Latest news with #NationalLibraryofWales
Cambrian News
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Cambrian News
Artist donates rare 1960s cartoons to National Library of Wales
Morfudd Bevan, National Library of Wales Art Curator said: 'David Griffiths has always been a great supporter of the National library, and we are tremendously proud to house a comprehensive collection of the artist's portraits within our National Art Collection. These cartoons will be a priceless addition to our collection of Welsh illustrators' artistic works which are housed within our archives.'
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Great Bibles reunited at Aberystwyth library for exhibition
Unique copies of the Great Bibles of Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell have been reunited for the first time in nearly 500 copies, made in 1538-9, were printed on parchment and carefully hand-coloured by Europe's finest artists and was the first authorised edition in Cromwell was a strong supporter of religious reform and these Bibles were commissioned by him as part of the campaign to convince the have gone on display as part of the Treasures exhibition in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, in what has been called "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity". Hidden in Plain Sight is a project that employs a range of technologies, from 3D microscopy to DNA analysis, which show for the first time how ancient books were used and has revealed different layers to illustrations with deliberate modifications that were changed due to the political developments of the time. The project has revealed Cromwell had his portrait painted and pasted into the title page of the St John's copy – a move expertly hidden for opening title page was further manipulated to gain Henry's support by altering an image of a courtly woman to resemble Jane Seymour, Henry's beloved and recently deceased, on the project said these discoveries raises more questions about how the Bibles were made, with Dr Harry Spillane adding that technology was revealing more about the books to this said: "Although these books have been around for 500 years, it's only with new technologies that we have been able to see all of the changes that have been made underneath."We can see that bits of paper have been pasted on, or often multiple layers glued on as a more perfect design is completed."And seeing them side by side helps people understand how, even 500 years ago, changes are being made to images in ways that build on discussions we are having today about deep fakes and AI. People's faces are changing, images are moving around." Although the text is almost identical in both bibles, the illustrations vary much Suzanne Paul from Cambridge University Library said the technology being used enabled specialists to learn more about "the archaeology of the bibles"."We know particular workshops that were doing work for the royals and by analysing the different pigments in the book to other paintings and books from this time we can potentially find out where the bibles were made," she added."The artists might not have left their physical signature, but they might have left their chemical signature in the book for us to find."Henry VIII ordered copies of the Great Bible to be distributed to every parish in England and Wales, which was the catalyst for translating the Bible into Welsh in 1588, known as the William Morgan's Bible. Maredudd ap Huw, curator of manuscripts at library, said the exhibition was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".He added: "These two Bibles are not going to be brought together again for a long time."There is a golden opportunity on a historical level to see two milestones in the history of England and Wales during the Tudor period. Without the English Bible, the Welsh language would not be spoken today."The exhibition is open until 22 November.
Cambrian News
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cambrian News
Celebrating Margaret Jones at National Library of Wales
Join Margaret's son Mark and book illustrators Peter Stevenson and Valériane Leblond for an English language event at Aberystwyth's National Library of Wales on 20 June (5pm). Hear about her home life, her work in an international context, and an appraisal of children's books today.
Wales Online
08-06-2025
- Wales Online
Hidden railway exposed by tide at popular Welsh beach
Hidden railway exposed by tide at popular Welsh beach Low tides have revealed the ghostly remnants of a railway line A section of old rail track uncovered but still submerged (Image: Sheila Rosemary Stephenson ) As the tide slips away, the sands of Barmouth beach in Gwynedd reveal a haunting spectacle: the ghostly skeleton of an old railway line, stretching out across the shore as if travelling out to sea. Rusted wheels and axles, long hidden beneath layers of silt, have emerged alongside narrow bands of iron track, now gently rusting on the sand. This eerie scene on Barmouth beach in Gwynedd is reminiscent of the Welsh legend of the submerged kingdom of Cantre'r Gwaelod in Cardigan Bay. Unlike the kingdom's bells, which are said to still ring beneath the surface, Barmouth's mysterious beach railway remains eerily silent, save for the sounds of the seashore. It's believed that this track has remained hidden on the beach for over a century. In recent years, it's been occasionally exposed by shifting sand patterns on a coastline that's constantly evolving. The old railway tracks are thought to be a legacy of the resort's rapid expansion in the 19th century (Image: Sheila Rosemary Stephenson ) There have been several theories proposed to explain the existence of the railway. Some speculate it was an historic lifeboat launch site, while others suggest it was a ramp for bringing fishing ships ashore for repairs. As far as anyone knows, the tracks end at the low tide line, so disappointingly, they're unlikely to be part of a long-lost smuggling route from Ireland, as commonly supposed, reports North Wales Live. Article continues below It's often imagined that these narrow-gauge tracks were installed to move Edwardian bathing machines up and down the beach – the idea being to preserve the modesty of ladies taking to the waters. Historical sketches from the mid-19th century confirm that Barmouth did have these machines, but they were never on tracks. Instead, horses are depicted hauling the huts to the water's edge. Sketch by William Home Lizars from around 1845 showing the seafront in Barmouth and visiting families enjoying leisure time on the beach. Bathing machines can be seen lined up by the sea, drawn there by horses, not rail tracks (Image: National Library of Wales/Wiki ) A significant amount of construction was carried out on the beach after the resort's promenade was severely damaged by the Great Storm of 1928. Photos from the time show the entire seafront transformed into a massive building site, with steam-powered machinery doing much of the heavy lifting. In 1930, iron tracks were laid along the promenade to remove debris, and more on the beach for the construction of a new wave-return wall. A plausible conclusion is that the railway tracks seen today are remnants from that period of intense building activity. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here However, this theory has been dismissed by Barmouth historian Hugh Griffth Roberts, who believes there's a rather more mundane explanation. Ironically, the existence of the beach railway may owe much to the arrival of rail travel in the mid-19th century. For centuries, Barmouth was a crucial port serving the woollen, slate and herring sectors in Meirionnydd. It also had a ship-building industry that stretched up along the majestic Mawddach Estuary. A pair of rusting iron wheels poke up from the water's edge (Image: Sheila Rosemary Stephenson ) Despite the poor roads of the times, by the 1750s the port town was already attracting affluent tourists drawn by its location between the sea and the 'romantic' landscapes of Eryri. Visitors included the likes of William Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and Charles Darwin. The unveiling of Cambrian Railways' new coastal line to Barmouth in 1867 significantly changed the town's fortune, with the Barmouth Heritage Trail highlighting a substantial tourism and building boom as a result. The heritage site states: "When the first train arrived some 1,200 passengers got off and the town was barely ready!" With tourism came fresh challenges, including increasing incidents of drunkenness that led to the construction of a modest lock-up during that period. A particularly unpleasant problem also arose — the disposal of waste from the burgeoning guesthouse industry. The heritage trail's solution to this issue involved the construction of a sewage holding tank at the north end of the beach in 1890. This allowed for waste to be released into the sea during high tide through a long cast-iron pipe. While discharging into the sea was common practice then and continues to some degree today, Barmouth modernised its wastewater management in 1987 by replacing and burying the old discharge pipe under the beach. Moreover, a new sewage treatment plant and pumping station were established. It is believed that rail tracks visible on the beach today were originally used for laying down the Victorian discharge pipe, which may have been left there to become buried over time, re-emerging more than a hundred years later. Article continues below
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
National Library of Wales missing 2,200 items
About 2,200 items are missing at the National Library of Wales - an increase of 84% in two years. Among the archives and manuscripts missing are deeds of 13th Century Powis Castle, and "rolls" and "pedigree" documents from Gwrych Castle in Abergele, Conwy county, which twice hosted ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Among missing books are the history of the national library building itself in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, by Daniel Huws, and books by George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf. The library is creating a new "collection care" department and is currently recruiting a head of the department, as well as a head of unique collections. The number unaccounted for is significantly higher than the 1,200 items that were missing when BBC Wales gained figures through a Freedom of Information request in September 2023. A spokesperson said the increase is due to "new stock checking processes". The library is a legal deposit library, which means it is entitled to a copy of every print publication in Britain and Ireland, and no items are allowed to be taken from the building. Of the 2,206 missing items, the request under the latest Freedom of Information Act by BBC Wales showed that: 1,708 books and magazines are missing, some since 1999 393 maps, some since 1939 82 in the "archives and manuscripts" category, some since 1978 21 "screen and sound" items, some since 2019 two items in the "pictures and photographs" category, one since 2009 and the other since 2023 Missing archives include papers of J Glyn Davies whose songs for children include Cerddi Huw Puw (1923), which are based on sailors' songs he had heard during his youth. These have been described as bearing "the marks of a genius". Also missing are papers relating to Chirk Castle near Wrexham, the construction of which began around 1295 during the reign of Edward I. Missing sound recordings include the satirical song "Carlo" by Dafydd Iwan which was written for the investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969, and a recording by Treorchy Male Choir. Missing journals include issues of the library's own journal, Welsh History Review, Flintshire Historical Society, Gwent Local History and The Carmarthen Historian. Missing books cover topics from Owain Glyndŵr, the last native-born Welshman to claim the title Prince of Wales, to a biography of Keir Hardie, the first parliamentary leader of the Labour party. An 1818 edition of 'The Pleasures of Imagination' by Mark Akenside is missing, as is Lady Charlotte Schreiber's journals (1911), the "confidences" of a collector of ceramics and antiques. A book by Phil Thompson and Tommy Smith called "Do That Again Son, and I'll Break Your Legs: Football's Hardmen" is also not accounted for. Missing maps include a malt whisky map of Scotland, and several maps relating to Gogerddan, the principal estate of the old county of Cardiganshire in the 17th century. The library's head of communications, Rhodri ap Dyfrig, said that staff had "introduced new stock checking processes for published collections and therefore we fully expected that there would be an increase in the items recorded as not being in their correct location". He added: "The thorough process of monitoring of misplaced items takes place continuously and these checks are a normal and integral part of maintaining standards and good practice in the library sector. "Due to this constant monitoring and work, the data we provide is a snapshot of a specific period in time, and this figure fluctuates regularly as items are found and relocated." The library carries out an annual audit of items worth more than £10,000 and no missing items that cross that threshold were found over the last year. The library's collections include seven million books and newspapers, 1.5 million maps and 950,000 photographs located across 160 miles of shelves. The Welsh government said: "The care and management of its collections is a matter for the National Library. "In doing so, it meets the Archive Service Accreditation – the UK-wide standard for archive services." Wales' national library can't find 1,200 items Peace petition from 1923 returns to Wales from US 'Devil's shawl' painting to remain in Wales
