I’m absolutely delighted to be speaking at this year’s Bangor History Festival, celebrating a truly special milestone — 1,500 years since the founding of Bangor. This city holds a very special place in my heart. I did my PhD at Bangor University, and spent time teaching archaeology there too, so returning to take part in […]
I’m absolutely delighted to share that I’ve been made an Honorary Research Associate at Bangor University — a place that holds a very special place in my heart. This honour feels like a full-circle moment, returning to the institution where I once taught archaeology and where I also completed my PhD. My journey with Bangor […]
Wonderful Women in Wales’ Past: A Special Talk at Hope Community Library I’m excited to share that on Friday, March 7th, the evening before International Women’s Day and right in the heart of Women’s History Month, I’ll be giving a talk all about the remarkable women of Wales! This event will be part of the […]
On Saturday 24th February, I’m delighted to be back at the Flintshire Historical Society giving a talk all about North Wales Castles – one of my favourite subjects! For those who know me, you know that castles are one of my first loves when it comes to heritage and archaeology. It helped that I lived […]
On Saturday 27th January, I will be joining a panel of speakers to talk about medieval women at an online conference with the Mortimer History Society. My talk, one of three making up the online conference, is entitled ‘Lay lady, lay: Rediscovering skilled medieval women in Wales’ Many of the royal accounts for Edward I’s […]
Nestled on the banks of the Conwy river, overlooked by the high mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia), lies a tiny walled churchyard and chapel. What’s unusual about this is that it sits within a 2000 year old Roman Fort. The Roman auxiliary fortress of Canovium, or Caerhun, at St Mary’s Church in the Conwy Valley is […]
Two lonely figures stare out to sea, one representing the past, one representing the now. Surrounded by landscaped gardens cut into the rocky hillside, hardy flowers and fresh sea air, they stand atop something even more remarkable. Hillside Gardens, overlooking Prestatyn, is a place visited by many, but I do wonder how many people realise […]
Tucked away in an abandoned slate quarry in north Wales – once the second largest in the world – sits Anglesey Barracks. However, they’re not army barracks, and they’re not on Anglesey. These two rows of derelict houses mark an old street of quarry workers’ houses in Dinorwig Quarry. The quarry now makes up part […]
.jpg "The Great Storm")
On this morning, 160 years ago, most of Western Britain woke up to destruction. The Great Storm, the worst in the 19th Century, had hit our shores and taken many poor souls with it; many of whom were out at sea in boats and ships when the hurricane-force winds took hold. The Great Storm of […]
In July I revisited my primary school, Ysgol Pontfadog in the Ceiriog Valley, to hear the school bell ring one final time. The school has now closed after 111 years, and will not reopen in September due to low numbers of pupils, despite 1300 objections sent to the council. I moved to Wales when I […]