Wales has a distinctive heritage and culture along with a growing sense of nationhood. Some aspects of that heritage are under threat. Places of worship – especially the non-conformist chapels – are being turned into holiday homes, historic schools are being replaced by ‘sustainable’ alternatives, pristine upland archaeology faces being swamped by tree-planting as a carbon-mitigation measure, and maritime archaeology is at risk from large-scale wind farms.
Fortunately, there is a progressive and hard-working organisation based in Aberystwyth that works to mitigate these problems. The Royal Commission, which Sherds has the privilege to lead, records places of worship and their interiors ahead of their redevelopment. We supply historic environment data, gathered over our 115-year history, to planners so that they can avoid damaging upland archaeology and historic wrecks. We lead the Welsh heritage sector’s response to climate change based on our EU-funded CHERISH project (see CA 324). We compiled the dossier of evidence that resulted in the award of World Heritage status to the Welsh slate industry (see CA 379). We are currently engaged in a much-praised community archaeology project to investigate the history of Pendinas, one of the most-impressive hillforts in Wales.
The Commission has integrated intangible history into its work, and is busy recording the lived experience of Ugandan Asians who found sanctuary in Wales after having been expelled by Idi Amin in 1972. This widely admired project has the potential to be the first of many celebrating the contribution of diaspora communities to the social, economic, and cultural life of the nation. We have encouraged young people to engage with Welsh culture through our Unloved Heritage project, and we help to sustain the Welsh language through our historic place-names list, which is used by local authorities for naming new streets as well as housing, industrial, and shopping estates. We are working with the Foundation for Jewish Heritage to reconstruct the original appearance of the synagogue in Merthyr and to turn it into a Heritage Centre presenting the centuries-old history of the Jewish community of Wales (see CA 376).
