ϲ Fund Supports Gregynog Workshop for ISWE Doctoral Community
On the 5th and 6th of June 2025, ISWE's doctoral and doctoral graduate cohort came together at for a two-day workshop which included invaluable training and knowledge exchange sessions. The workshop was made possible thanks to a grant from The ϲ Fund, which is made up from ϲ alumni donations. ISWE doctoral researcher Bethan Scorey tells us more about the proceedings.
ISWE’s doctoral researchers are based all over Wales and beyond, so opportunities to get together are always welcome. One of ISWE’s strengths as a research centre is the multi-disciplinary nature and geographical scope of our doctoral projects – 14 ongoing at present – so workshops such as these which present an opportunity to make connections between our projects are always really fruitful. Not to mention, they foster a sense of camaraderie as a cohort! We were also joined by three ISWE doctoral graduates, a doctoral candidate due to start her project in September, and a prospective doctoral candidate.
Gregynog Hall in Tregynon, Montgomeryshire, was the perfect setting, not just because of its central location within Wales but also as a country house which has a long and inspiring history as a cultural centre. Gregynog is particularly special to ISWE, as the estate was the subject of Dr Mary Oldham’s research project, completed in 2024. We were delighted to have Mary with us to share her knowledge.
The first day of the workshop incorporated three training sessions, specially designed by Dr Shaun Evans, Dr Lowri Ann Rees, and Dr Mari Wiliam in response to our requests and suggestions as a cohort.
The first session focussed on writing conference paper abstracts. We began by discussing how conferences are an excellent way of sharing ongoing research and testing arguments in a supportive and constructive environment. Everyone was asked to prepare a 200-word abstract beforehand, a useful exercise which challenged us to summarise our research in a succinct and clear manner and to think about our wider contribution to knowledge and understanding. Later in the session, we broke off into pairs to critique and improve these abstracts.
Next came an extremely informative session on preparing for your viva voce examination. Many of us expressed how the prospect of the viva was very intimidating and that we didn’t really know what to expect, but this session shed light on the type of questions asked and common corrections to the thesis. We had the added benefit of being able to ask our supervisors and the three ISWE doctoral graduates in attendance about their personal experiences. At the end of the session, we once again broke off into pairs with a sheet of example questions to discuss.
The third training session focussed on publication as a means of disseminating our doctoral research. First, we discussed publishing journal articles and the merit of county history journals. We touched on the prospect of publishing chapters of our theses as journal articles, and the prospect of adapting research which could not be included in our theses into separate articles. Next we discussed book proposals, including choosing the right publisher and editor and the pros and cons of academic and non-academic presses. We heard from colleagues who have previously submitted book proposals about the process and the type of questions to expect in a proposal. Finally, we discussed the process of adapting a doctoral thesis into a monograph. Although the session focussed on publishing in academic journals and with academic presses, we were also encouraged to think about other ways of disseminating our research, such as articles in general history magazines, blogs, podcasts, talks, and teaching.
We were thrilled to have Dr Kayla Jones and Dr Matthew Rowland, both of whom completed their doctoral projects at ISWE in 2023, in attendance. Kayla’s project explored how podcasts can be used to communicate the multi-layered narratives of Welsh estates. Since completing her project, she has been appointed Associate Story Fellow for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the run by The Story Society at Bath Spa University. Matthew’s project explored country house interpretation in Wales. In 2024, he was appointed Heritage Officer at Denbighshire County Council, and he works to drive footfall and engagement across the Council’s heritage sites, including Ruthin Gaol, Plas Newydd (Llangollen) and Nantclwyd y Dre.
For the final session of the day, Dr Shaun Evans interviewed Kayla and Matthew about their careers post-PhD. This was an extremely informative discussion, with tips on how to find postdocs and jobs and embracing unexpected opportunities. Both Kayla and Matthew described how skills gained over the course of their doctoral projects such as disseminating historical research to wide audiences and collaborating with others had prepared them for their current roles. They also suggested some ideas for future training sessions, such as writing grant applications. This was an excellent demonstration of how ISWE is contributing to the heritage sector in Wales and the rest of the UK, beyond our intellectual contribution.
After a busy first day we enjoyed dinner, a drink, and a chance to catch up!
The second day of the workshop involved a knowledge exchange, where four members of the doctoral cohort shared their research expertise relating to particular types of primary sources or associated methodologies. Anna Reynolds and Jeff Childs led sessions on parish records and manorial records respectively, describing how they are using these primary sources as part of their own research, describing the wider value of these sources for historical research, and sharing practical tips for working with this source material. Anna, who is researching the abandoned upland settlements of the Eastern Carneddau, described how parish records gradually became standardised over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, but how annotations such as causes of death, literary quotes, and even little illustrations can provide a “human insight”. Jeff, who is researching the Lordship of Gower in the period 1750-1850, demonstrated how manorial records provide insights into themes as wide-ranging as landownership, inheritance customs, legal customs, social hierarchies, trade, agriculture, and wider socio-economic events such as plague, war, and environmental challenges.
Sara Fox, who is researching fictional representations of the gentry house in Wales, led a fascinating session on ‘reading archives like a novelist’, exploring synergies between academic research and historical novels. She emphasised how the novel form is suited to the “imaginative, almost archaeological reconstruction of gaps in the historical record”, for example the histories of people of marginalised ethnicities and sexualities. Alex Ioannou, whose interdisciplinary project traces landscape change in Eryri, described his methodology, which comprises interviews, workshops, exhibitions, and community events. He gave a valuable insight into ethics when conducting oral interviews, and advice on how to identify interviewees, where to conduct interviews, and what type of questions to ask. Alex described how he has maintained a positive relationship with the community he is engaging with by being as “visible” as possible, by using consistent project branding throughout, and by sharing his findings to provide “closure”.
Before the workshop concluded, we had an opportunity to hear from our Director, Dr Shaun Evans, on his latest research into composite heraldic displays - paintings or carvings representing the 15 Noble Tribes of Gwynedd. Many examples are associated with nineteenth-century Eisteddfodau and found their way into country house collections, which makes them part of the distinctive visual culture of the Welsh country house in this period.
ISWE would like to thank The ϲ Fund and its supporters for making this special workshop possible.