My name’s Jess Mahoney, and I joined the Cyfarthfa Foundation as Chief Executive at the start of 2025.
The Cyfarthfa Foundation is a registered charity that was created in 2020. It works closely with – but independent of – Merthyr Tydfil Council and has been established for the purpose of supporting and advocating for the development of Cyfarthfa Castle and Park. It operates out of The Bothy, and comprises a small paid staff team of four, supported by a voluntary Board of Trustees. The Foundation was established thanks to the efforts of our Chair Geraint Talfan Davies who has tirelessly championed development and investment for Cyfarthfa for over a decade. You can read more about the Foundation on the About Us page of our website.
About Me
A little bit about me: I was born and raised in Merthyr Tydfil. I went to school in the Gurnos and Pant areas, grew up in Twyn, and my family still all live in the town. So, like anyone from Merthyr, Cyfarthfa has played a huge part in my life across the years for leisure, culture, heritage, education and recreation purposes. Over the last decade or so I’ve mainly held roles in the cultural and creative industries in London, before returning to Wales in 2022 to work at Cardiff University. But now I’m really happy to be back home in Merthyr to work on the important task of developing and realising Cyfarthfa’s significant potential. I’m confident that Cyfarthfa can become a truly transformative asset for the town: one that creates sustainable social, economic and cultural value for our future, whilst properly commemorating our heritage.
The Cyfarthfa Plan
Many of you will already be familiar with something called ‘The Cyfarthfa Plan’. This was a visioning document, published in 2021, that arose from a period of community and industry consultation on the future of Cyfarthfa. It set out a series of aspirational potential projects and activities – ranging from relatively small grassroots interventions, right the way through to ambitious infrastructure and architectural initiatives – that might be possible on the site. At the time, it was estimated that the ambitions of the plan would cost c.£50m to deliver. However, it’s important to be clear that these funds were not place, and that these costs will have changed overtime.
Over the last five years the Foundation has been working in close partnership with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (who are the legal owners of the site) and the wider community to do a number of important things. These include:
- Assessing the current structural condition of the castle building and what further conservation work is necessary.
- Carrying out feasibility studies to inform what projects and interventions from The Cyfarthfa Plan we should prioritise, and developing more detailed plans for the delivery of these.
- Working with and supporting the wider community and ensuring they are consulted as part of the development.
- Understanding the financial requirements of a project at this scale and ambition, identifying and building relationships with funders and undertaking fundraising. As a registered charity, we can also access funding opportunities that are not available to local authorities or the public sector.
- Carrying out business and financial modelling to ensure that the redeveloped site can be sustainable in the years to come.
We’ll provide you with updates and more details on these so keep an eye on our website and newsletter.
Cyfarthfa200
2025 marks the 200th anniversary of Cyfarthfa Castle’s completion, and I feel very lucky to be taking up my new role at this particularly exciting time. Over the year, the spotlight will be well and truly on Cyfarthfa, with the Cyfarthfa Foundation working alongside our partners to deliver events, campaigns and activities taking place to mark the castle’s enduring role in our town for over two centuries. This included the ‘Cyfarthfa: Past. Present. Future.’ exhibition organised by the Foundation featuring key artefacts that represent and celebrate the heritage, present day reality, and transformative future for this unique place. This featured an innovative virtual reality (VR) ‘castle tour’ exhibit, developed with support from the University of South Wales, which gave visitors a unique opportunity to see inside the parts of the building that are not currently accessible to the public.
Championing the Vision for the Future
I’m also fortunate to be joining the Foundation at a time when, thanks to the work undertaken by expert consultants over the last few years, and under the guidance of our expert Board, we now have a richly detailed body of information and data on this complex building and its requirements. This is supporting us to deliver our next steps and informing our decisions as we set about raising the necessary funds.
As I reflect on my first months in post, I wanted to thank those who’ve taken the time to share their views, ideas and feelings about the Cyfarthfa site, and its proposed re-development, with me so far. This has been an invaluable insight. It has reinforced my understanding of the strength of feeling in the community for Cyfarthfa Castle and Park and also revealed the huge appetite within the town to see this beloved building properly restored to its full potential, both to preserve our heritage and to create much-needed new opportunities for future generations.
And that is why, as we celebrate the history of Cyfarthfa in its momentous bicentenary year, 2025 must also be the turning point in which we take meaningful action to secure it for the next two hundred years, and beyond. Whilst sector budgets are extremely stretched, we are already in conversations with Welsh Government, Cadw, National Lottery and private donors, and will share more information on our fundraising activities in due course.
Needless to say, this is not going to be a simple task. Cyfarthfa Castle is a two-hundred-year-old Grade I Listed building that’s showing its age, in a Grade II* Listed parkland, at the heart of the most biodiverse area of the United Kingdom. Merthyr Tydfil Council, the Welsh Government and Cadw have already invested millions of pounds in maintenance, upkeep and repairs to Cyfarthfa but, despite this, complex issues remain. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done, and that work is likely to be both costly and time-consuming. But it is also essential. And it will require the support, engagement and consultation of our community every step of the way, if we are to rise to the task together.
Keep In Touch
We invite you to come with us on this journey. You can sign-up to our newsletter here to receive regular updates on the progress and activities of the Cyfarthfa Foundation and follow us on @cyfarthfafounation on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn to stay up to date and find out more about how you can get involved. In addition, my inbox is always open for any further queries, comments or suggestions – jmahoney@cyfarthfafoundation.wales
I very much look forward to seeing you at the park soon. #Cyfarthfa200