Ty Cenedl was set up in the Barn Community Centre, Aberystwyth, in 1983 by the movement Cofiwn to 'study, research into and promote the history of Wales'. A part of this work was to collect pamphlets, leaflets, posters, photographs, correspondence and various papers relating mainly to nationalistic and radical movements in Wales. A wide range of material dating mainly from the 1950s onwards was collected, and added to this were many periodicals and pamphlets relating to radical movements from all parts of the world. Cofiwn came to an end in 1984 but a group of supporters continued to maintain Ty Cenedl until 1989 when the Barn Centre was closed by the local authority.