A valuable resource for genealogists and maritime historians alike has recently been made available on-line on the Library’s Full Catalogue. The Aberystwyth Shipping Records contain crew accounts and agreements (generally known as crew lists) and logbooks, together with associated papers … Continue reading →

This month sees the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first part of a report into the state of Britain’s railways written by Richard Beeching and commonly called the Beeching Report. This report called for a drastic reduction in … Continue reading →

Last month saw the two-hundredth anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Whilst Austen (1775-1817) is surely as popular in Wales as elsewhere, it’s fair to say her Welsh connections are few and far between. Therefore it … Continue reading →

Two Library volunteers describe their recent experience of working as trained demonstrators during guided-tours of the Conservation Studio, where the medieval Boston Manuscript, purchased with HLF funding, is in the process of being re-bound: Sam Shaw: “When the project with … Continue reading →

David Lloyd George was born at Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, the son of William and Elizabeth George, on 17 January 1863.  This year, therefore, marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.  Although his background was by no means privileged, and he attended … Continue reading →

2012 is the bicentenary of Lady Charlotte Guest’s birth. She settled in Wales in 1833 on marrying John Guest, Dowlais ironmaster. Remembered for her pioneer translation into English of the medieval Welsh tales, ‘The Mabinogion’, Charlotte was also an educator, … Continue reading →

In a recent Welsh-language blog, we reported that the Library’s newly-acquired manuscript of the Laws of Hywel Dda had been disbound and repaired, ready for digitisation. An accompanying English-language blog by Professor Paul Russell of Cambridge University describes the same … Continue reading →

The poet Edward Thomas met one of the strangest deaths of the First World War.  On Easter Monday 1917, on the first morning of the Battle of Arras, a stray German shell passed so close to him that the rush … Continue reading →

Every now and again unexpected treasures which have accumulated over the years surprise and mesmerize staff and readers alike. I recently came across a single intricately embroidered leather gauntlet enclosed in an oval wooden case. A plaque in the box … Continue reading →

Our local supermarket is now full of Christmas chocolate, a reminder that another year will soon draw to a close. 2013 will be followed by 2014 and with it the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. Some … Continue reading →