The paper reports on three epochs of bridge building in Wales. The first period, from Roman times to the start of the Industrial Revolution, was dominated by the use of local materials (stone and timber) by local craftsmen. The second period was an integral part of the Industrial Revolution when new bridge building materials (cast iron, wrought iron and steel) were developed and used in the construction of canal and railway bridges. The third period was associated with the growth of traffic following World War II when concrete and steel became the dominant bridge building materials during the development of the trunk roads and motorways. The paper shows, in simple terms, the fundamental structural engineering developments underpinning these developments as new materials became available for bridge building. In particular, the evolvement of various beam cross-sections, tubes and trusses is discussed. Attention is also given to the significant contribution of four world-renowned bridge builders: William Edwards who built the famous arch bridge at Pontypridd; Thomas Telford who built the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Menai Suspension Bridge; Robert Stephenson who built tubular bridges at Conway and over the Menai Straits and I. K. Brunel who built the unique Chepstow Railway Bridge and the railway timber viaduct at Landore, Swansea. Finally, the paper draws attention to some of the unique bridges of Wales.
Building Wales's bridges, Ben Barr (2008)
Oes yn y Wladfa (1985)
Sgwrs ag Elias Garmon Owen a dreuliodd dri chwarter canfrif ym Mhatagonia, a chyfle i rannu rhai o'i brofiadau yno ac yn Nyffryn Conwy ei ieuenctid. ITV Cymru, 1985. Oherwydd rhesymau hawlfraint bydd angen cyfrif Coleg Cymraeg i wylio rhaglenni Archif S4C. Mae modd ymaelodi ar wefan y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol i gael cyfrif.
The Natural Law Ethics of John Duns Scotus: does it have ‘Welsh’ connections?
It is argued that John Duns Scotus’s treatment of concrete moral topics such as slavery, inheritance and marriage exhibits characteristics of medieval Welsh laws. This is explicable by the latter’s closeness to the ancient Brythonic laws of Scotland. Their commonalities explain John Duns Scotus’s attitude to these topics and the use he makes of natural law theory alongside the Book of Genesis to defend his viewpoints. The inference is made that his aim was to develop a critical account of the natural law which could defend the ideal of the ancient Brythonic laws of Scotland against Anglo-Norman hostility.
Sir John Prise: Mediaevalist or Humanist?
Sir John Prise (1501/2‒1555), of Brecon, was among the most influential servants of the Crown in Wales and the Marches at a time of great political and religious change. He was also one of the first among the Welsh to respond positively to some of the new cultural and intellectual emphases connected with the Renaissance. This article discusses the tension between, on the one hand, Prise’s learning and humanist outlook and, on the other hand, his attachment to the popular account of the history of Britain presented by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century, an account that was largely rejected by the Italian Polydore Vergil in a work first published in the 1530s.
Historical climate: The potential of Wales’s documentary sources
With the uncertainty of climate change, reconstructions from parameteorological and phenological records provide a strong basis for the analysis of past and present climate. However, very little research has been completed on the historical climate of Wales, which is variable throughout the country due to factors such as topography and atmospheric circulation. This is particularly so for west Wales, which has a diverse range of environments from the upland ‘green desert’ to the fertile coastal plains, where an extensive history may potentially be reconstructed from un-tapped documentary resources. The potential is immense as possible sources of meteorological information include all religious, official and personal documentation, which may provide an insight into the relationship between the Welsh and the weather.
Coffáu’r Rhyfel Mawr yng Nghymru – seminar gyda'r Athro Syr Deian Hopkin
Yr Athro Syr Deian Hopkin yn siarad â myfyrwyr ar 20 Mawrth 2014 ynglŷn â sut i goffáu’r Rhyfel Mawr yng Nghymru yn ystod canmlwyddiant dechrau'r rhyfel.
Cyflwyniad yr Athro Gareth Williams ar ysgrifau sydd wedi dylanwadu arno
Mae'r Athro Gareth Williams yn hanesydd disglair, yn arbenigo ar ddiwylliant poblogaidd yng Nghymru yn y 19eg a'r 20fed ganrif. Mae bellach yn Athro Emeritws Prifysgol De Cymru. Yma, mewn darlith a draddododd ym Mhrifysgol Abertawe ar 17 Ebrill 2013, mae'n trafod pa ysgrifau sydd wedi dylanwadu ar ei yrfa.
Cyfraith Hywel Dda
Dyma'r man cychwyn ar gyfer darganfod mwy am Gyfraith Hywel neu system gyfreithiol Cymru yn yr oesoedd canol. Ariannwyd datblygiad y wefan gan y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol.
Principle and propaganda: the Franco regime and the Rhos Choir
This article examines a Welsh choir’s visit to Franco’s Spain at the invitation of the Francoist organisation Educación y Descans (Education and Leisure). At first the invitation sparked a debate in the local press on the principles of travelling to a country that was at the time shunned by the international community. The choir itself came from an area which had provided volunteers for the international brigades, but which was also co-incidentally involved with the establishment of an international music festival in the name of peace and understanding. The article examines the account of the choir’s journey to Spain, and discusses how the image of the Franco regime is portrayed in that account. The article also analyses to what extent the choir’s visit was used as propaganda by Franco as his foreign policy shifted with the advent of the Cold War.
‘A new world where justice dwells’: Morgan John Rhys’ (1760–1804) vision
In this article it is argued how Morgan John Rhys’ (1760–1804) belief in the Second Coming and Millennium influenced his participation in the campaign to abolish slavery, the French Revolution and America. It is shown how Millenarianism was a force that shaped Morgan John Rhys’ worldview and influenced his social action and campaigns. Also, it is shown how William Williams, Pantycelyn (1717–91), preceded Morgan John Rhys in this context. My argument, with comparative reference to Williams and Rhys, is that Evangelicalism and the Enlightenment were not intellectual enemies, and that Millenarianism was one of the most important driving forces in the lives of these two men, who were integral to the life of eighteenth century Wales.
Y Meddwl Modern: Marx – Howard Williams
An illustration of the life of Karl Marx: his ideas, the roots of his philosophy and his influence on the world.
Y Meddwl Modern: Durkheim – Huw Morris Jones
Emile Durkheim was the first to hold a university chair in sociology, and his ideas remain of fundamental importance to all who want to understand the origins of the subject. He adopted the image of society as an organism, each part of which has a particular role to play in ensuring the well-being of the whole body. His ideas include an analysis of the social origins of religion, in particular the suggestion that any religious worship is 'worship of society'; its emphasis on what he called 'anomie' as the root of dispute and unrest in the life of an individual and society; and his original and important study of suicide as a social phenomenon. His influence is seen in fields as diverse as criminology on the one hand and literary criticism on the other.