January 28, 2025

Newsletter for 2025

To all Cambrians:

Welcome to 2025, our annual Newsletter and a new year of interesting and enjoyable activities. Use the Newsletter, our members’ emails, social media and our website to keep abreast of our ‘Darganfod/Discovery’ Conference on 8 March, our Summer meeting exploring historic gardens in NW Wales in June/July, our Autumn meeting studying the history of the pottery industry in South Wales and the porcelain of Nantgarw as well as our Walks and Talks, Eisteddfod lecture and Christmas lecture. Your membership enables the Association not only to organise our meetings and events but also produce our respected journal Archaeologia Cambrensis and support our research grants and student prizes, funded entirely from the Association’s resources.

We always welcome suggestions you may have on how to develop the Association’s activities, so do write to us with ideas.

Diolch yn fawr iawn !

Sian Rees, Chairman of Trustees

 

NEWSLETTER FOR 2025

A PDF version of the Newsletter can be downloaded by clicking here.

This year begins with our bi-annual online ‘Darganfod/Discovery’ Conference organised by Elizabeth Walker with Dr Oliver Davis of Cardiff University. Our Summer Meeting will be based in Bangor to be organised by Andrew and Jo Davidson with an emphasis on historic parks and gardens in Gwynedd. Professor Ann Parry has chosen an intriguing subject for the Cambrians lecture at the National Eisteddfod in August. Our Autumn Meeting based in Bridgend, organised by Eurwyn Wiliam, is also a themed meeting on the pottery industries of Wales (Nant-Garw, Swansea and Llanelli). The Programme of Walks and Talks will start in the spring and members will be notified by email and on our website.

Our President-elect for 2025–26 is Huw Pryce, Emeritus Professor of Welsh History, Bangor University. Born in Essex and brought up in Cardiff, he read history at Jesus College, Oxford, where he went on to undertake doctoral research, writing a thesis on the relationship between medieval Welsh law and the Church. He joined the staff at Bangor in 1981 and was Professor of Welsh History from 2005 until his retirement in 2021; he is now Emeritus Professor. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1993, serving on its Council 2016–19, and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2011, and was appointed an Honorary Professor in the School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University in 2021. He was President of the Caernarvonshire Historical Society 2009–24, and is a member of the Commission internationale de diplomatique and of the Advisory Board for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

He has published widely on the history of medieval Wales and the historiography of Wales in all periods as well as on aspects of nineteenth-century medievalism and antiquarianism. His publications include Native Law and the Church in Medieval Wales (1993), an edition of documents, The Acts of Welsh Rulers 1120–1283 (2005), Tywysogion (2006), J. E. Lloyd and the Creation of Welsh History (2011) and Writing Welsh History: From the Early Middle Ages to the Twenty- First Century (2022). He is the editor of Literacy in Medieval Celtic Societies (1998) and co-editor of volumes Yr Arglwydd Rhys (1996), Power and Identity in the Middle Ages: Essays in Memory of Rees Davies (2007) and Writing a Small Nation’s Past: Wales in Comparative Perspective, 1850–1950 (2013). He has been co-editor of the Welsh History Review since 2004 and is one of the editors of the book series Studies in Celtic History (Boydell) and Rethinking the History of Wales (University of Wales Press).

MEMBERSHIP

We are sad to report the deaths of a number of members during the past year. Their names were read out at the online AGM by our chair, Sian Rees who paid tribute to their loyal membership and many contributions to national and local life. Notifications were received on the deaths of John Borron, Professor Tim Darvill, Christopher Dunn, Michael Eastham, Robert (Robin) Griffith, R. A. E. Herbert, David Hall, John B Hilling, Robert Hurst, David Orville Jones, Dr John Kenyon, Andrew Knight, Paul Oldham, Dr Morfydd Owen, N. A. Ruckley, Professor J. Beverley Smith, Graham Thomas, Dr John Welton, Rita Wood.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2024

This was again held online on Zoom at 7.30 pm Thursday 10th October at with some 30 members attending. The Treasurer, Jenny Britnell, summarised the Trustees Annual Report and Accounts which had been audited and asked for members’ approval which was given by a (virtual) show of hands. The summary financial report is printed in Archaeologia Cambrensis. She was pleased to report a healthy financial position with income exceeding expenditure and a rise in value of our net assets. The Editor, Ken Murphy, reported on the forthcoming vol 173 (2024) of Archaeologia Cambrensis and outlined plans for the 2025 issue which will be a themed volume on recent hillfort excavations in Wales. Membership Secretary Rhiannon Comeau reported a continuing fall in membership numbers since 2023 now standing at 486. She was however pleased to report that 10 new members had joined during the year and also that institutional subscriptions remained at the 2023 level of 90. Most members are now paying their subscriptions at the new rate. Andrew Davidson reported on the emails sent to members alerting them to events of interest and with details of Cambrians events. Genevieve Cain reported on a welcome rise in ‘followers’ on our social media channels and an increase of content on our You Tube Channel. Programme Secretary Frances Lynch gave her report on events past and present which are detailed in this Newsletter. Sian Rees, Chair of Trustees, gave an overview of the past year and expressed her concern about the slow decline in membership, which is a common feature of other historical and archaeological societies. Nevertheless she promised renewed efforts by trustees and, she hoped, members to attract new and younger members and publicise the vital role the Association continues to play in funding a national journal and events in an era of reduced public spending. Following the meeting President Gwilym Hughes’ presidential lecture ‘From Ivy to Elevators: Approaches to the Presentation of Guardianship Monuments in Wales since 1900’ was shown online.

EVENTS AND MEETINGS HELD IN 2024

SUMMER MEETING IN HAY-ON-WYE 30 JUNE – 5 JULY

A longer illustrated version of this report can be found on the Reports of Past Events page.

The Cambrian Archaeological Association had never before held a meeting centred on Hay-on-Wye. The publication of ‘The First Stones’ by our former editor Bill Britnell, and current President, Alasdair Whittle, made irresistible the notion of visiting the Neolithic Brecknock long cairns that encircled the town on the high ground to north, south and west. In addition, for those not dedicated to the study of early prehistory, the area rejoices in the numerous castles to be expected in a border land, including the recently restored and refurbished Hay Castle itself; also, a curious preponderance of religious sites – monasteries, historic churches, and early chapels associated with non- conformity. The richness of the reward encouraged the organiser to overcome perceived difficulties and 38 Cambrians participated. The Meeting venue was The Swan Hotel on the west side of the town.

After lunch Peter Ford described the castle, now rather overgrown but still with a prominent defensive ditch. The castle is first mentioned in 1121 and is characteristically sited adjacent to the church. Its importance was short-lived, its successor being the masonry castle to the east, now in the town centre. We then walked the short distance to the Norman church of St Mary’s, appropriated to Brecon Priory and dedicated between 1115 and 1135. Nothing remains now of this early building which had collapsed around 1700 leaving only the 15th C west tower. It was rebuilt by Edward Haycock senior in 1834; his aisle-less nave and short chancel were extended in 1866 by the addition of a semi-circular apse.

A glory of the church is the Bevington Organ of 1883; it is considered to be one of the finest organs in Wales. Cambrians were privileged to be addressed by Father Richard, recently retired as priest of the church and a former professional organist, who described the history of the organ and performed pieces of a number of different musical genres, from Bach to the Beatles, to show the versatility of the instrument. During the recital, Father Richard’s two large poodles, evidently accustomed to this event, wandered around the church to welcome participants. The icing on the cake so to speak, was the generosity of the churchwarden who served us with tea and biscuits.

Suitably fortified, we then followed Peter Ford on a short walk around the old settlement of Weston Hamlets, Haia Wallensis, Interesting buildings here include the Harley Almshouses of the 1820s, the Hay Poor Law Union building of 1837 with cruciform central block and two-storey radiating wings and the Swan Hotel itself, of 1812. Peter brought these buildings and their history to life with anecdotes about their origins and use. He then took us to see the Swan Well, a source of water for the town until comparatively recently.

Our evening lecture was entitled The Black Mountains: The Early Neolithic Tombs in local and wider context and was delivered by our President, Alasdair Whittle. This was a very useful introduction to the Neolithic long cairns, the focus of our site visits on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and set them into the wider context of the European and British Neolithic, as well as describing the structure of the individual cairns revealed by excavations.

On Monday we took our minibuses to Clifford Castle where Will Davies described the form and history of this monument accompanied by the owner, Keith Hill, who had kindly strimmed the vegetation allow us to access the earthworks and the impressive motte more easily. Built on the north side of the Wye to control a strategic fording point on the river, the castle dates from early in the Norman settlement of the area, probably around 1067, when William fitz Osbern owned the site. In the 12th century, the descendants of William took the name ‘Clifford’ and it was probably Walter II, made wealthy through marriage and profitable offices, who built the stone castle we see today.

We then made our way through narrow lanes to Arthur’s Stone Chambered Tomb, a burial chamber dating from the Neolithic period and an outlier of the Severn-Cotswold group of long cairns. Excavators Keith Ray and Julian Thomas were just opening the site for another season of excavation. They kindly gave us a comprehensive tour and the discussions on the site between the excavators, Frances Lynch and Alasdair Whittle were lively and informative. The excavation programme over the last few years by Manchester and Cardiff Universities has revealed that the tomb had a complex development. To the south of the stones were found the remains of a long turf mound enclosed by a timber palisade and pointed south-east, towards a neighbouring Neolithic site on Dorstone Hill. Contemporary with the turf mound was an avenue of at least ten pairs of posts running towards the mound in two parallel lines. The 2024 season will explore this feature further and we await the results of this work with interest.

We then traversed further narrow lanes to Snodhill Castle where Tim Hoverd, one of the excavators of the site was, as at Arthur’s Stone, just opening the site for the 2024 season. Snodhill was built, like Clifford, around 1068 by William Fitz Osbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, to strengthen Norman control along the Welsh Marches. A programme of conservation, survey and excavations by the Snodhill Castle Preservation Trust with English Heritage, and Manchester and Cardiff Universities, have conserved the curtain walls and the polygonal keep and gate of c 1200 built onto the original steep-sided Norman motte. In the bailey, below to the west, continuing excavations have revealed later developments including a 15th century building and a large chapel in the south-east corner. The comfortable standard of life within the castle is suggested by the discovery of window glass, painted wall plaster and finely dressed ashlar. Further enclosures outside the bailey hold remnants of more buildings, indicating the considerable size of this castle.

By this time we were, as ever, behind schedule but the welcome we were given at Peterchurch, where we were to have lunch, was whole hearted. The church has recently had a happy refurbishment to form a community centre and café inserted skilfully so as not to interrupt the fine interior. The original stone spire was built in 1320. When it fell into disrepair, its replacement in stone was prohibitively expensive so in 1972 it was fashioned out of fibreglass, a striking and somewhat controversial feature of the village. .A little way out of the village we walked across a very overgrown field to find a well, where water gushes from the open mouth of a grotesque stone head, probably pre-Christian in origin. Sadly disfigured by an adjacent water treatment works, Cambrians hoped that something could be done to assist with the setting of this interesting feature of the village.

We then travelled north to visit Moccas Church, a gem of a Norman building near the 18th century Moccas Court within grounds planned by Capability Brown and Humphrey Repton. The church is a rare survival of a two-cell, early 12th century Romanesque church with the same ground plan and probably built by the same masons as the celebrated church at Kilpeck.

On our return to the Swan, Will Davies gave us a wonderfully erudite lecture on The Castles of the Borderland, tracing the development, within their historical context, of the multitude of earthwork and masonry castles in this borderland, so contested throughout the medieval period.

On Tuesday, Cambrians walked to Hay Castle where we spent a full morning listening to a lecture on the conservation and refurbishment project that has so successfully transformed this castle and Jacobean mansion from a crumbling dangerous ruin into a venue with a reception area for visitors offering educational and catering facilities. Adjacent to the castle keep is the imposing stone mansion built in c1660 for James Boyle of Hereford. Much of the internal furnishing, including the Jacobean staircase, was destroyed by fire in 1939 and a second fire in 1977 did further damage before the remarkable conservation project. Some members remembered visiting the Castle when it contained a bookshop run by Richard Booth, the self-styled ‘King of Hay’. Cambrians were then free to wander around the town, equipped with notes of the buildings to assist with a self guiding walk. On our return to the Swan we were given a lecture by Peter Wakelin entitled Hill-Rhythms: David Jones at Capel-y-ffin. Cambrians had visited the David Jones exhibition at Brecon during the 2023 Brecon autumn meeting and his excellent lecture amplified this visit and prepared us for our visit to Capel y Ffin.

Road works for Dwr Cymru occasioned a significant detour and reorganisation so we arrived at a rainy Ty Isaf Long Cairn slightly earlier than our speakers, Alasdair and Bill, an unusual event indeed. Ty Isaf was the first of the Brecknock long cairns to be excavated (by Grimes in the 1930s) and is a complex construction. We then drove a few miles to the north to walk across the fields to Penywyrlod Long Cairn, discovered, curiously for so prominent a mound, as late as 1972, during agricultural operations. On discovering walling and human bone, the landowner alerted Cardiff Museum and excavations, conducted by Hubert Savory, established its true nature. Its subsequent acquisition as a State monument led to further excavation by Bill Britnell and a campaign of conservation to stabilise the friable stonework of the chambers. Penywyrlod appears to be one of the earliest of the Brecknock tombs, dating to 38th century cal BC during the initial spread of Neolithic people into the area. It is also one of the largest, with a trapezoidal cairn c 50m long. We had now started to become acquainted with the main features of the Brecknock long cairns so we were better able to appreciate the third of these visits, to Ffostill Long Cairns situated up a long narrow track to the east of Talgarth, There are two cairns, in close proximity to one another, on gently sloping S-facing land at the head of a narrow valley leading down to the Afon Llynfi. Both were excavated between 1921 and 1923 by C.E. Vulliamy. Considerable stamping down of bracken in some areas was needed to view the full extent of the sites.

We then drove to Talgarth where Cambrians consumed their packed lunches and visited Talgarth Church where Prys Morgan addressed us. The church was, with that of Llangorse, granted to Brecon priory by Bernard of Neufmarch in 1093-5. Two events are associated with the church: it is the traditional burial place of St Gwendoline (Gwenfrewi), daughter of Brychan, king of Brycheiniog; and is the location for the conversion of Howel Harris in 1735, whose preaching in the churchyard brought the famous hymnwriter, William Williams, Pantycelyn to the non-conformist persuasion. The large number of wall monuments include a large slate tablet by Games, to Howell Harris of Trevecka, first itinerant preacher of Redemption, (d1773), and a white marble shield with an entablature carved with surveying instruments under a draped urn by Paty, to Joseph and Thomas Harris, mathematician and business man, the elder brothers of the preacher.

By way of a complete contrast, Cambrians then walked down the hill to visit the 18th century Talgarth Flour Mill. We were guided around the mill machinery and mill race by enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer millers who explained that the flour mill is powered through its overshot water wheel by water from the River Ellywe that flows from the Black Mountains. The mill was restored in 2010-11 and reopened as a working mill, with working parts acquired from elsewhere to replace the missing originals. It is now the only working watermill in the National Park, and produces and sells its own flour. It is run by volunteers as a community initiative, and incorporates a bakery and café.

Travelling further north to Bronllys, Cambrians then walked around one of the best preserved and accessible medieval moated sites in Wales. We visited Bronllys Castle, where Will Davies met us to show us around this, one of the best-preserved examples of the 13th century round stone tower fortifications so characteristic of the Welsh Marches. It comprises an impressive motte, some 8m high, surmounted by a round keep, constructed of tightly-laid sandstone. The original Norman castle, with wooden buildings, was probably built by Richard fitz Pons of Clifford around 1090— 3 for his newly-established capital for the cantref of Selyf, located here to control the crossing of the River Llynfi.

We were then able, through the good offices of our minibus drivers, to get to the site of Clyro Roman Fort. Large (370m by 250m) it is bounded by two phases of defences and exclusively pre-Flavian (pre-69AD) occupation. It was assumed to be only a semi-permanent base because no evidence of structures other than ovens and a metalled road were identified in the 1964 excavations, although a subsequent discovery of the base of a ‘donkey mill’ may suggest that a more permanent base was originally intended. The western defensive line is a reasonably clear earthwork, the remainder less so. The Roman military clearly considered the area to be strategically important; a temporary camp has been noted from the air to the west and the Roman fort at Clifford is only 4 miles away. The lecture that evening, Excavation and Conservation of Wales’s only Crannog, Llangorse, by Sian Rees prepared us for our visit to the crannog on Friday.

On Thursday we set off southwards to pay homage to the Bronze Age, visiting Twyn y Beddau, a fine Bronze Age round barrow on an isolated position on the edge of the open ground above Hay. Alice Thorne, the Brecon Beacons National Park archaeologist, described the conservation work the Park is considering to prevent erosion from motor vehicles driving across it. A little further down the road, we looked at the remains of Hay Stone Circle. Proceeding southwards through the awesome park landscape, we reached Capel y ffin, where we first looked at the tiny church of St Mary, built around 1762, and described by Kilvert as ‘squatting like a stout grey owl among its seven great black yews’. Leaving the main road, we drove up the track to Capel y Ffin Monastery, where we admired the wonderful views that so inspired the artists Davd Jones and Eric Ravilious. It was here in 1869 that Father Ignatius (Rev. Joseph Lyne) established a Benedictine monastery, calling it Llanthony Tertia. The claustral buildings, again smaller than the original conception, have fared better than the now ruinous church and are run as visitor accommodation. After Father Ignatius’s death in 1908, the site was taken over by Eric Gill in 1924 who lived here until 1928, designing the typefaces Perpetua and Gill Sans, accompanied by the poet and artist David Jones.

A little way further along the valley, we came to Llanthony Priory, surely one of the most picturesque ruins in Wales. Rather than approaching the ruins from the car park, due to the kindness of the owner Colin Passmore, we were able to enter properly through the priory gatehouse to the west of the church altered to serve as a barn, its vaulted ceiling remains to indicate the richness of this impressive entrance. The first priory was built by nobleman William de Lacy in the early 12th century. Tradition has it that while out hunting in around 1100, he reportedly took shelter in the ruined Celtic chapel of St David, and was so ‘overcome by devotion’ that he dedicated his life to solitary prayer and study. Ersinius, a former chaplain to Queen Matilda, wife of King Henry I, joined William and soon after a church was built at the site which was consecrated in 1108. In 1118 it was converted into a priory, possibly under the influence of Matilda, when a community of around forty Canons Regular moved here, living under the Rule of St Augustine. Around 1135, the local ‘barbarous people’ forced the monks to retreat to Hereford and thence to Gloucester, where Llanthony Secunda was built for them. However, endowed with land by Hugh de Lacy, the rebuilding of the priory commenced in 1175 and was largely completed by 1230. In the 15th century, Owain Glyndŵr attacked Llanthony Priory forcing the canons once again to abandon the site, which appears never to have regained its former prosperity.

We were then afforded a real treat. The excavations by David Evans in the 1980s uncovered the remains of a turret clock of the 15th century in the north transept adjacent to the central tower. A recent examination of the famous poem by Dafydd ap Gwilym bewailing the noise of a clock which kept him awake while staying in an unnamed monastic house suggested that it might have been here at Llanthony that the poem was written. In what is becoming something of a Cambrian tradition we were treated by a spirited reading of the poem by Prys Morgan in Welsh and by Carys Davies in English. Mr Passmore and a clockmaker friend have made a model of a similar dated turret clock at Salisbury Cathedral. He then showed this model to delighted Cambrians.

Tearing ourselves away we arrived at the historic Skirrid Inn for an excellent lunch, after which we proceeded to Llwyn Celyn. Built in 1420, this is one of the most remarkable of all surviving late medieval houses in Wales. It had become ruinous, with water pouring into the house despite being protected by emergency scaffolding since the early 1990s. A £4.2 million restoration project rescued the building which is now let for holiday accommodation by the Landmark Trust. The ‘Beast House’ holds an exhibition describing the history of the buildings and the conservation project that preserved them and is open to all.

Our next call was to Dore Abbey, founded by Robert Fitz Harold of Ewyas about 1147. The main complex of conventual buildings was erected between the mid-12th century and 1210 with the church aligned south east to north west and the cloister sited to the north of the church rather than on the more usual southern side, probably due to the geographic restrictions of the site in a steep-sided valley. Dore is the only Cistercian house in England founded directly from the great Cistercian House of Morimond, the fifth senior house of the order, whose daughter houses lay largely in central and eastern Europe. Construction in local sandstone began around 1175, continuing during the abbacies of Adam (1186-c1215), Adam II c1216-1236) and Stephen of Worcester (1236 – 1257). The design of the church was modelled on Morimond with a presbytery, two chapels, two transepts, a crossing and a nave. The Abbey grew wealthy and was largely rebuilt in Early English style. Around 1305, Richard Straddell (d.1346) became Abbot. A distinguished scholar and theologian who at times served as a diplomat for the crown, he was in 1321 given a relic of the Holy Cross by William de Gradisson, and the abbey became a centre of pilgrimage. Suppressed in 1536, the buildings, bought by local landowner John Scudamore, rapidly fell into ruins. His great-great grandson John Viscount Scudamore restored the surviving building in 1633, but blocked off the original nave, erecting a new tower. The nave of the monastic church was largely demolished above ground level, and the area is now occupied by the graveyard. However, the remarkable survival of the east end of the monastic church (now the parish church), is the only occurrence of a Cistercian church still in ecclesiastical use In England. Our final visit of the day was to the lovely church of Bacton, overlooking the Golden Valley, dedicated to Saint Faith. Bacton has a number of unique features, the most notable of which is the Blanche Parry Monument commissioned for herself by Blanche who was from Bacton, and a personal attendant of the Queen Elizabeth.

On our return to the hotel, we hurried to enjoy refreshments at the Presidential Reception. Our new President, Gwilym Hughes, was given the Presidential chain of office by the outgoing President Alasdair Whittle.

Gwilym was welcomed to the new office and Alasdair thanked for all his work as President over the last year. Gwilym’s Presidential Address, entitled Ivy and Elevators : Developing Visitor Experiences on the Guardianship monuments of Wales was a thought-provoking analysis of the new emphasis at Welsh historic monuments for increasing public engagement and participation and was very well received.

On Friday, our minibuses took us to Maesyronnen Chapel, one of the earliest Nonconformist chapels in Wales largely unchanged since the late 17th century and still in use as a chapel now administered by the United Reform Church, the attached caretaker’s cottage is let for holiday accommodation by the Landmark Trust.

We then continued south west to Llangorse Lake Crannog. This is the only crannog known to have been constructed in Wales. It comprises a small artificial island about 40 metres from the north shore of the lake and connected to the shore by a timber palisade now totally under water. Excavations between 1989 and 1993 by the National Museum of Wales and Cardiff University revealed that the crannog was an early medieval royal site of the ruler of the small early kingdom of Brycheiniog that took its name from Brychan, dynastic founder of the royal line according to later legend.

As a royal site, Llangorse crannog would have been a centre of administration and hospitality, where the ruler seasonally held court and received tribute. The artefacts uncovered, which include embroidered textile, parts of a portable shrine and a bronze hinge from an 8th–9th century reliquary decorated in a style similar to that seen in Ireland confirm the site’s aristocratic status. In 1925, archaeologists discovered a virtually complete dugout canoe radio-carbon dated to the 9th century. The Anglo- Saxon Chronicle records that in AD916 Æthelflaed, ‘Lady of the Mercians’, sent an army into Wales to avenge the murder of the Mercian abbot Ecbryht and his companions. The Mercian army ‘broke down’ Brecanenmere (the Anglo-Saxon name for Llangorse Lake).

Our final visit was to Mynydd Troed Neolithic Long Cairn. Our minibus drivers gamely battled with the steeply sloping narrow lane to the entrance gate, through which Cambrians battled through the bracken-covered hill to the cairn. We were more than rewarded by the fabulous views over the Llangorse Lake and the pass between Mynydd Troed and Mynydd Llangorse. After this invigorating walk, we returned to the Swan Hotel and the conclusion of the meeting.

The meeting was organised by Sian Rees.

 

AUTUMN MEETING IN WREXHAM 27TH-29TH SEPTEMBER

This was organised by Fiona Gale and this is her Report. Over an autumn weekend at the end of September a group of Cambrians explored a less well known corner of Wales. Staying in the centre of Wrexham in the Wynnstay Arms hotel we studiously avoided Wrexham football ground which is what the town seems to be best known for today. The group assembled on the Friday afternoon, September 27th, and started our tour by exploring the magnificent St Giles Parish Church . The visit was followed by a tour of the centre of Wrexham itself. At a cursory glance you could be forgiven for thinking that much of historic Wrexham has disappeared, but our tour proved us wrong. A kind bar owner even let us in to see a fantastically restored timber framed building. This fitted well with our evening talk which was all about the work of the Discovering Old Welsh Houses group, given by one of the Trustees of DOWH, Zoe Henderson. Over the years the Cambrians have grant aided the work of DOWH and it was interesting to hear about the work undertaken.

On Saturday, 28th, we headed off in a coach for Minera Lead mines and Bersham Ironworks. Both sites are owned by Wrexham County Borough and had been developed for visitors in the days when local authorities had some revenue funding. Both sites gave us an interesting insight to the industrial nature of the area we were exploring and the early development of this, certainly rivalling some of the south Wales sites in age.

Before lunch we visited the spectacular All Saints Church in Gresford, which like St Giles in Wrexham, is one of the ‘Seven Wonders’ of Wales. Just a week before the church had a special service to mark 90 years since the tragic Gresford mining disaster when 266 people lost their lives. Saturday was rounded off with a visit to the remains of an historic steel works which was established in the very late 18th century but nor closed until 1990. We found out about a much older part of the site, an amazing fossil forest dating from 300 million years ago.

Our Saturday evening talk was from Jonathan Gammond who works with Wrexham County Borough and is very involved with the development plans at Wrexham Museum. It will become the National Football museum of Wales whilst also having enhanced galleries for archaeology and local history. Sunday, the last morning of our weekend visit, started with a hike up Caergwrle Castle, excavated in the late 1980s and recently taken under Cadw’s wing as a guardianship site. Finally we explored a completely different site, an old quarry, where a Roman fort is being rebuilt, at Park in the Past. It was interesting to hear about the approaches to the rebuild and the ideas incorporated to make the site sustainable into the future.

 

WALKS AND TALKS 2024

The annual Walks and Talks Programme this year took Cambrians on guided walks to different areas of Wales, exploring a variety of historic landscapes dating from prehistory to early modern times.

On 27 July, Sian Rees led twelve Cambrians around the village of Trellech in Monmouthshire to view the famous Bronze Age Harold’s Stones, the ‘Virtuous Well’, castle mound and fine church and the excavations of medieval Trellech, when it was one of the most important settlements on Wales due to its industrial ironworking. After lunch, the more adventurous continued the walk to Cleddon Hall designed landscape, the home of Bertrand Russell.

A goodly crowd of Cambrians followed Trustee Fiona Gale on 10 August, around the circular archaeological trail at Brenig, Denbighshire to explore the many Bronze Age burial sites of several different types excavated by our Trustee Frances Lynch Llewelyn prior to the construction of the reservoir. The sites command spectacular views and, being fully excavated, yielded much knowledge of the life and death of people 4000 years ago.

On 31 August, guided by Jan Bailey, Cambrians embarked on a gentle but long walk on the Gwent Levels starting at the sea wall at Goldcliff to look at the site of the Priory, then east along the Wales Coast Path past several interesting historic buildings to Redwick to look at the flood marks at St Thomas’ Church and the local history display.

Our President Gwilym Hughes with Diane Williams led Cambrians on 7 September on a tour around Barry to view the Roman building at the Knap, through Barry Island and Watchtower Bay to appreciate the development of the island from the Bronze Age to the early medieval times of St Baruc, its subsequent rise as a seaside resort and the industrial development of the docks which gave rise to the town of Barry itself.

On 28th September Toby Driver escorted Cambrians to the summit of Pendinas Hillfort to explore this mighty Iron Age hillfort., the subject of recent excavations. The scale of the prehistoric engineering visible at Pendinas is impressive, as are the magnificent views over Cardigan Bay.

Rachel Swallow led a walk on 28 September, tracing the medieval processional route from Queen’s Gate, Caernarfon Castle, to St Peblig’s Church and Segontium Roman Fort, Caernarfon. Cambrians were shown the historical significance of the recently discovered King’s Way route, probably dating to the period of King Edward I and his queen, Eleanor of Castile (from about 1283). from Queen’s Gate, Caernarfon Castle, along the banks of the River Seiont and St Helen’s Road, to visit St Peblig’s Church and Segontium Roman Fort, exploring a blend of Welsh and Arthurian legend, architecture, and archaeological insights.

The 2025 Walks and Talks programme will include visits to prehistoric sites in Monmouthshire, the medieval castle and landscape at Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire, Roman Carmarthen and several other venues in mid and north Wales. They will be advertised on the website, social media and email to members in the usual way.

 

CHRISTMAS LECTURE : WELSH COSTUME

Michael Freeman, retired curator of Ceredigion Museum is the undisputed expert on this subject and has continued his research in retirement publishing a large corpus of illustration and description on his website ‘Welsh Costume / Gwisg Gymreig’ (welshhat.wordpress.com). In a fascinating online lecture on 11th December he explained that distinctive ‘Welsh’ costume was very much for women only; there are many gaps in our knowledge and the bulk of source material consists of descriptions and illustrations by outsiders. Michael’s lecture will go onto the Cambrians You Tube channel in the New Year and members who missed the Zoom talk can view it there.

 

RESEARCH GRANTS AND PRIZES

Grant to the Research Framework for the Archaeology of Wales / Fframwaith Ymchwil ar Gyfer Archaeoleg Cymru.

For the past 20 years the wholly voluntary members of the group have produced papers on research priorities for archaeology on a period basis to guide research projects and both developer-funded and public-funded fieldwork. The group is currently working on a third review of 11 themes and adding a new one on Climate Adaptation. With no public funding available the group asked the CAA for a grant of £500 to revise and update their website (archaeolog.org.uk) where the research frameworks can be consulted.

Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative – Cambrians Prize.

In 2010 the Association decided to move the then Blodwen Jerman Schools prize into the management of the WHSI. Our late President and long serving Chair of Trustees, Professor Muriel Chamberlain, was a strong supporter of the scheme. In 2024 our prize of £250 was won by Ysgol Gymraeg Aberystwyth, Ceredigion for their project ‘Prysurdeb Pendinas – The Hustle and Bustle of Pendinas’. Year 3 of Ysgol Gymraeg Aberystwyth have been learning about the Celts by studying one of the largest hill forts in Wales, Pendinas, which can be seen from the school yard. The learners have taken part in several activities including looking at Celtic patterns, learning about weaving, and a trip to Pendinas in the company of archaeologists from the Royal Commission. The learners have created a website displaying all the work they did during the project

Student Bursary

This has been established through a legacy from our late member Olwen Davies of Bangor. It provides small grants (up to £200) to student members (full or part time ) to support conference attendance or research-related travel costs where they relate to research falling within the objectives of the Association. More details can be found at: https://cambrians.org.uk/grants- and-prizes/student bursary/.

In 2024 a grant was made to Jack Rowe to attend the annual TAG (Theoretical Archaeology Group) conference and he has sent in a short report:

With only a few months before I aim to submit my PhD thesis (title: Exploring human movement on and around Neolithic landscapes in western Britain), attending the Theoretical Archaeology Group conference in December 2024 was more important than ever. I was able to catch up with other archaeological friends who I only ever get to see at such events, many of whom I’d not seen in years; it allowed me the chance to hear the latest research, thinking and developments within our field before they are published so that I may ensure my thesis is as current and up-to-date as possible, as well as to present and discuss my own research with others; and it allowed me the chance to network with other academics and figures in the industry at a time when I am beginning to consider my options beyond the completion of my PhD.

There were so many interesting talks on such a wide range of topics that I would sadly be hard-pressed to provide a concise overview of even the ones I attended myself. But, I can report that my own talk, “Being moved, on the move: a case for ‘natural avenues’ and ‘persistent routeways’ in Neolithic Britain”, illustrated using a case study of the Walton Basin Neolithic ceremonial landscape just inside the Powys-Herefordshire border, was very well received and garnered lots of questions, positive comments and lengthy discussions long into the evening over Italian food and good wine. Enormous thanks to the CAA for granting me the funds that enabled my attendance to the conference. I got everything I went for, and so much more.

Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeology Prize.

Each year the Cambrian Archaeological Association gives a prize for the most original contribution to the archaeology and/or history of Wales and the Marches by an Undergraduate or Master’s level dissertation. The Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeological Award (formerly the Blodwen Jerman Prize) is an opportunity for students and researchers, including those in continuing education, to share their research with the wider academic community and begin network building through the Association and its Members. This prestigious prize was established in 1980 and over the years we have received a wide range of dissertations covering a breadth of topics and methodologies. In recent years we have particularly welcomed research that is innovative in its approach, and has the potential to be impactful not only to scholarship but also within the wider community.

Submissions can be made by the student, or their supervisor or department and should be dated from within the last two years. The deadline for submissions is the 30th November each year. Following this, submissions are reviewed by a panel and the award is announced in the summer or early autumn. The award winner receives £300 in prize money and three years free membership of the CAA. An additional prize may be awarded at the discretion of the judges, for an undergraduate entry of exceptional quality that does not win the main prize, consisting of £100 and three years free membership of the CAA.

This year a total of 7 entries were received. The main prize was awarded to Hannah Lycett Smith for her MA dissertation on: ‘Dietary reconstruction in Early Medieval South Wales: a comparative analysis of microwear and dental calculus at Llandough Monastic Cemetery, Glamorgan’. The undergraduate prize went to Sian Evans for her dissertation on ‘’A Lost Medieval Priory? St Mary’s Church Nefyn and its History’.

Reports received on 2023 Research Grant Awards

Five grants were made last year. We require recipients to send a report on progress and results by November of the following year.

Richard Brewer is in the final stages of editing a major report on excavations in the Roman town of Caerwent for publication as a ‘Britannia’ monograph by the Society for Roman Studies. Some additional funding was needed to complete drawings and a report on Roman glass from the forum-basilica and Roman temple sites. The CAA grant has enabled this to be completed and the final monograph is eagerly awaited. The grant to the Clwydian Range Archaeology Group was made for work on cremated remains and selection of samples for radio-carbon dating from their excavations at Bryneglwys ring cairn in Denbighshire. Dr Genevieve Tellier’s report confirms the Early Bronze Age date of the cremations contemporaneous with other ring cairns in North Wales and a complex sequence of individual, group and token burials of cremated individuals. Oliver Davis’ and Niall Sharples’ interim report of excavations at the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age site in Trelai Park in Cardiff, where results prompted a request for CAA funded radio-carbon dating. is available at https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/174392/. Paul Davis obtained some significant results from dendrochronological dating funded by the CAA and himself in his ‘Houses in the Hills: late medieval and early modern houses in upland Monmouthshire’, especially the surprisingly early 1380-1410 AD range from the oldest timbers at Gwrhyd-mawr, Cwmtillery. A grant to Katie Hemer’s team enables ongoing cutting-edge work on imaging and data analysis of neonate and infant remains from the important excavations of early medieval burials at the site of St Patrick’s Chapel, Whitesands Bay, St Davids.

Research Grants awarded in 2024.

Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust was awarded £1000 towards publication costs of a book in preparation on recent work at the Abbey. The grant will be paid once the draft report is approved by Professors David Austin and Dafydd Johnson and will form part of the Strata Florida Trust’s series of publications.

Barry Burnham was awarded £2000 for 6 AMS radiocarbon dates to provide a secure dating framework for the excavations at Caer Cadwgan, Cellan. This excavation was carried out by St Davids University College, Lampeter in the 1980s. The draft report has been accepted for publication in the ‘hillforts’ volume of Arch Camb for 2025.

Eurig Davies was awarded £2000 towards costs of dendrochronological isotopic dating of two Carmarthenshire Houses. Recent work on Cwrt Bryn y Beirdd combining dating, structural analysis, historical and especially bardic references have shown the potential of a multi-disciplinary approach to the hitherto understudied late medieval/early modern Carmarthenshire houses. Paul Davis was awarded £2500 for more dendrochronological dating on houses in upland Monmouthshire following on from the excellent results obtained from last year’s work. Over many years of study Paul has identified a number of vernacular buildings still surviving in the industrialised valleys of Gwent.

Rachel Pope was awarded £1000 towards the costs of employing a post- graduate student to assemble information on archaeological sites in the hinterland of Penycloddiau hillfort, North Wales. This work, ‘Situating Penycloddiau’, will enhance the report being prepared on the important excavations conducted by Rachel and her team from the University of Liverpool.

YingYing Yan was awarded £1000 towards an innovative project to create detailed 3D digital models of Welsh Coracles with an especial emphasis on coracles formerly part of the ISCA collection at the then Exeter Maritime Museum; some examples are now at Southampton University, others are now in China and Poland. Dr Yan will also work at the privately funded and maintained Welsh Coracle Centre in Cenarth.

The Association is not always able to award the full amounts requested for research projects deemed worthy of support by the Trustees and it is often helpful if some match funding has been pledged. We are grateful to members who have made donations and left legacies to enhance this fund in this year, especially the Morgan Family Trust and a legacy from our late member Ruth Bennett-Jones.

 

MEETINGS AND EVENTS ARRANGED FOR 2025

DARGANFOD/DISCOVERY ONLINE CONFERENCE, Saturday 8 March 2025

This will be the third of our biennial online conferences which are intended to highlight recent work on archaeological projects in Wales especially those funded or part funded by the Association. The Conference also provides an opportunity for young researchers to highlight their work, especially the Gwobr Archaeoleg/Cambrian Archaeology prizewinners The event is free to members and non members and has in the past stimulated those attending to become members. Booking is through Eventbrite, and more details are available on our website at https://cambrians.org.uk/darganfod-discovery-conference-saturday-8th-march-2025/.

Elizabeth Walker and Oliver Davis have put together an exciting full day of talks:

Paul Davis – ‘Houses in the Hills: dendrochronology and the farmhouses of upland Gwent’.

Rachel Morgan-James – ‘Insights into the Roman and Medieval Findings at Five Mile Lane, Barry’.

Katie Faillace – ‘Dietary Diversity in Medieval Wales: a high-resolution case study from Five Mile Lane, Barry’.

Hannah Lycett-Smith – ‘Chewing on the Past: what can dental microwear and calculus tell us about life in Early Medieval Llandough’.

Caroline Pudney – ‘A Roman Villa in Northeast Wales: discovery and implications’.

Sheridan Clements – ‘Prehistoric Pasts and the Iron Age Hillforts of Northwestern Wales: the choice of location and the incorporation of ancient monuments’.

Oliver Davis and Niall Sharples with Scott Bees – ‘Finding the Middle Bronze Age in unexpected places: Trelai Park, Cardiff’.

Anna-Elyse Young – ‘Lithics in West Cardiff: examining the struck flint assemblages from excavations at Caerau Hillfort and Trelai Park’.

Karen Lowery – ‘Stones, Bones, Urns, Charcoal, Flint and Quartz: community excavation of a new complex/multiphase ring cairn in NE Wales’.

Kate Churchill – ‘The Prehistoric World of the Buckholt’.

Becky Vickers – ‘Working Stone and Making Places in Neolithic Wales’.

Bill Powell – ‘Trying to Make Sense of why some Coastal Mesolithic and Early Neolithic People chose Movement into the (Neglected) Landscape of Inland Pembrokeshire’.

Cat Rees – “Little men, who had been burnt, and their heads deposited in pots”: using Welsh myths, traditions and folklore to enhance interpretation of pre-Roman mortuary sites.

 

SUMMER MEETING AT BANGOR 29th June-4th July

We will be based in Bangor University’s Halls of Residence . The meeting is themed on historic houses, parks and gardens in North-West Wales. It is being jointly organised by Andrew and Jo Davidson. Andrew has recently retired as CEO of the former Gwynedd Archaeological Trust and has a strong interest in historic buldings. Jo Davidson is Chair of The Welsh Historic Gardens Trust. Some houses and gardens are well known, others less so. The University’s Botanic Gardens occupuy the site of ahotel designed by Picton but never built. Glynllifon, the seat of Lord Newborough, has a number of garden feature buildings. Wern Isaf was the home of the Arts & Crafts architect Herbert Luck North. We will be visiting Llanrhaedr Church with its stained glass, holy well and almshouses. A National Trust watermill lies close to Cestyll Gardens, Cemaes.

Don’t forget to bring your membership cards if you are a member of The National Trust or Cadw.

PROGRAMME

Sunday 29 June – Bangor area

12.00 – 14.00 Registration

14.30 Penrhyn Gardens

16.00 Treborth Botanic Gardens

Lecture – Martin Cherry ‘The early houses of North Wales and their setting: some new insights from dendrochronology’.

Dinner will be after the early evening lectures on all nights.

Monday 30 June – Western Caernarfonshire

10.00 Glynllifon

13.00 Plas Brondanw

14.30 Portmeirion and walk to the Gwyllt

Lecture – Glynis Shaw ‘Gardens of North Wales’

Tuesday 1 July – Eastern Caernarfonshire

10.00 Wern Isaf House & Garden, Llanfairfechan

11.30 Bodysgallen (Llandudno)

13.30 Nant Clwyd y Dre, Ruthin with packed lunch.

15.00 Llanrhaeadr Church/well/Almshouses

16.00 Plas Ucha

Lecture – Shaun Evans – Institute of Welsh Estates – Title to be confirmed

Wednesday 2 July – Denbighshire

10.00 Plas Mawr (Conwy)

12.00 Bodnant garden & picnic lunch

15.00 Gwydyr Castle gardens and Chapel

18.00 Wine reception and Presidential inauguration and lecture by Professor Huw Pryce

Thursday 3 July – North Anglesey

10.00 Bodorgan Hall and Gardens

12.00 Penrhos Holyhead

14.00 Brynddu, home of Robin Grove White

15.00 Cestyll Gardens – Wylfa and Sylvia Crowe landscape

Talk – Robin Grove-White – The families and houses at Brynddu and Plas Coch

Friday 4 July – Morning only (South Anglesey)

10.00 Plas Newydd – tour with head gardener (NT)

12.00 Plas Cadnant

14.00 Disperse after lunch at Plas Cadnant

TO SECURE A PLACE PLEASE DOWNLOAD, FILL IN AND RETURN THE BOOKING FORM FROM THIS LINK

Enquiries to Andrew and Jo Davidson, 07827857545 andrew.fdavidson@gmail.com or to Frances Lynch Llywelyn, 01248 364865, flynchllewellyn@gmail.com

 

EISTEDDFOD LECTURE/DARLITH YR EISTEDDFOD

Eurwyn Wiliam will chair the Association’s annual lecture, this year at Isycoed Wrecsam, probably in the afternoon, Wednesday 6th August, and introduce our speaker Professor Ann Parry Owen. Her subject is John Jones of Gellilyfdy (1580-1650) a prolific transcriber of Welsh manuscripts and author of a Welsh Dictionary. Often in debt he began compiling his word list, soon running to thousands of entries, while confined in the Fleet Prison, London. Another type of confinement – the 2021-2022 Covid ‘Lockdowns’ – gave Professor Owen the time to research this early Welsh dictionary and its compiler. Further details will be circulated.

 

AUTUMN MEETING AT BRIDGEND, Friday 19 – Sunday 21 September 2025

Like the summer meeting, this year’s autumn meeting will have a theme, in this case the ceramics industries of south-east Wales from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, featuring in particular the pottery of Ewenny and Llanelly and the pottery and porcelain of Swansea and Nantgarw.

Our base in Bridgend will be the Best Western Premier Heronston Hotel (01656 668811) on Ewenny Road on the outskirts of the town, one and a half miles from Bridgend railway station and near to Junction 35 of the M4. Access to the leisure facilities (pool, gym, sauna) are free to residents as is WiFi, with free parking; there are electric car charging facilities. Twenty rooms have been set aside for us (there are 75 in all) and members should contact the hotel directly saying that they are part of the Cambrian Archaeological Association conference. Please contact the hotel as soon as possible if you wish to book and certainly by two months before the meeting. Attendees can register from noon on Friday and lunch can be taken at own cost in the bar. After lunch we will visit the nearby Ewenny and Claypits potteries, the excursion being followed by an introduction to the ceramic history of south Wales by Andrew Renton, former Keeper of Art at the National Museum of Wales. Dinner will be followed by a lecture by Jonathan Gray, President of the English Ceramic Circle, on the Arts and Crafts designer Horace Elliott and in particular his work at Ewenny. On Saturday we will travel by coach to Swansea Museum, where Andrew Green, former head of the National Library of Wales, will address us briefly on the history of the Royal Institution of South Wales (which established this, the first museum in Wales) before we view the multi-disciplinary collections. We will then visit the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and its excellent collection of ceramics. Lunch can be had in the several local cafes before we travel to Llanelli and the Parc Howard Museum with its fine collection of Llanelly pottery, and after dinner our former President Dr Mark Redknap will discuss unpublished mediaeval and Tudor pottery from Cardiff. On Sunday we will visit Nantgarw where we will hear about the history of the site and meet some of the resident makers, and hear from Dr David Higgins about pipe-making at Broseley and the influence of that important factory on south Wales. We will then return to the hotel where attendees may have lunch at their own cost before dispersing.

TO SECURE A PLACE PLEASE DOWNLOAD, COMPLETE AND RETURN THE BOOKING FORM FROM THIS LINK

Organiser: Eurwyn Wiliam (02920 564406) eurwynwiliam32@gmail.com

GIFT AID

Gift Aid makes an enormous difference to the value of membership subscriptions and many of you have already given us Gift Aid declarations. They allow us to reclaim 25p from HM Revenue and Customs for every £1 that you give the Association in your subscription or donations.

For us to claim Gift Aid on your subscription or donations, you need to be a UK taxpayer and give us a Gift Aid declaration. If you have not already sent us one of these, or if you are not sure if you have, please complete our online Gift Aid form. This is on our website at https://cambrians.org.uk/membership-form/

This is part of our Membership Application Form but existing members can use it to record their Gift Aid Declarations, using the ‘Gift Aid’ section that will be found half-way down the form. Fill in all the various boxes within this red section (it is crucial to give your address here as well as your name), and click on ‘Submit Membership Form’ so that the form is forwarded to the Membership Secretary. If you prefer, you can download a printable version of our Gift Aid form here
https://cambrians.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/giftaid2025.pdf

 

Your Trustees

Bill Britnell, former CEO of Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust and editor of Arch Camb for over 20 years; prehistorian, has excavated and published on many important sites in Wales.

Jenny Britnell, Hon Treasurer. Worked for CPAT, has excavated and published on sites in Powys, edited the Shropshire Archaeological Society’s journal and has served as finance officer and trustee for CPAT and is a trustee for the Welsh Archaeological Trusts Pensions Fund.

Marie-Thérèse Castay, a long-standing member of the Cambrians, lectured at The University of Toulouse and was involved in the Erasmus programme, translator from Welsh to French of Welsh literature, has organised 3 Cambrians Meetings in France.

Rhiannon Comeau, Membership Secretary. She has published extensively on early medieval Wales, organised our first 2 Darganfod Conferences and works to encourage and promote early career researchers in Welsh archaeology .

Andrew Davidson, retired CEO of Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, has excavated and published widely with special interests in early medieval archaeology and the built heritage of all periods; handles the Cambrians’ email circulars.

Tudur Davies, an environmental archaeologist, specialising in pollen analysis, chairs the subcommittee organising our Gwobr Archaeoleg Cambrian Archaeology Prize and helps implement our Welsh Language Policy.

Toby Driver, Senior Investigator, Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments Wales, specialises in Air Photography, has recently published a book on Welsh Hillforts, active on social media and lectures across Wales to local societies and groups.

Fiona Gale, recently retired as archaeologist for Denbighshire County Council, now active in Ruthin Castle Trust and the Dendrochronology of Old Welsh Houses groups, trustee of the new all Wales Archaeological Trust ‘Heneb’.

Heather James, General Secretary, (worked for Dyfed Archaeological Trust, excavated and published on Roman Carmarthen, Vice-President of The Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and editor of its journal.

Frances Lynch Llewellyn, Meetings Organiser, long standing member and past President, has organised many summer and autumn meetings, prehistorian , has excavated and published on Irish and North Wales sites and finds including the definitive Prehistoric Anglesey.

Ken Murphy, Editor, Archaeologia Cambrensis. Retired CEO of Dyfed Archaeological Trust, has directed many excavations in West Wales and beyond as well as survey projects, many published in AC.

Sian Rees, past President, Chairman of Trustees, former Inspector at Cadw-Welsh Historic Monuments, author of Cadw guides and currently preparing her excavations at Haverfordwest priory for publication. Active in securing World Heritage status for the north Wales slate landscapes. Trustee of the newly formed Heneb: The Trust for Welsh Archaeology.

Elizabeth A. Walker, past President and now Trustee, Principal Curator, Collections and Access, Amgueddfa Cymru Museum of Wales; specialist in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology of Wales, and currently researching the history of collecting).

Eurwyn Wiliam (Past President, former Director of the then Welsh Folk Museum at St Fagans, specialist on Welsh vernacular architecture, served as Chair of RCAHMW, member and trustee of several national and local societies and trusts including Chair of Nantgarw China Works Trust; leads the implementation of the Cambrians’ Welsh Language Policy.