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Our latest publication is The Middleman at Middleton Hall: The Letters of Thomas Herbert Cooke, Land Agent in Rebecca's Carmarthenshire, 1841-1847, edited by Lowri Ann Rees.

Thomas Herbert Cooke was land agent on the Middleton Hall estate. His employment and life in south-west Wales are chronicled in a series of letters which provide fascinating insights into the role of the land agent, the management of a landed estate, and life and work in 1840s south-west Wales, revealing the impressions and attitudes of a newcomer to the local area. Cooke writes frankly of his employer, his duties, his impressions of the estate, the locality and its people. Significantly, his time in south-west Wales coincided with the height of the Rebecca Riots and his letters capture in detail the sense of fear and uncertainty within the community.

find out more about it and buy your copy here.

Our 2020 volume, A Gower Gentleman: the Diary of Charles Morgan of Cae Forgan, Llanrhidian, 1834-1857, has an important extra feature. Because we consider the original diaries on which the book is based to be such an important historical resource, we have made them available online in their entirety, in transcription.
Find out more here...

Additionally, in this short film, the editors talk about the original diaries and the man who wrote them.

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The Annual Lecture, 2020

In an exceptional year, we had to do things differently. 2020's annual lecture was delivered online and it is here for you to enjoy. The subject is A disability history of the South Wales Coalfield, delivered by Dr Steven Thompson, Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Welsh History at Aberystwyth University.