses, and workshops which were dismantled brick by brick in other parts of the country in order to be saved from demolition. Truly amazing. Thank-you @museumwales @stfaganscastlepub”

The presenter also posted 16 photos he had captured while exploring St Fagans, adding educational and comedic captions for his 207,000 followers.

The bright red Kennixton Farmhouse, originally built in Llangenydd in the early 17th century and donated to St Fagans in 1951 where it was reconstructed in its entirety, captured Vine’s attention.

‘They moved this brick by brick’, one photo caption read, while another from the farmhouse’s interior said ‘Like a Vermeer painting’.

‘A guide apologised for the lack of rain 😂’, Vine joked on another image, while also chastising other visitors for leaving their coffee cup on the exhibit’s windowsill, writing: ‘There’s always one’.

A video from earlier in the day featured the presenter smiling in the sunshine. “It’s all rather amazing,” he said, as he shared more facts about the farmhouse’s history.

While exploring, Vine also discovered a nostalgic connection to St Fagans. He explained in a separate video: “Some years ago, maybe 15 years ago, I went to do a broadcast from a pub in Cardiff which was maybe 150 years old called The Vulcan. And the whole gist of it was, ‘this place is gonna be knocked down because it’s gotta make way for a car park’. And you’re thinking, like, what?!

“And then I’m just walking around this museum site called the St Fagans Museum outside Cardiff. And what do I see, but the very pub that I was in is here… They took it brick by brick and they put it into this brilliant heritage site. So it didn’t die, The Vulcan lives!”

Commenters from around the UK shared Vine’s love of the museum, adding that they hoped he had tried the Welsh cakes and relaxed in The Vulcan with a pint. Local followers wrote, “So glad you enjoyed it!” and “Come back next year.”

St Fagans also took the time to thank the presenter, saying: “Helo Jeremy! Diolch am ymweld a ni! Thanks for visiting us! Hope you’re enjoying exploring the historic buildings.”

St Fagans National Museum of History is free to enter and is open every day from 10am – 4pm in the winter months. The Castle is currently closed until late spring for “an exciting project to re-roof the historic manor house.”