8.1.2 Histories
BBC Wales/Eclips: www.bbc.co.uk/ wales/ eclips/ [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
Eclips is an audio-visual resource provided by BBC Wales. It makes available numerous clips from the BBC Wales audio and video archive. The idea is that teachers can use them to illustrate lessons, but they have an obvious interest for a much wider audience. They can be sorted in various ways, including by keyword, subject and/or age of the audience. The history resources are well worth exploring.
BBC/Wales History: www.bbc.co.uk/ wales/ history/
Accessible general-interest site with short sections from Roman Wales to the present day and numerous thematic sections, for example: castles; the Welsh language; family history; and myths and legends. All sections are short but useful reference tools, presentation is very user-friendly, and there are some good pictorial illustrations. The material has been collected by the well-known Welsh historian Dr John Davies and offers a generalist context for periods and topics in Welsh history.
A Brief History of Wales: www.britannia.com/ wales/ whist.html
Accessible general-interest site with bite-sized section on Wales from prehistoric times to the present. Has sections on themes, for example, Welsh literature, the Welsh Bible, industry and Methodism in Wales. Has some pictorial illustrations, but these tend to be small and are not described. Worth a visit if you are seeking generalised information.
Imaging the Bible in Wales: www.imagingthebible.org/ wales
Project based at the University of Wales, Lampeter, analysing the social, political and theological questions raised by Welsh biblical visual culture, and aiming to preserve its contribution to the intellectual, artistic and cultural heritage of Wales, 1825–1975. Collection of Biblical images from churches and chapels in Wales, with academic commentaries. In English only.
Llafur: the Welsh People's History Society: www.llafur.org/ indexe.htm
Llafur publishes an important journal, Llafur: the Journal of Welsh People's History, and its contents pages can be searched on the site.
The Rhondda: www.therhondda.co.uk
Aims to provide a socio-economic history of the Rhondda Valleys during the period 1800 to 1950, but is in the nature of a tribute to the Rhondda by an interested individual. Well-illustrated and clearly presented, it provides snippets of information – which would need to be checked against other sources – about many topics, from living conditions to the Tonypandy Riots. Worth a look. In English only.
The Welsh History Review: www.uwp.co.uk/ book_desc/ whr.html
Tables of contents of volumes of the Welsh History Review, 1996–2004.