Two men have been charged with burglary after Bronze Age gold jewellery was stolen from St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff.
Gavin Burnett, 43, and Darren Burnett, 50, both from Northampton, are due to appear at Northampton Magistrates’ Court today. A 45-year-old woman from Northamptonshire has been also arrested as part of the investigation and is on police bail.
The theft of the unspecified objects, which were on display in the Wales is… gallery, was reported at around 12:30am on 6 October. The investigation to trace and locate the outstanding stolen items remains ongoing.
Detective Inspector Bob Chambers from South Wales Police said in a statement: “At this time, we believe that two suspects forced entry to the main building, where several items, including Bronze Age gold jewellery, have been stolen from a display case.”
Founded in 1948, St Fagans is one of seven national museums under the curation of Amgueddfa Cymru-Museum Wales. Jane Richardson, the chief executive of Amgueddfa Cymru-Museum Wales, told the BBC: “It’s been very upsetting for us all. We’re absolutely devastated. These items don’t belong to us at the museum, they belong to the people of Wales.”
In 2019, St Fagans was awarded the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year prize. On the outskirts of the Welsh capital, St Fagans, one of the most visited heritage attractions in Wales, focuses on the country’s history and culture. The open-air museum is home to more than 40 historical buildings—from Iron Age roundhouses to a post-war prefab bungalow—that have been transported from across Wales and re-erected on its 100-acre site.
