Copyright © 2010 The Historical Association: Swansea Branch

The Historical Association Swansea Branch

 September 11 (Saturday), 11am, National Waterfront Museum
 Talk by Dr Kenneth Brassil of the National Museum of Wales on ‘Celtomania, Past and Present’.
September 24 (Friday), 4pm
 Members’ guided tour of the Guildhall, Swansea.
September 25 (Saturday),
Coach excursion to Hellens Manor and Ledbury, Herefordshire.
 Members = £18; non-members = £20 (includes admission charge to the Manor).
 Leaving Swansea Leisure Centre car park 9am, picking up at Llansamlet Library, Birchgrove and Glais.
 This excursion is arranged in conjunction with the Llansamlet Historical Society.
October 27 (Wednesday evening), The Mansion House, Swansea
 The Swansea branch of the Historical Association will celebrate the first anniversary of its revival this month.
 His Worship the Lord Mayor of the City and County of Swansea has kindly invited members to celebrate the anniversary at the Mansion House, Swansea. The event will include an exhibition by Royston Kneath of photographs of old Swansea.
This will be a strictly-members-only event; places are very limited (12 left) and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in attending, please speak to a committee member or contact the branch at: haswansea@ymail.com



November 26 (Friday),
(Time and venue to be confirmed.)
 The Anniversary Lecture by Baron Morgan of Aberdyfi (the historian formerly known as Kenneth O Morgan) on ‘Lloyd George and Leadership: the Influences of Mr Gladstone and Abraham Lincoln’.
December 17 (Friday), 4pm, National Waterfront Museum
 Talk by Liz Pitman on ‘Pigsties and Paradise. Lady Diarists and the Tour of Wales, 1795–1860’.
January 9, 2011 (provisional), National Waterfront Museum
 Branch AGM and talk by Dr John Law on ‘Rawdon Brown, John Ruskin and the Correspondent from Swansea’.
February 25, 2011 (provisional) (Friday), 4pm, National Waterfront Museum
 (Topic to be confirmed.)
 The Presidential Lecture by the president of the Historical Association, Professor Anne Curry.
March 2011 (date to be confirmed), National Waterfront Museum
 Talk by William G Zajac on ‘Pilgrimage in Wales’.
April 2011 (provisional), National Waterfront Museum
 (Date and time to be confirmed.)
 Talk by Dr Andrew Foster, chairman of the Historical Association’s Public History Committee, on ‘The Dioceses of Early Modern England and Wales’.

The Branch Committee has put together a varied and interesting programme of events for the current year and is now also organising events for 2011.

 Some events comprise talks within the comfort of the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, while others have gone out ‘on location’ to such venues as the Bishop’s Palace at St David’s and Laugharne Castle.

 In addition to arranging its own talks, the branch is also co-operating with other bodies. For example, the April talk was organised in conjunction with the Swansea Astronomical Society and the May events were part of Cadw’s Adult Learners’ Week. In June, the branch sponsored not only the South Wales Record Society’s book launch but also the postgraduate summer symposium at Swansea University. In July we organised a talk in conjunction with the Uplands Bookshop, Swansea   

 On Friday 23 July, the branch went on a coach excursion to Wells, organised by Richard Bodenham (our Family History & Heraldry Co-ordinator). The excursion was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who went. Richard is thanked very much for his organising skills, often against the odds. We’re now looking forward to the next excursion.

 October will see our Members’ Anniversary Event. The event will have an attractive social character and will take place at the Mansion House, Swansea, on 27 October. For the Anniversary Lecture, which will be given in November, we are very privileged to have Baron Morgan of Aberdyfi (Kenneth O Morgan) to speak to the branch.

Wells Cathedral