March is Women’s History Month. To celebrate, West Glamorgan Archive Service will be sharing stories about the fascinating lives of some of the area’s local women. These stories will focus on women who have not already been recognised or written about, and showcase documents within their collections. This story of Jane Phillips, midwife, is one … Continue reading Jane Phillips of Swansea, midwife, 1859
A Fine Romance
Hail! genial season of the year To faithful lovers ever dear Devoted be this day to praise My Anna’s charms in rustic lays Now billing sparrows, cooing doves Remind each youth of her he loves My heart and head are both on flame Whene’er I breath my Anna’s name These lines were penned by a … Continue reading A Fine Romance
Dydd Miwsig Cymru 2023 Welsh Language Music Day
For Dydd Miwsig Cymru - Welsh Music Day – we’re sharing some highlights from the 20th century popular music collections in The Welsh Music Archive at the National Library of Wales. The Welsh Music Archive was established in 2017 in order to collect, and to promote the use of, music archives and manuscripts in the … Continue reading Dydd Miwsig Cymru 2023 Welsh Language Music Day
Humour in the Archives
If you were asked to think of something funny, chances are that archives would not be the first thing to spring to mind. Yet scratch beneath the surface and our collections are littered with humorous anecdotes, mischievous cartoons, political satire – and, of course, bad jokes! From Fanny Tuckfield’s 19th century poem about being a … Continue reading Humour in the Archives
#CrowdCymru: Project Update
Hi everyone, it’s Jen here, Digital Volunteering Project Offer for #CrowdCymru. Well, what a busy few months it’s been since my introductory blog post [read it here] back in August! Firstly, I’ve been working hard to get the word out about the project and have already had it listed on Adult Learners’ Week, Black History … Continue reading #CrowdCymru: Project Update
Beards in the Archives
To Beard or not to Beard…that is the question. In 1969 my father looked into the mirror and decided that his naked chin did not project the right image. He was still a young man, the only male teacher in a large Grammar School for Girls, and he needed to exude an air of gravity … Continue reading Beards in the Archives
World Digital Preservation Day 2022
Today is World Digital Preservation Day and an opportunity to highlight the work undertaken by the National Library of Wales to ensure that digital content is preserved for the future. In order to raise general awareness of issues relating to enabling on-going access to digital content, which affect personal as well as organisational data, I … Continue reading World Digital Preservation Day 2022
Sport in the archives: Cardiff University
Women’s Hockey team in 1910 (Ref. Cap & Gown, Vol. VII) Today, Cardiff University offers its students as many sports clubs as they can shake a (hockey) stick at. But was this always the case? We look at Special Collections and Archives’ university collections to understand how sports became an integral part of student life. … Continue reading Sport in the archives: Cardiff University
Welcome to #CrowdCymru
Hello there, my name is Jen and I’ve recently started work on a very exciting digital archives volunteer project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It will be run jointly by Gwent Archives, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff University Special Collections & Archives. The project will be accessed via the crowdsourcing platform established by those … Continue reading Welcome to #CrowdCymru
Revealing the Lived Experience of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic People in Wales
Wales is a multi-cultural nation, where people from many different cultural backgrounds have lived alongside each other for generations. However, the lived experiences of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people are often underrepresented, although their stories are to be found in a multitude of collections, including documents, photographs, pictures, artefacts and audio-visual material. Archives and … Continue reading Revealing the Lived Experience of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic People in Wales