Agricultural Gallery

For generations, milk produced on the farm was processed at home. After the cream was skimmed off to make butter, the remaining milk was used to make cheese using carefully honed methods. You can see every stage of the process, from heating the milk and adding the starter culture to cutting the curd, draining the whey, and pressing the cheese. Original cheese-making equipment is on display—including curd mills and presses made of wood and iron—reflecting the skills and physical labour involved in producing food for the household and the wider community.

The art of butter-making comes to life in a rich collection of butter stamps and moulds from across Carmarthenshire. Can you spot the beehive? Or the pineapple? Carved from wood in a variety of shapes and patterns—including stars, flowers, and cows—these stamps were used to mark butter with decorative designs and personal initials. Although we no longer use them today, butter is still produced in the county, with the Shirgar brand being the best-known. The gallery also traces broader changes in rural life. By the early 20th century, small dairies and dairy factories had been established across the county, leading to a gradual decline in on-farm butter and cheese production as milk was sold directly to these centres. The establishment of the Milk Marketing Board in 1933 further transformed the industry, stabilising prices and centralising production. Improvements in animal care, mechanical milking, and farming hygiene followed, leaving traditional items like the milk churn as reminders of the old way of life.