Studies in Welsh History – serie

This text provides a study of the impact of Renaissance and Reformation scholarship on Welsh society and its leading members. It aims to show how broadly disseminated this scholarship was in a part of the Kingdom of England which was often regarded as remote and backward. In the absence of its own civic and court traditions, Wales depended heavily on English educational institutions. The entry into the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and into the Inns of Court in London of over 2500 Welsh students between 1540 and 1640 represented a significant commitment to the acquisition of learning. It also made the Welsh the most distinct and also most accepted of the non-English elements at these places. However, they preserved their separate identity to a marked degree, aided by special patterns of educational endowments. Higher education offered the Welsh student the opportunity to share in a wide experience of Western European intellectual scholarship. It also offered career openings for Welshmen which are examined in some detail. The differences to emerge between north and south Wales are a particular feature of this study, especially in the context of the production of an educated clergy to serve the emergent Reformation Church in Wales. Equally, the manner in which higher learning gave opportunities for careers in England, particularly in the law, are also examined in detail. Finally, the study recounts the impact of higher learning on patterns of public administration in Wales and on the country's cultural life. The relationship of this learning to the intellectual activities of the gentry, clergy and lawyers is described, especially the growth of bookish interests and the assimilation of these groups into a milieu of "high culture".

More than 700,000 British servicemen died in the First World War and 35,000 of these are listed in the Welsh Book of Remembrance. The loss of life on such an immense scale meant that bereavement became a shared experience throughout Britain, as the British public attempted to come to terms with such widespread grief. The war memorials found in almost every town and village bear witness to the need felt in the post-war years to commemorate the dead. These memorials have already been studied as repositories of political ideas and as works of art and public sculpture, but little work has been done on the social history of commemoration. This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the social and political significance of remembrance in Wales. It places the commemoration process within the wider context of Welsh history in the decade following the Great War, and studies the impact of that war upon local communities and the ways in which those communities chose to remember the fallen.

The 1870 Education Act provided that every child in England and Wales was to be provided with an opportunity to receive elementary education. This book considers the way in which Welsh society viewed the 1870 Education Act and how local political and religious leaders oversaw its implementation.

In this work, Paul O'Leary examines the causes of emigration and seeks to understand the experience of Irish immigrants in Wales. Initially, there was little evidence of Celtic solidarity and the Irish often met with violent hostility from the Welsh. Nevertheless, by the late 19th century the tortuous process of integration was well under way and appeared to be relatively trouble free in comparison with the Irish experience in many other parts of Britain. The author considers key aspects of immigrant life in depth: pre-famine immigration; the role of the Irish in the labour force; criminality and drink; the establishment of community institutions ranging from Catholic churches and schools to pubs and bookshops, from friendly societies to political organizations; the mobilization of support for Irish nationalist organizations; and Irish participation in the labour movement. In each case the author links the distinctive experiences of the Irish to developments in Welsh society.

Early industrial Merthyr is synonymous with the darker side of the British urban experience. This work considers the efforts of dedicated civic "boosters" to civilize the town's public spaces and its inhabitants and shows how this vision of Merthyr depended on the taming of popular culture.

More than 700,000 British servicemen died in the First World War and 35,000 of these are listed in the Welsh Book of Remembrance. The loss of life on such an immense scale meant that bereavement became a shared experience throughout Britain, as the British public attempted to come to terms with such widespread grief. The war memorials found in almost every town and village bear witness to the need felt in the post-war years to commemorate the dead. These memorials have already been studied as repositories of political ideas and as works of art and public sculpture, but little work has been done on the social history of commemoration. This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the social and political significance of remembrance in Wales. It places the commemoration process within the wider context of Welsh history in the decade following the Great War, and studies the impact of that war upon local communities and the ways in which those communities chose to remember the fallen.

The inter-relationship of coal, community and politics is central to the history of modern Wales and, for many, the South Wales valleys symbolize the culture of coalfield communities. This text offers a different insight into mining history. It examines the history of the North Wales coalfield.

"A Forgotten Army" reconstructs the experiences of Welsh women who undertook essential munitions work during World War II. The events of wartime are placed against the background of the wider Welsh social, economic and cultural context.

"That Other Game" surveys soccer's early history in south Wales. Through an exploration of the spectrum of the game, from international matches and professional clubs to schoolboy games, this book illustrates how soccer was shaped by wider social, cultural and economic forces.

In this work, Paul O'Leary examines the causes of emigration and seeks to understand the experience of Irish immigrants in Wales. Initially, there was little evidence of Celtic solidarity and the Irish often met with violent hostility from the Welsh. Nevertheless, by the late 19th century the tortuous process of integration was well under way and appeared to be relatively trouble free in comparison with the Irish experience in many other parts of Britain. The author considers key aspects of immigrant life in depth: pre-famine immigration; the role of the Irish in the labour force; criminality and drink; the establishment of community institutions ranging from Catholic churches and schools to pubs and bookshops, from friendly societies to political organizations; the mobilization of support for Irish nationalist organizations; and Irish participation in the labour movement. In each case the author links the distinctive experiences of the Irish to developments in Welsh society.

This text offers an examination of Welsh military organization, strategy, tactics and conduct in war which goes beyond the military sphere and touches on all aspects of Welsh society in this period.

This study looks at the means by which Methodists in Wales communicated with their fellow Evangelicals, how the Welsh revival influenced the wider movement, and the ways in which the international movement affected the development of Welsh Methodism.

A volume of essays offering a refreshing insight into the reaction of the Welsh people to war, focusing on a series of conflicts dating from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries; including tables of information, maps and black-and-white illustrations.

1937-1979 was a distinctive period in the political history of Wales. It began with a demand by MPs from all parties that a secretary of state be appointed, and ended in 1979 with the referendum on a Welsh assembly, the 'end of an era' in the words of Lord Cledwyn. This book shows how devolution was an issue in Welsh politics during the period under review, how British governments responded to devolutionists' demands, and how much was eventually conceded. Early on, two important developments were the setting up in 1949 of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire and the appointment in 1951 of a minister for Welsh Affairs. Significantly the Council recommended in 1957 that a secretary of state be appointed and Labour acted on that proposal in 1964. The book examines the changing pattern of Labour thinking with regard to Wales and also the various nationalist challenges that threatened its dominance in the 1960s and 1970s. The referendum on the Labour government's devolution proposals is seen as bringing to an end a period in which both Labour and Conservative governments had been forced into a consideration of Welsh matters, and had been made to think about the precise way in which Wales should be administered within the British system.

Based on a detailed study of the court records of the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales, focusing on the period from 1660 to 1730, this book shows from the records of crime and the courts both order and disorder, law-keepers and law-breakers, the respectable and the unruly. It also reveals the divisions and inequalities.

The economic depression of the interwar period marks a fundamental turning-point in Welsh history, and in particular the history of south Wales, when decades of breakneck industrialisation, urbanisation and in-migration came to an end and were followed by a period scarred by unemployment, poverty and emigration. This study examines the human costs of unemployment and poverty through a study of the health of the population of south Wales. It contributes to the 'healthy or hungry thirties' debate about the effects of unemployment and poverty on health in interwar Britain through an examination of south Wales, the region of Britain that experienced the highest levels of levels of unemployment and the greatest degrees of poverty. It examines patterns of health and mortality in different types of community in south Wales and undertakes a systematic and rigorous examination of the statistical data. Chapters on the working-class domestic economy, housing, environment, diet and medical services ascertain the consequences of unemployment and poverty on the everyday lives of working-class families.

This book uses, principally but not only, a case study of the Denbighshire town of Ruthin to discuss both the significance of Englishness versus Welshness and of gender distinctions in the network of small Anglo-Welsh urban centres which emerged in north Wales following the English conquest of 1282. It carefully constructs an image of the way in which townspeople's everyday lives were influenced by their ethnic background, gender, wealth and social status. In this manner it explores and explains the motivations of English and welsh townspeople to work together in the mutual pursuit of prosperity and social stability.

This book explores the ways in which the distinctive Welsh county of Cardigan and its inhabitants (known as Cardis) have been represented during the late modern era. The image of both Cardiganshire and the Cardi changed considerably during this period, and this representational history examines the reasons why these shifts took place. In doing so, the study uncovers an array of opinions about the county. Each of these viewpoints are analysed, placed in context and set against one another. The picture which emerges is of a place and a people onto which commentators projected their hopes and fears.

Was migration from Victorian Cardiganshire simply a flight from rural poverty? This book relates the rate and timing of the outward movements from the county to the prevailing social and economic conditions. It provides insights into the factors involved in migration, and using computer-assisted analysis of census enumerators' books examines key dimensions of the communities at the major migrant destinations.

Many books have focused on the rise of, and success of, the Labour party in Wales, but this one focuses on its decline in an understudied part of Wales.

As late as 1980, a quarter of the population of Wales lived within the boundaries of what had once been the lordships of the Bute estate. Powerful landowners for centuries, the Stuarts of Bute were key drivers of the many social, political, and economic changes that transformed south Wales between the eighteenth and twentieth century. This volume explores the Butes and their influence, setting them in context of a long, interwoven history of landed proprietorship, economic development, and the rise of the industrial middle class throughout Britain.

The booming coal industry of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the main reason behind the creation of modern south Wales and its miners were central to shaping the economics, politics and society of south Wales during the twentieth century. This book explores the history of these miners between 1964 and 1985, covering the concerted run-down of the coal industry under the Wilson government, the growth of miners' resistance, and the eventual defeat of the epic strike of 1984-5. Their interactions with the wider trade union movement and society during these years meant the miners were amongst the most important strategically-located sections of the British workforce during this time. The South Wales Miners is the first full-length academic study of the miners and their union in the later twentieth century, in a tumultuous period of crisis and struggle.

The booming coal industry of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the main reason behind the creation of modern south Wales and its miners were central to shaping the economics, politics and society of south Wales during the twentieth century. This book explores the history of these miners between 1964 and 1985, covering the concerted run-down of the coal industry under the Wilson government, the growth of miners' resistance, and the eventual defeat of the epic strike of 1984-5. Their interactions with the wider trade union movement and society during these years meant the miners were amongst the most important strategically-located sections of the British workforce during this time. The South Wales Miners is the first full-length academic study of the miners and their union in the later twentieth century, in a tumultuous period of crisis and struggle.

Much of the social and industrial history written during the last quarter of the twentieth century presented Welsh working-class culture in terms of a thirst for knowledge that was secular, economic and political. The emphasis was squarely placed on the influence of the union lodge and the workingmen's institute, and priority was given to the importance of sport and the public house in the life of the working class. Relatively little attention was given to religion and its continuing influence on industrial communities, despite the fact that the 1904 - 5 revival brought many thousands into contact with the chapel. Inspired in part by the challenge of socialist and labour agitation and in part by theological considerations, Nonconformists moved away from specifically political involvement and developed their own responses to the social questions of the day. This new edition will appeal to a fresh generation of scholars and readers interested in Wales's Nonconformist history, presenting an exploration of Welsh social thinking, politics and religion.

This text offers an examination of Welsh military organization, strategy, tactics and conduct in war which goes beyond the military sphere and touches on all aspects of Welsh society in this period. It helps to explain the transformation of the country from a part of post-Roman medieval Europe to the series of independent principalities eventually conquered by Edward I. The author questions many of the traditional assumptions, notably the tendency to see the Welsh (and the Irish and the Scottish) as "barbaric" and provides a corrective to these current views. It demonstrates that, whilst allowing for differences given the nature, economy, geography and topography of the country, Welsh military developments from the end of Roman rule to the Edwardian conquest generally correspond to those seen in the rest of Western Europe.

On a Saturday morning in November 1865, between 1,200 and 1,500 men gathered above the small town of Bethesda, to launch a society which they called the United Society of Welsh Quarrymen. Although there had been earlier revolts of quarrymen, this was the first recorded attempt to organise a trade union. The society failed almost as soon as it was started but an idea had been planted and despite the most strenuous efforts of its opponents, it was not to be uprooted. This book is about the struggle of quarrymen to organise and ‘combine’ in the slate quarries and mines of North Wales, and particularly in the giant Penrhyn quarries. It was often a battle for survival, fought in very distinctive communities, and the struggle witnessed some of the most bitter and dramatic disputes in the history of the British working class.

While electorally weak, the Communist Party of Great Britain and its Welsh Committee was a constant feature of twentieth century Welsh politics, in particular through its influence in the trade union movement. Based on original archival research, the present volume offers the first in-depth study of the Communist Party's attitude to devolution in Wales, to Welsh nationhood and Welsh identity, as well as examining the party's relationship with the Labour Party, Plaid Cymru and the labour and nationalist movements in relation to these issues. Placing the party's engagement of these issues within the context of the rapid changes in twentieth century Welsh society, debates on devolution and identity on the British left, the role of nationalism within the communist movement, and the interplay of international and domestic factors, the volume provides new insight into the development of ideas by the political left on devolution and identity in Wales during the twentieth century.It also offers a broad outline of the party's policy in relation to Wales during the twentieth century, and an assessment of the role played by leading figures in the Welsh party in developing its policy on Wales and devolution.

While electorally weak, the Communist Party of Great Britain and its Welsh Committee was a constant feature of twentieth century Welsh politics, in particular through its influence in the trade union movement. Based on original archival research, the present volume offers the first in-depth study of the Communist Party’s attitude to devolution in Wales, to Welsh nationhood and Welsh identity, as well as examining the party’s relationship with the Labour Party, Plaid Cymru and the labour and nationalist movements in relation to these issues. Placing the party’s engagement of these issues within the context of the rapid changes in twentieth century Welsh society, debates on devolution and identity on the British left, the role of nationalism within the communist movement, and the interplay of international and domestic factors, the volume provides new insight into the development of ideas by the political left on devolution and identity in Wales during the twentieth century. It also offers a broad outline of the party’s policy in relation to Wales during the twentieth century, and an assessment of the role played by leading figures in the Welsh party in developing its policy on Wales and devolution.