Wrexham Shop Turned Into Fantasy Welsh Folklore Museum

A Wrexham shop unit has been turned into a museum which has proved to be a fantasy playground for children.

Youngsters poured into the smallest Welsh folklore museum at Eagles Meadow to hear tall tales yesterday.

The unit has been transformed into a grotto full with tales of mythical beasts, dragons and fairies which will stay at the shopping centre over the weekend with five stories being told throughout the day on the hour.

Interactive theatre company Bakehouse Factory, comprised of professional actors and musicians, are telling a range of legendary Welsh from the story of Gelert, to tales of the Mabinogion and the terrifying Brymbo Beast.

Tracey Mitchell, from Caego, had just popped to do some shopping with son Alex and his friend Nathan Samuels when she noticed the museum.

“We were just walking past and the boys stopped to read the notices and asked if they could go in. They didn’t know what to expect. It’s something for them to do and you don’t have to pay! I think it’s a great idea.”

After the story telling children follow the forgetful, and not too bright, Dr Dab – alias actor John Norton, as he leads them through the shopping centre on a treasure hunt, with accordion player Maxwell Thomas providing some background music.

Hannah McGavin is Bakehouse’s creative director and is a professional actress and a mum herself, who has been with the Cardiff based company since it started about 18 months ago.

She said: “We’ve never been to Wrexham before so this is our first venture and we’re very excited. We say we can ‘cook up’ amazing ideas and make them happen. We’re based in the Cardiff and Bristol areas and we have a large number of performers we can call on because the different projects are so diverse.

“We come up with a concept and then we design and script and perform to make it happen.

“Here at Eagles Meadow they wanted something quite specific and linked to Wales, so we have some folklore tales which are specific to not just North Wales, but to Wrexham. It creates something which will interest families over the school holiday period.

“We have five story telling sessions on the hour and every half hour an interactive treasure hunt.”

One of stories told is The Gwyllgi, one of the Black Dogs of Welsh folklore. It was famously spotted roaming the Brymbo area in the early 1970s and subsequently became dubbed as the “Beast of Brymbo.”

The museum has models that move and buttons to press and poems that you can listen to that bring stories of Welsh folklore to life.