Blaenavon World Heritage Centre

The Blaenavon World Heritage Centre is situated within the former St. Peter’s Church School which was founded in 1816 by Sarah Hopkins to provide free education for children whose parents worked for the Blaenavon Ironworks.

Following a period of disuse, the building was extensively renovated by Torfaen County Borough Council to create the UK’s first interpretation centre devoted to a World Heritage Site. The quality of the refurbishment has been recognised by a Royal Institute of British Architects’ Award.

Like its historic predecessor, learning lies at the very heart of the World Heritage Centre - its interpretative content was designed to meet the needs of the National Curriculum. The centre’s interpretative layout was overseen by leaders in exhibition design and its content was developed over a two year period as a product of painstaking research and consultation with teachers.

Narratives are delivered through the words of historical characters so that students can gain an insight into the daily lives of ordinary people and understand the changes that they experienced during the 19th century.