Project Updates

Volunteers and advisors were kept up to date with progress on project in various ways: with emails, with meetings and presentations, with a project blog for a time and with Updates posted on this site. Below are some examples of the updates:

Update October 2019

Many thanks to all the Community Research Volunteers and Advisors who have been so helpful, put in so much time  and brought so much new information to the project. 

We have a series of meetings and updates planned starting on

Wed 30th Oct: 5 - 7 University of South Wales, Artium Building, 86088 Adam Street Cardiff in Rooom CA A118 whe our Jamaican Advisor, Yasus Afari, will be presenting a lecture performance related to this project.

Tues 12th Nov 6.30 for 7 - 9 at Llandegai Church Hall near Bangor

Wed 13th Nov 2pm meeting at Machynllech Library TBC

Wed 13th Nov 6 - 8 at Ty Siamas, Dolgellau when Merfyn Wyn Tomos will make a presentation

Friday 15th Nov 2 - 4 at the Unitarian Church, High Street, Shrewsbury with a focus on th erole of the Shrewsbut=ry Drapers. 

Tues 19th Nov a final session from 6.30 for 7 - 9 at Llandegai Church Hall near Bangor

Wed 20th Nov - possible meeting in Glyn Ceriog Institute TBC

Update August 2019

The Research Review planned with Prof Chris Evans enabled him to meet Community Research Volunteers in Shrewsbury, Dolgellau, Barmouth and Aberwystwyth, where we were hosted by the Royal Communission for a workshop session. The big picture is now coming together and we will start to share our findings here

Update July 2019

The 3 day Conference held at the Museum of Wales, organised by Prof Chris Evans on: "Clothing the Enslaved in the Eighteenth Century Atlantic World" was excellent and 10 of this project's Community Research Volunteers attended and we were able to make a presentation to the academic delegates and speakers from the US and Europe to "pass on the baton" of our current understanding the use of Welsh Plains in this story. The main outcome was the understanding of the scale and complexity of cloth trading at this time.  Unfortunately Conference papers are not available at this time. 

Check out this BBC link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48624937

Slavery: Welsh weavers 'implicated in US slave trade'​ - this is a good article which explains the new research by the University of South Wales are contributing to which has shown the extent of the links between rural mid Wales and the slave trade.

Prof Chris Evans has investigated the overlooked role Montgomeryshire and Merionethshire weavers played in producing clothes for slaves in the Caribbean and British North America.

At the height of the industry, Welsh cottage weavers were exporting almost eight-million yards of woollen cloth a year.