Harlech Historical Society

Harlech Historical Society For those interested in the history of Harlech and Ardudwy

06/06/2026

Tuesday June 9th: Visit to Coleg Harlech
Meet 11am in car park opposite Coleg Harlech (gate will be opened). This will enable people to go over the bridge to the college courtyard.

The visit will start in the college library before moving to the main building and visiting the Robert Baker mural room. Some of the mural is now protected as part of the building’s conservation but enough is visible for descriptions and explanations of the mural. People will also be able to visit the Harlech room and discuss the future use of the buildings.

Please be aware that you will be visiting a building site. The group will only be going to the safe parts of the building but it is likely to be VERY dusty. So anyone who has a problem with dust should bring along a mask or think twice about coming.

The visit will probably last between an hour and an hour and a half.

08/05/2026

At our next meeting, on Tuesday May 12th, Dr Megan Hewitt Kimmelshue will give a talk on ‘Children in the Iron Age’. The evening will spotlight fascinating archaeological evidence to explore how Iron Age children in north Wales and further afield engaged with life through personal objects, craftwork learning and settlement organisation. This talk aims to broaden perceptions of the Iron Age, highlighting the vital role played by its youngest members.

Megan completed her PhD research on Iron Age childhoods at Bangor University and writes as an independent scholar from her home on Ynys Môn. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow with Amgueddfa Cymru/Museum Wales.

The talk will take place at the Memorial Hall, Twtil, Harlech on Tuesday May 12th at 7.30pm. All welcome. No charge for members; non-members £3, including refreshments.

11/04/2026

Our next lecture will be held on Tuesday April 14th at 7-30- in the Memorial Hall / Neuadd Goffa, Twtil, Harlech. There is a change to the advertised programme as the original speaker is indisposed. We are grateful to Di Drummond for retuning at short notice after her well-received talk on railway (her other great passion) in November. The lecture is free to members, £3 to non-members on the door. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided after the talk.

The Women's Suffrage Movement in Wales, 1866-1928, with reference to Tywyn and District, and to Harlech

This talk considers how some of the women of Wales campaigned for the right to vote between 1866 and 1928. While focussing on the various organisations calling directly for women's rights and suffrage over these many years, it also considers other women's organisations that eventually made 'votes for women' one of their policies.

Considering the women's campaign throughout Wales, special attention has been made of Tywyn and district, where action for women's suffrage was very weakly supported and often strongly rejected, and in Harlech, where it attracted even less interest!

Dr Di Drummond, Reader in Modern History, Leeds Trinty University (retired), taught about the women's campaign for the right to vote in Britain for over 25 years, first at the University of Birmingham and then at Leeds Trinity University. Known particularly for her work on the history of railways (e.g. Tracing Your Railway Ancestors, 2010; Crewe: Railway Town, Culture and People, 1995), she has entries on women, including a suffragette, in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Recently Di published a chapter ‘Radicalism in the British women’s suffrage movement, 1865-1928‘, in Stephen Basdeo (ed.), English Rebels and Revolutionaries, Pen and Sword Press, 2022.

07/03/2026

The next meeting of the Society will be held on the 10th of March. Dr David Craik, the President of the Society, will give a talk on the impact of historical events in Ardudwy from 1534 to 1603 in the wake of Henry VIII's religious reformation and the further measures taken by his Tudor successors. Research has found lands were confiscated from Dolgellau up to Llandecwyn and many local people displaced. Through technology, we will see a reconstruction of what Cymer Abbey may have looked liked before its dissolution.

The talk will take place at Neuadd Goffa, tAAAhe Memorial Hall, Twtil, Harlech on Tuesday 10th March at 7.30pm. All welcome. No charge for members; non-members £3, including refreshments.

07/02/2026

At our next meeting, on 10th February, Richard Walwyn will talk about the history of Borth y Gest, ‘A Village by the Sea’. The talk will give an overview history of Borth y Gest from ancient times to about 1900. The village in its modern form hardly existed before 1830, so much of the talk will be on its historic antecedents. Richard has lived in the village for many years and is the author of A Little History of Borth-y-Gest (Delfryn Publications, 2019). He has also written other books about the area and will have some available for sale – but cash only, please. Please bring some if you might want to buy a book!

The talk will take place at the Memorial Hall, Twtil, Harlech on Tuesday 10th February at 7.30pm. All welcome. No charge for members; non-members £3, including refreshments.

08/01/2026

Our first meeting of 2026 will b eheld on 13th of January with a talk entitled ‘The National Broadcast Archive and Memories of Harlech’ by Linda Tomos, a former National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales, and Dr Ywain Tomos, Participation and Interpretation Officer at the National Broadcast Archive.

Managed by the National Library of Wales, the National Broadcast Archive is unique in the UK context and one of very few worldwide. It includes the BBC, ITV and S4C archives relating to Wales. Ywain was involved in setting up the permanent multi-media exhibition, which is linked to the Archive, in the Library four years ago and continues to support its development as the new national collection.

The talk will take place at the Memorial Hall, Twtil, Harlech on Tuesday 13th January at 7.30pm. All welcome. No charge for members; non-members £3, including refreshments.

18/12/2025

The Linen Hall’s Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) archive reflects the full history of the organisation, with material relating to a range of social issues. It charts the organisation’s groundbreaking movement for social change, trailblazing grassroots activism, and engagement with mainstream politics.

This leaflet is part of a series of NICRA ephemera that also includes membership cards and an Annual March Draw card, alongside a range of other promotional material.

To discover more about the archive and see other items, please visit: https://linenhall.com/learn-more-about-the-northern-ireland-civil-rights-association-archive/



Image: WHAT IS N.I.C.R.A.? leaflet, 1970s (PJM/2/1)

06/09/2025

The nights are drawing in and Autumn is coming. But at least we have the new season of HHS to look forward to. Our indoor meetings start with the AGM on Tuesday September 9th in the Memorial Hall, Twtil, Harlech, 7-30. Free to members. £3 for visitors. Cheese and wine for the AGM as ever.

Of course there is as always a lecture.

Merfyn Wyn Tomos and Sheila Maxwell will give a presentation on:

"Aur Cymru - Gold Rush to Bust" - examining the gold rush which took place in Meirionnydd in the 1800s and the role of the 'Gold King', William Pritchard Morgan.

Merfyn Wyn Tomos was formerly the County Archivist for Meirionnydd and has published three volumes on the history of Dolgellau as well as a book on the woollen industry and Dr Williams School, Dolgellau.

Sheila Maxwell is the Treasurer of Hwb Harlech/Harlech Library and Institute and responsible for the Harlech Archive.

Merfyn and Sheila recently authored a new book about Harlech 'Rhwng dau fyd/When two worlds met.'

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