Showcasing Britain From Above - Itea and Biscuits Getting To Grips With Modern Technology

Natasha Scullion, the Britain From Above officer, busy helping visitors access the website. 21 September 2012 at the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

On Friday, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales opened its doors to welcome the participants of the first Itea and Biscuits session. This was a nationwide event devised by Age UK and its counterparts Age Cymru, Age NI and Age Scotland, to help members of the older generation get to grips with modern technology. The week-long event, hosted by various organisations across the country offered a range of sessions focusing on things such as: how to send a text message, how to use a smart phone and how to get the most from the internet.

The Royal Commission decided to join in and offer people the opportunity to get a more in-depth look at one of its online projects. Britain from Above is an online resource, made possible by the partnership of RCAHMW, RCAHM Scotland (RCAHMS) and English Heritage and is currently conserving, digitising and displaying images from the Aerofilms collection. The partnership, using money from the Heritage Lottery Fund bought the entire archive of Aerofilms Ltd, an aerial photography company that had been in operation from 1919 to 2006, and is currently working to preserve the very earliest part of the collection, 1919-1953.

The pictures have been conserved at the archive of English Heritage and their digitised forms are beginning to be made available online. So far the Britain from Above website has over 16,000 images, but by the end of the project, in 2014, all 95,000 images in this part of the collection will be able to be viewed by everyone free of charge.

The Britain From Above website successfully accessed.

Britain from Above is not just for looking at spectacular pictures though, the website is entirely interactive and all users are encouraged to take part, by commenting on images, identifying unlocated images and sharing any local knowledge and reminiscences.

The session on Friday was a taster of just how much the website has to offer. Beginning with a presentation about the project there was a detailed slide show, giving a step-by-step guide to how to use the website and get the most from it. All the features were demonstrated and discussed; showing just how much can be done on the site.

Ten people from the local community came along and joined in; each were given a pack of information about the website and the Royal Commission, including a copy of the step-by-step guide. Armed with a range of computers, from a library desktop to laptops and even an iPad, everyone launched into an exploration of the site. They were all impressed with the range of photographs available so far, especially some of the images of Aberystwyth hosted on the site, and particularly one of the National Library of Wales in 1932, long before it was surrounded by university buildings, this provoked a lively discussion. Visitors commented on how easy the site was to navigate and some people managed to find their home towns the way they had remembered them years previously. Keen to join in, the group made profiles, which enabled them to start accessing all the features  of the site, such as joining groups, commenting and deciding to ‘love’ images - the direct way to draw attention to your favourite image as it becomes part of the homepage show reel for a while!

Once visitors were satisfied they had got to grips with the website they were excited to show it off at home or in a library with other friends,  it was decided everyone had certainly earned their free tea and biscuits!

Discussions in the coffee room were full of what they wanted to find next and who they wanted to show the website off to first. Everyone agreed that it had been a very helpful session to get them acquainted with Britain from Above and they were  all certainly looking forward to exploring more heritage websites in the future.

Subscribe to the Heritage of Wales News and sign up for the full feed RSS, just click this RSS button and subscribe!

Also find us on:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

Y Tu Mewn i’ch Cartref Cymreig

Y Tu Mewn i Gartrefi Cymru - Ystafelloedd Byw

Er eu bod yn llawn o wybodaeth ddifyr am newidiadau mewn amodau byw, ffasiynau, mynegiant unigol a bywydau pobl yn gyffredinol, nid tu mewn cartrefi cyffredin yw prif bwnc ffotograffau yn aml: yn hytrach maent hwy fel rheol yn gefndir i olygfeydd megis prydau bwyd teuluol a phartïon plant. Gyda hyn mewn golwg, ac wedi ein hysbrydoli gan yr arddangosfa Y Tu Mewn i Gartrefi Cymru a gynhelir mewn sawl lle yng Nghymru yn ystod y misoedd nesaf, rydym ni wedi creu nifer o gasgliadau ar wefan Casgliad y Werin: http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk

Mae’r casgliadau’n ymwneud ag ystafelloedd unigol mewn cartrefi Cymreig (ceginau, ystafelloedd byw, ac ati) a’r bwriad yw annog pobl i roi atgofion a ffotograffau o’u cartrefi eu hunain ar y wefan. Y nod yw cynnwys stori pawb yn yr adnodd datblygol hwn ar gyfer hanes Cymru. Edrychwch ar beth mae pobl wedi’i roi ar y wefan eisoes! A oes gennych chi luniau neu atgofion i’w hychwanegu?

Casgliad y Werin Cymru

• Y Tu Mewn i Gartrefi Cymru

Tanysgrifiwch i Newyddion Treftadaeth Cymru a chofrestrwch ar gyfer yr RSS porthiant llawn: cliciwch y botwm RSS hwn a thanysgrifiwch!

Rydym hefyd ar gael ar:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

Inside Your Welsh Home

Inside Welsh Homes - Living Rooms

Despite being full of fascinating information about changes in living conditions, fashions, individual expression and people’s lives generally, the domestic interiors of ordinary homes are not often the main subject of photographs: they are more commonly the incidental backdrop to scenes like family dinners or children’s parties. With that in mind, and inspired by the Inside Welsh Homes exhibition to be held at venues across Wales in the coming months, we’ve created a number of collections on the People’s Collection website:  http://www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk

The collections relate to individual rooms in Welsh homes (kitchens, living rooms etc.) and are intended to encourage people to add memories and photographs of their own homes to the website. The aim is that everyone's story is included in this developing resource for the history of Wales. Have a look at what people have added already! Do you have photos or memories to add? 


People's Collection Wales

• Inside Welsh Homes

Subscribe to the Heritage of Wales News and sign up for the full feed RSS, just click this RSS button and subscribe!
Also find us on:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

Y Tu Ôl i’r Llenni yn Arddangosfa ‘Worktown’

Yn ystod yr wythnos ddiwethaf, mae ein tîm wedi bod yn paratoi rhai o luniadau gwreiddiol Falcon Hildred i’w harddangos yn Amgueddfa Ceunant Ironbridge ym mis Hydref.

Bydd dros 40 o luniadau gwreiddiol yr arlunydd yn cael eu harddangos, gan gynnwys nifer o luniadau sy’n cofnodi tirwedd a diwydiant llechi gogledd Cymru, lle bu’r arlunydd yn byw ers 1969.

Noson Serennog, 1977, Ffordd Manod, Blaenau Ffestiniog.
FHA 01/049, NPRN 305760, © Y Goron: CBHC, Casgliad Falcon Hildred.

Cofnododd Falcon lawer o adeiladau yn nhref lechi ddiwydiannol Blaenau Ffestiniog a’r cyffiniau, gan gynnwys tai Ffordd Manod. Mae’r llun uchod yn dangos y stryd yn y nos, ac mae’n un o weithiau mwyaf atmosfferig yr arlunydd.

Rachael Barnwell, sydd wedi bod yn gweithio mewn partneriaeth â chydweithwyr yng Ngheunant Ironbridge, wrthi’n mesur y fframiau ar gyfer yr arddangosfa.

Mae mynediad i’r arddangosfa yn ddi-dâl a gellir ei gweld yn Oriel Coalbrookdale yn Amgueddfa Ceunant Ironbridge. Bydd ar agor rhwng 10am a 5pm, Dydd Llun i Ddydd Gwener, o 5 Hydref 2012 hyd 20 Ebrill 2013. Ffoniwch 01952 433424 neu ewch i www.ironbridge.org.uk i gael rhagor o fanylion.

Darlleniad Pellach:

• Worktown: the Drawings of Falcon Hildred | Heritage of Wales News
  Bu tîm o guraduron, gwirfoddolwyr ac archifyddion o'r Comisiwn Brenhinol ac Ymddiriedolaeth Amgueddfa Ceunant Ironbridge yn gweithio gyda'i gilydd i baratoi arddangosfa wych newydd o waith yr arlunydd Falcon Hildred ...
   
• Gwaith Celf Diwydiannol Unigryw yn Ennill Cymorth Cronfa ...
  Mae Cronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri wedi dyfarnu £46,700 i Gomisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru i brynu casgliad unigryw o fwy na 600 o luniadau a dyfrlliwiau gwreiddiol gan Falcon Hildred, artist sy'n gweithio yng Nghymru'n ...

Tanysgrifiwch i Newyddion Treftadaeth Cymru a chofrestrwch ar gyfer yr RSS porthiant llawn: cliciwch y botwm RSS hwn a thanysgrifiwch!

Rydym hefyd ar gael ar:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

Behind the Scenes at the ‘Worktown’ Exhibition

In the last week, our team has been preparing some of Falcon Hildred’s original drawings for exhibition at Ironbridge Gorge Museum in October.

Over 40 of the artist’s original drawings are going on display, including a number of drawings recording the slate landscape and industry of north Wales, where the artist has been living since 1969.

Starry Night, 1977, Manod Road, Blaenau Ffestiniog.
FHA 01/049, NPRN 305760 © Crown: RCAHMW, Falcon Hildred Collection.

Falcon recorded many buildings in and around the industrial slate town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, including the houses on Manod Road. The drawing above shows the street at night, and is one of the artist’s more atmospheric works.

Rachael Barnwell, who has been working in partnership with colleagues at Ironbridge Gorge, measures up the exhibition frames.

The free to enter exhibition will be located in the Coalbrookdale Gallery at Ironbridge Gorge Museum, and will be open 10am – 5pm, Monday to Friday from 5th October 2012 to 20 April 2013. Please call 01952 433424 or visit www.ironbridge.org.uk for more details.

Further Reading:

• Worktown: The Drawings of Falcon Hildred | Heritage of Wales News
  A team of curators, volunteers and archivists from the Royal Commission and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust have been working together in preparation for a remarkable new exhibition of the work of artist Falcon Hildred ...
   
• Unique Industrial Artwork Wins Heritage Lottery Fund Support ...
  Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £46,700 to the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales to acquire a unique collection of over 600 original drawings and watercolours by Falcon Hildred, ...
  

Subscribe to the Heritage of Wales News and sign up for the full feed RSS, just click this RSS button and subscribe!

Also find us on:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

New Discoveries Reveal the Hidden Archaeology of Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire

Skokholm Island from the southwest.
Crown Copyright RCAHMW: AP_2011_4456.

Skokholm is a small island half a mile across located off the south western coast of Pembrokeshire, about two miles south of its larger island neighbour Skomer. Using innovative new survey techniques a small team from the Royal Commission has been investigating how people lived and farmed these Pembrokeshire islands in the past – much of the focus has recently been on Skomer, – but now, the fascinating story of Skokholm is beginning to be revealed.

The island is of international importance for its colony of breeding seabirds, first highlighted by the naturalist Ronald Lockley in the 1920s. Lockley’s time on Skokholm provided the inspiration for his book “Dream Island” and in 1933 he established Britain’s first bird observatory. Today the island is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales with whom the Royal Commission has been working. The present accommodation on the island is provided by converted farm buildings that date to at least the beginning of the nineteenth century, but Skokholm’s history goes much further back – at least 5000 years and maybe more!

In the early twentieth century archaeologists recorded flint scatters on the island – probably the waste from the production of flint blades and scrapers by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.  But now, guided by an extraordinary new LiDAR survey of Skokholm, which uses a laser mounted on an aircraft to create a highly detailed terrain model of the island’s ground surface, we’ve been able to reveal the fields and settlements of the Iron Age and Medieval inhabitants and begin to tell their story.

DSM generated LiDAR image of Skokholm (top) and interpretation (bottom).
Copyright Reserved, Environment Agency Geomatics Group; hillshade DSM view generated by RCAHMW.

For instance, in the southwest of the island, LiDAR has shown us the remains of enclosures and fields, some still containing evidence of hand-dug cultivation ridges, underlying the nineteenth century field pattern. Given their similarity to remains found on nearby Skomer, which are likely to be prehistoric, an Iron Age date for this phase of enclosure and cultivation is probable.  However, there is little complexity to their remains and the fields do not appear to have been sub-divided, which suggests that occupation may have been short lived or even seasonal.

The most exciting finds are earthworks discovered near to the nineteenth century farm buildings.  In particular, the LiDAR revealed two large rectangular platforms to the east of the nineteenth century farm.  These were completely unexpected and are likely to represent the remains of a medieval farmstead, long now forgotten and deserted.

Undoubtedly Skokholm still has many more hidden archaeological secrets waiting to be revealed.

Coflein, site details and online images: Skokholm Island.

Subscribe to the Heritage of Wales News and sign up for the full feed RSS, just click this RSS button and subscribe!

Also find us on:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

TG a The a Bisgedi - Cael y gorau o Brydain oddi Fry

Dyddiad y digwyddiad: 2-4pm, Dydd Gwener 21, Medi 2012
Lleoliad: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru,
Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, SY23 1NJ

Sesiwn ddi-dâl yn swyddfeydd y Comisiwn Brenhinol fel rhan o’r digwyddiad Age Cymru, i feithrin eich hyder a’ch sgiliau wrth ddefnyddio’r rhyngrwyd; bydd yn canolbwyntio ar y Prosiect Prydain oddi Fry, casgliad ffotograffig ar-lein o awyrluniau gwych o Gymru, yr Alban a Lloegr a dynnwyd rhwng 1919 a 1953.

Bydd cyflwyniad byr i egluro’r prosiect ac yna cewch gyfle i roi cynnig ar y wefan, gofyn cwestiynau a dysgu sgiliau newydd.

Wedyn bydd te a bisgedi am ddim i bawb sy’n cymryd rhan.
Lleoedd yn gyfyngedig, i drefnu’ch lle cysylltwch â: Natasha.scullion@cbhc.gov.uk

Ffôn: 01970 621245
www.cbhc.gov.uk

Tanysgrifiwch i Newyddion Treftadaeth Cymru a chofrestrwch ar gyfer yr RSS porthiant llawn: cliciwch y botwm RSS hwn a thanysgrifiwch!

Rydym hefyd ar gael ar:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

Itea and Biscuits - Getting the Best of Britain from Above

Event Date: 2-4pm, Friday 21, September 2012
Location: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales,
Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, SY23 1NJ

A free session at the Royal Commission offices as part of the Age Cymru event, to boost confidence and skills when using the internet, the focus will be on the Britain from Above Project, an online aerial photographic collection showcasing spectacular images from Wales, Scotland and England between 1919-1953.

There will a short presentation about the project followed by a have a go session with plenty of opportunity to ask questions and learn new skills.

Free tea and biscuits after the session for all participants.
Places limited, to book please contact; Natasha.scullion@rcahmw.gov.uk

Telephone: 01970 621245
www.rcahmw.gov.uk

Subscribe to the Heritage of Wales News and sign up for the full feed RSS, just click this RSS button and subscribe!

Also find us on:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales

Worktown: the Drawings of Falcon Hildred

Hollt yr Oakeley, 1974
Panorama o derasau chwareli llechi’r Oakeley o’u gweld wrth gyrraedd Blaenau Ffestiniog o’r gogledd dros Fwlch y Gerddinen. Ar y chwith mae tai teras Talwaenydd, a thu hwnt iddynt mae chwareli a melin lechi Llechwedd.
© Y Goron: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru, Casgliad Falcon Hildred,
FHA 01/08/02, NPRN 404307

Bu tîm o guraduron, gwirfoddolwyr ac archifyddion o’r Comisiwn Brenhinol ac Ymddiriedolaeth Amgueddfa Ceunant Ironbridge yn gweithio gyda’i gilydd i baratoi arddangosfa wych newydd o waith yr arlunydd Falcon Hildred a fydd yn agor yn Oriel Coalbrookdale yng nghanol Safle Treftadaeth Byd Ceunant Ironbridge ar y 5ed o Hydref.

Mae Falcon Hildred yn arlunydd hynod ddawnus sydd wedi neilltuo oes o waith i gofnodi adeiladau a thirweddau diwydiant y bedwaredd ganrif a’r bymtheg a’r ugeinfed ganrif. Drwy gofnodi manylion newidiadau technolegol a pheirianyddol a ffordd o fyw sy’n prysur ddiflannu, mae ef wedi creu gweithiau o werth esthetig, hanesyddol a chymdeithasol mawr. Gan weithio mewn partneriaeth ag Ymddiriedolaeth Amgueddfa Ceunant Ironbridge, a chyda chymorth ariannol Cronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri, prynodd y Comisiwn ei gasgliad unigryw o fwy na 600 o luniadau gwreiddiol o adeiladau a thirweddau diwydiannol yn gynharach eleni. Bydd yr arddangosfa yn ei gwneud hi’n bosibl i’r cyhoedd weld y casgliad eiconig hwn am y tro cyntaf.

Fel yr eglura Peter Wakelin, ein Hysgrifennydd, “Mae gwaith oes Falcon Hildred yn gofnod unigryw o ddiwylliant y dosbarth gweithiol ac o dirweddau diwydiannol. Mae’r casgliad yn adnodd gwych i’r sawl sy’n ymddiddori yn y dreftadaeth honno gan fod llawer ohoni wedi diflannu ers i Falcon ei dogfennu. Bydd yr arddangosfa gyntaf hon a’r llyfr sy’n cyd-fynd â hi yn tynnu sylw llawer o bobl at ei waith a’r hanes eithriadol o ddifyr y mae’n ei gynrychioli.”

Meddai Jennifer Stewart, Pennaeth Cronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri yng Nghymru, “Mae Cymru’n enwog ledled y byd am ei threftadaeth ddiwydiannol ac mae caffael y casgliad hwn wedi golygu bod modd rhannu’r gorffennol hwnnw mewn ffordd unigryw. Rydyn ni’n wirioneddol falch bod cynifer o wirfoddolwyr wedi cymryd rhan yn y prosiect a bod cynifer o bobl yn awr yn mynd i gael gweld lluniadau a lluniau dyfrlliw arbennig iawn”.

Cynhelir yr arddangosfa ddi-dâl yn Oriel Coalbrookdale yn Amgueddfa Ceunant Ironbridge a bydd ar agor rhwng 10am a 5pm, Dydd Llun i Ddydd Gwener, o 5 Hydref 2012 hyd 20 Ebrill 2013. Ffoniwch 01952 433424 neu ewch i www.ironbridge.org.uk  i gael rhagor o fanylion.

Carchar Caerdydd, 1986
Comisiynwyd codi Carchar Caerdydd yn sgil barnu nad oedd y carchar cynt yn debyg o fod yn ddigon mawr i gymryd yr holl garcharorion wrth i’r dref ddiwydiannol ehangu’n gyflym. Agorwyd y carchar newydd ddiwedd 1832 ac yr oedd ynddo le i wyth deg o garcharorion ac ugain o ddyledwyr
© Y Goron: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru, Casgliad Falcon Hildred,
FHA 02/66, NPRN 3072

Tanysgrifiwch i Newyddion Treftadaeth Cymru a chofrestrwch ar gyfer yr RSS porthiant llawn: cliciwch y botwm RSS hwn a thanysgrifiwch!

Rydym hefyd ar gael ar:
Twitter Hashtag: #RCAHMWales