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Meetings and Events

The Cambrians’ Summer Meetings are justly famous for their combination of intellectual rigour and bonhomie and have even been the subject of a memoir Out with the Cambrians! The week-long meeting in the summer has now been joined by an autumn weekend and, every other year, by an easter conference. The aim is to establish a comfortable base and explore the historic sites of all periods in the region under expert guidance, covering all parts of Wales and occasionally venturing into England, Ireland and Europe. The weekends tend to be more concentrated in scope, usually pursuing a single topic, while the Conferences provide the opportunity to discuss academic issues of the moment.

'Out with the Cambrians’ – a visit to Strata Florida in 1847

A Cambrian’s visit to Rouen in Northern France



MEETINGS FOR 2010

This coming year is a three-meeting year with an Easter Conference in Oxford, our summer meeting in Canterbury with our new President, the Bishop of St David’s, and an autumn weekend back home in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Easter Conference: Wales and Oxford April 9th -11th 2010

Lacking a medieval university, Welsh scholars were inevitably drawn to the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and especially to Oxford where in the 17th century Jesus College was founded as a particular centre for them. This weekend conference will be based at Jesus College in the very centre of the town so we will be living right at the focal point of what we will be discussing.

We have been lucky to have some very well-known Welsh scholars in Oxford today to lecture to us, from the Regius Professor of History to the Professor of Celtic, and some very notable alumni of Jesus College itself. The programme has had to be selective – we will not be discussing Edward Lhuyd, perhaps the most famous Welshman in Oxford’s history, because he has been so recently celebrated by a conference in Aberystwyth – but we will be looking at the lives of other 16th century scholars and at the effect that 19th century developments in Oxford had upon certain aspects of Welsh life. We will also be examining two areas of where Oxford scholarship impacted on the understanding of Welsh culture in a very significant way. The Oxford colleges owned and managed a good deal of land in Wales and we hope to open up that area of research which we judge is at present an untapped resource. We will be ending with a talk on The Dafydd, the highly influential Welsh cultural (and social) society founded by OM Edwards at the end of the 19th century which had a major impact on the development of 20th century Welsh. Appropriately it will be given by the compiler of the most recent dictionary – Dr Bruce Griffiths.

On the Friday and Saturday afternoons there will be an opportunity to visit the city of Oxford, the other colleges, chapels and churches, libraries and museums. The Ashmolean Museum has recently reopened after a major refurbishment. It contains several notable Welsh finds and is only five minutes walk from Jesus College. We will have a special visit to the Bodleian Library to see the important Welsh manuscripts there.

Places for 50 people have been reserved at the College in Turl Street (01865 279700). All rooms are the same cost: £270.00 for the whole weekend, full board from dinner on Friday to tea before you leave on Sunday. All rooms are single rooms but 6 are grouped into ‘sets’ sharing a sitting room. There are 11 rooms with full en suite facilities; 28 share a shower and lavatory between two (semi-en suite) and 15 have a washbasin but share a communal bathroom (standard). There are 7 rooms on the ground floor. This is not a five star hotel, but it is redolent of history! There is no parking at the college but there are good buses from external car parks and from the station, but there is a short walk from the edge of the traffic-free zone to the college.

CAA Easter Conference Oxford 9-11th April 2010

Base: Jesus College, Turl Street, Oxford OX1 3DW 01865 279700

Cost for the full period of the conference £270.00 + conference fee (£25.00) = £295.00.
All costs are to be paid to Cambrian Archaeological Association (see booking form). Please book as soon as possible (and certainly before March 1st) especially if you want a ground-floor room or other special arrangements which will be made on a ‘first come first served’ basis.

Friday April 9th
Assemble in Jesus College 3.00pm for a short tour of Oxford churches and chapels (Edward Lhuyd plaque in St Michael’s church, the oldest building in Oxford) etc
Dinner 7.00pm
Lecture 1 Prof Robert Evans : Wales and Oxford : an over view

Saturday April 10th
Morning 9.00 am Lecture 2 Tony Carr : Welshmen in medieval Oxford
10 -10.30 am Coffee
Lecture 3 Daniel Huws : Welsh Manuscripts in Oxford
Visit to Bodleian to see Welsh manuscripts
Lunch 1.00 - 2.00 pm
Afternoon 2.10 Lecture 4 Brynley Jones : The New Oxford: 16th and 17th centuries

Free in Oxford (Ashmolean or tour of city centre etc.)

5.30pm Lecture 5 John Morgan Guy : Oxford Movement and its effect in Wales
Dinner 7.00 pm
Free after dinner

Sunday April 11th
Time for church services Coffee at 10.00am
Lecture 6 Tom Charles-Edwards, Heather James and Edna Dale- Jones : Jesus College estates in Wales
Lecture 7 Huw Pryce : Oxford historians of Wales
Lunch 12.30 - 1.30
Afternoon 2.00 pm Lecture 8 Tom Charles-Edwards : History of Celtic Studies in Oxford
Lecture 9 Bruce Griffiths: The Dafydd Society

Disperse about 4.30 - 5.00pm, after tea

Printable booking form in PDF format




157th SUMMER MEETING: CANTERBURY & EAST KENT
Sunday 18th July – Saturday 24th July

Domestic Arrangements
The accomodation and lectures will be at the University of Kent, Canterbury. A provisional booking of 50 single en-suite rooms in Becket Court on the campus has been made from Sunday 18th July to Friday 23rd July inclusive. There are a few double rooms to be allocated on a 'first-come, first-served' basis. Lectures will be held on campus.

The accommodation rates are B & B in single en-suite rooms at £35.75 per night; 6 nights (Sunday-Friday) £214.50. Breakfast and dinner is available in Rutherford Dining Hall (self service but with an area reserved for Cambrians). A three course dinner costs £10.50, a two course £9.00 so please indicate your preference on the booking form. Meal tickets will be issued on arrival.

A formal dinner will be held on Wednesday 21st in the Darwin Conference Suite following a Reception to be hosted by the Association to which a small number of distinguished guests will be invited. The costs of the Reception and the Association’s hospitality to the invited guests will come out of the Registration Fee. Members are welcome to book for a guest of their own. The dinner will cost about £25 plus wine (own arrangements at the bar before the meal). After the dinner, the incoming President, the Right Revd J. Wyn Evans, Bishop of St Davids, will give his Presidential Address.
The University campus is a short bus ride from Canterbury city centre and its railway or coach station. Members coming by car will have free parking on campus for the week. Two days out of the five will be based in Canterbury and members will be able to make their own way into the city to the rendezvous point using the frequent campus-city bus service which leaves from just outside Becket Court. These bus fares are not included in the booking fee.

We plan to make an early start on Monday morning hence arrival by Sunday evening is recommended. Departure will be after breakfast on Saturday morning. A coach has been hired for the other three days. Priority will be given to those booking for the whole week as the Association has had to guarantee, and pay, a non-returnable deposit in advance, for our block booking.


Programme for the Week
Ecclesiastical history and architecture will be a major theme with visits planned to Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals, also St Augustine’s Abbey and the early church of St Martin close by. These are of course key sites in the origins of Christianity in England and Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Communion world-wide.

Urban history will be another theme and we will devote two mornings to walking tours of Canterbury itself –a Roman town (Durovernum Cantiacorum) as well as a medieval city. A tremendous amount of excavation has taken place in Canterbury and it is appropriate that our guide on two days and lecturer for one evening will be Paul Bennett, Director of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. Another town where we will have a guided walk is Sandwich, one of the medieval Cinque Ports. These will not be strenuous walks.


A flavour of the sea will be gained when we view the Bronze Age Dover Boat, Dover Harbour from the Castle, and the seafront, and beach of the fishing town of Deal with the remarkable Timeball Museum. Keith Parfitt of Canterbury Archaeological Trust will talk to us about the Dover Boat.

There is simply not enough time to visit both Walmer and Deal Castles so a choice is offered – Walmer Castle is the official residence of the Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports and is fully furnished – HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother loved staying there during her long tenure of the office. The Duke of Wellington was a Lord Warden and the bedroom in which he died in 1852 is preserved. The castle gardens are another attraction (and its tea room). So this is a less strenuous option than Deal, although walking distances at Deal are short and on the level. The coach will drop Party A off at Walmer Castle and then proceed to Deal. Deal Castle is a perfect example of Henry VIII’s new concentric coastal castles and we will have a guide and also enjoy the interactive display. A stroll along the sea front will take-in the distinctive beach-launched fishing boats and a view of the famous anchorage of The Downs. The Time Ball museum will appeal to connoisseurs of small, quirky private museums and is housed in a former semaphore tower now surmounted by a large metal ball on a pole which was and is dropped at exactly 1 pm each day, indicating the time to shipping in the offing.

Our visit to Chatham Historic Dockyard will further develop the maritime, and naval themes and the Achilles Room at the Royal Dockyard Museum has been hired for a simple lunch and talk.

The Roman dimension will be explored with a visit to The Painted Roman House in Dover as well as Richborough Roman fort. Coastal defence – of all periods - will be a theme to be explored at Dover Castle, also Walmer and Deal castles built by Henry VIII. The Great Keep at Dover Castle has recently been completely renovated by English Heritage with exciting new state-of-the art displays on the medieval court of Henry II. The acclaimed Secret World War II Tunnels tour takes us deep into the White Cliffs in the key years of the Battle of Britain.

Cambrians who are not already members of Heritage in Wales (Cadw) are urged to join as they will make considerable savings on entry to English Heritage sites (Dover, Deal & Walmer Castles, St Augustine’s Abbey, Richborough Roman Fort).

Bookings for accommodation and events will all be through our Secretary, Heather James, who is organising the event together with our member Dr Anthony Ward, Master of Keynes College, University of Kent. She will be back from New Zealand on 20th January and then contactable by post, phone or email. Please remember that members are responsible for their own travel and cancellation insurance.

At the time of writing the programme is still subject to some minor changes.

SUMMER MEETING PROGRAMME 2010

Monday 19th July : Canterbury city & cathedral.
9.30 am: assemble at Canterbury Bus Station for a guided walk (leader Paul Bennett) including Canterbury Museum and the medieval hospital of St Thomas
12.45- 13.45: Lunch: own arrangements.
2 pm: guided tour of Canterbury cathedral and precincts.
7 pm: Dinner (same time each night) followed by:
8 pm: Evening lecture by John Williams, recently retired Kent County Archaeologist.

Tuesday 20th July: Dover Museums & Castle
9 .00 am departure by coach to Dover Museum to view the Dover Boat (talk by Keith Parfitt), coffee and visit to the nearby Roman Painted House.
12.30: transport by coach to Dover Castle for lunch
2-3 pm: Group A Tour of Secret World War II tunnels
Group B Tour of the Great Keep
3-4 pm : Group A Great Keep / Group B WW II tunnels
4-4.30: short talk on Roman pharos (lighthouse) & transit via land train to coach.
7 pm: Dinner
8 pm: Public Lecture by Paul Bennett, Director of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust :
An Overview of the Archaeology of Roman and Medieval Canterbury.

Wednesday 21st July: Canterbury city & St Augustine’s Abbey.
9.30 am: assemble at Canterbury Bus Station for a guided walk (leader Paul Bennett) which will include the Roman Museum.
12.30-1.30: lunch (own arrangements)
1.30-4 pm St Augustine’s Abbey & St Martin’s Church
6-7 pm: Reception, followed by formal dinner and
Presidential Inauguration & Address.

Thursday 22nd July: Richborough, Sandwich, Deal & Walmer.
9 am departure by coach to Richborough Roman Fort for guided tour.
11.15 walk Sandwich Quay to Guildhall – 2 groups for Guildhall /Guildhall Museum.
12.30-1.30: Lunch (own arrangements).
1.30-2.30 – guided walk in Sandwich medieval buildings & town.
3 pm – 5 pm Group A – Walmer Castle, – guided tours of Castle & Garden available.
Group B Deal Castle, beach view of the Goodwin Sands & Downs Timeball Museum & Deal Pier & seafront.
7 pm dinner, followed by AGM at 8 pm.

Friday 23rd July: The Medway Towns: Rochester & Chatham.
9 am: departure by coach for the Historic Dockyard, Chatham splitting into 2 groups for alternating tours of The Ropery and the Wooden Walls followed by a short talk and
a light lunch (pre-booked) in the Achilles Room in the Dockyard Museum.
2.30 – 5. 30 pm Guided tour of Rochester cathedral – visit to Rochester Castle and perambulation back to the coach via Rochester Bridge, short talk by Paul Oldham, (Bridge Warden) & private view of Bridge chapel. (time for tea if wished in Cathedral Refectory, leaving out visit to Castle).
7 (ish) dinner – followed by social evening in the Bar.

Printable booking form in PDF format

 


VALE OF GLAMORGAN
Autumn Meeting 24th – 26th September 2010

The Accommodation, food and lectures will be at the Best Western Heronston Hotel, Ewenny Road, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, CF35 5AW (Tel 01656 668811). Members should book their accommodation directly with the hotel, mentioning that it is a group booking in respect of the Cambrian Archaeological Association.

The group rates for dinner, bed, breakfast and use of leisure facilities including swimming pool are:
Double/twin £50 per person per night
Single occupancy £64 per person per night
Members can stay Sunday night at the same rate.
For non-residents dinner is £19.95 including coffee for a three-course meal and £16.95 for a two-course meal.

The hotel is south of Bridgend on the road to Ogmore by Sea.
Members travelling by car should leave the motorway at Junction 35 following the signs for Bridgend and Porthcawl (A473), go straight over four roundabouts (including the mini-roundabout) resulting in following the A48 to Porthcawl. At the fifth roundabout take the first exit signposted to Llantwit Major and Ogmore by Sea (B4265); the hotel is about 400 yards on the left-hand side.
Members travelling by public transport to Bridgend Railway Station or Bus Station can take a taxi to the hotel (cost approximately £4) or the following buses go past the hotel, 145, 146, V3 and V4.

The meeting will be wide-ranging, covering the prehistory and history of the fertile Vale of Glamorgan but also drawing attention to recent developments in both sites and knowledge. We are privileged to visit Coedyrhydyglyn, the private home of the Traherne family where much conservation has been done in both house and garden. We will see other notable gardens in Cowbridge and Dyffryn. Sian Rees will be talking about more conservation at Ewenny Priory and we will see important groups of Early Christian stones at Merthyr Mawr and Llantwit Major. Our view of one of the many promontory forts on the coast will highlight problems of erosion.

The Saturday lecture will reveal the amazing finds from an unprepossessing field in Llanmaes and on Sunday those who were at Ebbw Vale will be delighted to hear Brian Davies speaking on another charismatic local character – Iolo Morganwg.

No significant walks are planned; the furthest will be little over a mile on
level ground.

This meeting is organised by Brian R. Davies and Chris Jones Jenkins. Enquiries to either 02920 842743 or 01656 741622.


VALE OF GLAMORGAN : PROGRAMME

Friday September 24th
2.00 pm Coach will leave Heronston Hotel
Ewenny Priory,
then to the pretty hamlet of Merthyr Mawr with its Early Medieval stones.
Dinner at hotel
Evening lecture - The Llanmaes Excavations - Adam Gwilt (Curator for Later Prehistory, National Museum of Wales).

Saturday September 25th
Full day in coach: 9 am to 5.30 pm

Coedarhydyglyn House
Cosmeston Park for talk on recent excavations, visit to ‘medieval’ village and packed lunch (from hotel).
Llantwit Major for visit to church and its Early Medieval stones
Nash Point for visit to lighthouse and view of promontory fort.
Dinner at hotel
Evening lecture – Iolo Morganwg and the Llantwit Major Crosses – Brian W. Davies (Curator, Pontypridd Museum).

Sunday September 26th
Leave in coach at 9.30 am, back to hotel for 4.30 pm
Tour of Cowbridge, including the Physic Garden and St Quintins Castle, then to historic Dyffryn Gardens for lunch and tour.
Visit Tinkinswood Neolithic Burial Chamber
Back to hotel, via Bridgend Railway Station if sufficient demand.

Printable booking form in PDF format

 


Forthcoming Conferences and Lectures

As well as our own meetings detailed above, members might like to attend a two-day Conference on the Welsh Bronze Age in Cardiff, organised by the Royal Archaeological Institute and the National Museum with support from CAA. It will be on April 24th-25th and fuller details were enclosed with the latest volume of Arch. Camb.
2010 will mark the traditional 1600th centenary of the withdrawal of the Roman legions. Were the Romans a good thing? Just about time now to to get an objective perspective, though the Ordovices still seem to be standing aloof!

‘410 AD’
Events in Wales to discuss, commemorate and evaluate the End of Roman Rule in Wales
Day School : February 20th
Cothi Suite, Halliwell Theatre, Trinity College Carmarthen.

‘From Demetia to Dyfed:
the end of Roman rule and the rise of the native kingdoms in West Wales AD 300-600’
Jointly organised by the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society and the Department of Archaeology, History & Anthropology, University of Wales, Lampeter
For full details contact h.james443@btinternet.com tel: 01267 231793

 

Eisteddfod Lecture: August 4th
Annually sponsored by the Cambrian Archaeological Association at the National Eisteddfod at Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent,
Professor Ceri Davies, Swansea University will lecture on
Aspects of the Roman occupation in the literature of Wales.
See the Cambrians’ website in the New Year for further details.

Annual Caerleon Lecture: September.
A joint event with the Roman Society and the National Museum of Wales
Roger White will deliver the lecture on
‘Defence of the West: a Late Roman Command in Western Britain reinstated’.
For full details contact Richard Brewer (richard.brewer@museumwales.ac.uk).

 

Two-day Conference
Cardiff University October 30-31st

Jointly organised by Cardiff University and the Monmouthshire Antiquarian Association.
For full details contact either Peter Guest (guest@cardiff.ac.uk) or Jeremy Knight (anniebish@btinternet.com).

 

Day School:
Aberystwyth, November 13th

Etifeddiath Rhufain: Cymru AD 300-700 / The Legacy of Rome: Wales AD 300-700.
Jointly organised by the Centre of Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
and The Roman Society
For further details contact Barry C Burnham (burnham@lamp.ac.uk)


 

Reports of Previous Meetings

Report on the Easter 2010 Conference
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Report on the Autumn 2009 Meeting
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Report on the 156th Annual Summer Meeting in the South Wales Valleys
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Report on the 155th Annual Summer Meeting in the Conwy Valley
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Report on the Easter Conference 2008 held at the Llety Parc Hotel in Aberystwyth on March 28th -30th
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Report on the Autumn Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, Paris, September 23-26th 2007
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

The 154th Annual Summer Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, Carmarthen, August 12th - 18th 2007
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Report on the Cambrian Archaeological Association Easter Conference April 8-9th 2006
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)

Notes About the Status of Local History Societies in North Montgomeryshire
(in Adobe Acrobat format - opens in a new window)