Plan of the river at Conway in the county of Caernarvon

2026 sees the bicentenary of Telford’s suspension bridges over the Conwy & Menai. This map prior to the bridge’s construction features an island ‘Claimed by Sir R. Mostyn Bart’ where the bridge’s northern tower stands

Pre 1796 Most/7289

O’r Rhondda i Awstralia: Papurau Thomas D Morgan a’i Deulu Fel gwirfoddolwr sy’n siarad Cymraeg, roeddwn wrth fy modd i gael prosiect i restri llythyrau Cymraeg a anfonwyd i Gymru o Awstralia yn y 1860au. Mae gen i lawer o berthnasau pell sy’n …

O’r Rhondda i Awstralia: Papurau Thomas D Morgan a’i Deulu

Heddiw ar y blog cymerwn gip ar gyfres o lythyrau ysgrifennwyd gan y teulu Morgan o’r Rhondda. Maent yn olrhain hanes Thomas D Morgan a ymfudodd i Awstralia ym 1862 i chwilio am aur!

archifaumorgannwg.wordpress.com/2026/02/02/o...

Image is a painting of a hedgehog

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Did you know yesterday was National Hedgehog Day?

In medieval folklore, hedgehogs were said to lie on their backs so they could impale fruits on their spine. They then carried the fruit to their dens to feed the young.

These digitised photos feature Edward and Helen Thomas, and are held by Cardiff University’s Special Collections and Archives. Edward was a poet who didn’t begin writing until he was 36 years old, yet he went onto to be quite prolific.

From Conwy Archives, this image shows a teacher and two students in a classroom in the 1950s. Three guesses what subject they were learning 🌍 Reference: CP39/2/2/1/10

The train had just left the Brecon and Merthyr line, prior to the derailment which resulted in its chimney being buried in the garden of the adjoining recreation ground.
Reference: MiscMss2009

This image from @gwentarchives.bsky.social shows a train from the Alexandra Docks & Railway Company, moments after it fell down a 32ft high bank near Bassaleg Station.

Job Opportunity: Engagement Officer (Full time, fixed-term to 31 October 2026)

This is an exciting opportunity to work with archive and heritage services across Wales on the Welsh Government funded Archifau Cymru Byw / Archives Wales Alive project.

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Swydd: Swyddog Prosiect Gwirfoddoli Digidol (14.5 awr yr wythnos, tymor sefydlog tan 31 Hydref 2026)

Dyma gyfle cyffrous i weithio gyda gwasanaethau archif a threftadaeth ledled Cymru ar brosiect #CrowdCymru a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru.

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ob Opportunity: Digital Volunteering Project Officer (14.5 hours per week, fixed-term to 31 October 2026)

This is an exciting opportunity to work with archive and heritage services across Wales on the Welsh Government funded #CrowdCrymru project.

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The Garth Gold Mine in Cilcain was thought to be the richest goldfield in Wales upon its discovery in 1889! This map held at North East Wales Archives shows the area that brough wealth and fortune to the Welsh economy, and where many thought X marked the spot!
@newalesarchives.bsky.social

From The Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University, are personalised belongings of the man himself! His collection includes his book bag and large varied library. Any thoughts on what his favourite book might have been?

North East Wales Archives

Unidentified harpist in traditional Welsh dress, 1910.

Reference: PPD/120/42

Embarking on archival research may seem daunting but with careful planning, patience and an inquisitive outlook you can find some real treasures within historical collections. Enjoy the process and embrace the satisfaction that comes from uncovering valuable insights from the past.
#ArchvesWales

From @gwentarchives.bsky.social these photos show the 1967 lunch menu at Crosskeys Junior School. From roast lamb to a lemon cheese tart, they seem to have had quite the spread! 🥮 🥩🥕 It almost makes me nostalgic for my schools’ fajitas Fridays…. Reference: CEA48/23

We have had some flurries of snow across Gwent so far this January – but nothing like the winter of 1962-1963! Below is a comparison, from one of the Gwent Local History Journal’s in our collection, of this winter with another famous winter – the winter of 1946-1947.

Image: Historic photograph of Sunday School pupils outside Bethania Chapel, Maesteg, 7 March 1904.
Copyright: Addoldai Cymru. zurl.co/Hbcv1
#CapeliCymru #NationalLottery #HeritageFund

DI2006_1674 Digitized copy of a black and white photograph showing an exterior view of Bethania Chapel, Maesteg, with the congregation and school pupils. Part of a collection of material relating to Bethania Chap...

@capelicymru.bsky.social is the Royal Commission’s exciting new project to understand, document, and respond to the growing loss of Wales’ Nonconformist heritage. Follow their Bluesky page for project updates.

You can follow the progress of the project on the North East Wales Bluesky account: @newalesarchives.bsky.social

You can read more about this project in our blog: archives.wales/.../boots-br...
@exploreyourarchive.bsky.social

We were shown their newest conservation project: a Waybill Book from the Glyn Valley Tramway (1881-1883) a unique volume in their collections that will be conserved thanks to a grant from the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT).

The celebrations at Hawarden focused on the theme of Conservation, an essential, core function of our archive services that ensures the long-term survival, accessibility, and authenticity of records for current and future generations.

🎉On Friday the 28th of November the Explore your Archive campaign was officially launched by Jack Sargeant MS, Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership, at North East Wales Archives - Denbighshire & Flintshire.

The celebrations at Hawarden focused on the theme of Conservation, an essential, core function of our archive services that ensures the long-term survival, accessibility, and authenticity of records for current and future generations.

iPhones and Archives: How will we preserve photography of the future? Currently, our digital collections represent only a tiny proportion of our overall collections. Going forward, though, collecting and caring for material which has been ‘born digital’ will become i…

Read our latest blog here: archives.wales/2025/12/04/i...

#EYADigital
Explore Your Archive

iPhones and Archives: How will we preserve photography of the future? Currently, our digital collections represent only a tiny proportion of our overall collections. Going forward, though, collecting and caring for material which has been ‘born digital’ will become i…

Currently, our digital collections represent only a tiny proportion of our overall collections, but with the advent of digital photography people take far more photos than they ever have before. But how many of these will ever make it into the archival collections of the future?

Explore Your Archive: Archive Animals It's not just people that get their own archives - our furry friends do too!   #EYAPets

Ceri Evans, Assistant Archivist at Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru | The National Library of Wales has written this blog about some animals in their collections: www.library.wales/news/article...

There are hundreds of photos, archives, artworks, and printed material that celebrate our relationship with animals in archive collections.

It’s safe to say that Wales can be considered a nation of animal lovers; indeed, the 2021 National Survey for Wales revealed that 52% of Wales’s households own a pet. 🐶🐹🐰🐮🐱🦆 #EYAPets

#EYASilence @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social