Welsh History Podcast
History
About
Welsh History Podcast tells the story of Wales from the early stone age to present day.
Episodes
- Episode 264- The Tonypandy Riots and Labour Unrest
In this episode we are heading deep into the Rhondda Valley — into the smoke and the steam, the solidarity and the fury — for one of the most dramatic and consequential episodes in the history of Wales and of the British labour movement. F…
- Roman Britain Episode 09 - Verba Rerum Testes
This episode of the Welsh History Podcast examines the authors who chronicled Roman Britain, and how their writings influenced historical understanding of the period.
- Episode 263 – The Worst in the World
Episode 263 of the Welsh History Podcast discusses the construction of railways in Wales, noting that the network was primarily designed to connect valleys to ports and ports to England, rather than serving Wales internally.
- Episode 262 - Healing the Valleys, Medicine in Wales
This episode discusses the history of medicine in Wales prior to the NHS, focusing on the development of healthcare foundations built by communities.
- Roman Britain Episode 08 - Consilium Imperii
In 41 CE, Claudius, a man largely ignored for most of his life, was unexpectedly made emperor. This episode covers his rise to power.
- Episode 261 - 1905, The Season That Made a Nation
Rugby was central to Welsh society by the early 1900s. The 1905 Wales vs. New Zealand game significantly boosted Welsh national pride through rugby.
- Roman Britain Episode 7 - Britannia Divisa
Because we have so little written history it might seem that Britain was relatively static in the Iron Age. Britain, however, was not frozen in time. It was dynamic. And that dynamism, that competition between kingdoms and elites, created…
- Episode 260 - Daughters of Cambria: The Welsh Women’s Movement
For centuries, the history of Wales was written as a history of men—of coal miners, ironmasters, and preachers. But by the 1880s, a quiet revolution was brewing in the valleys and coastal towns. Welsh women were no longer content to be the…
- Freeform Episode 23 - The Return
Jonathan has returned to the UK and talks about what he wants to do now that he has returned. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky: @Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please consider becoming a…
- Episode 259 - The National Voice
Between 1900 and 1914, Wales was not simply becoming modern. Wales was arguing about what modernity meant, and whether it had to come at the cost of Welsh language, Welsh institutions, and Welsh identity. Some of that argument happened in…
- Roman Britain Episode 6 – Forma Imperii
Before Rome ever landed soldiers on British shores in 43 CE, Britain had already been measured, judged, and classified. Not morally, but administratively. Follow us on social media:Instagram, Bluesky: @Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www…
- Episode 258 - The Horrors of War
This episode we talk about the human cost of the Boer War and give a couple of examples of those who logged their witness of what was being done in the name of the British Empire including the forced imprisonment of women and children into…
- Episode 257 - The First Modern British Conflict - The Boer War
Today we turn to a conflict that shaped the final years of the Victorian era and left deep marks on towns and villages across Wales. The Boer War, fought between 1899 and 1902, was a clash between the British Empire and the two Boer republ…
- Roman Britain Episode 5 – Imperium Ante Provinciam
This episode looks at why Britain was left alone, how Roman civil wars reshaped imperial priorities, and why the invasion of Britain under Claudius was as much about survival in Rome as it was about power overseas. Follow us on social medi…
- Episode 256 – 1899 The Last Year of a Century
This episode looks at Wales at the end of the 19th century and explores how the country entered the modern age and how world events influenced daily life in towns, villages, ports, and industrial valleys. Follow us on social media: Instagr…
- Freeform Episode 22 - Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Jon sits down to talk about some changes coming to the podcast and how the past shapes the future of Welsh History. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: @Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistory…
- Episode 255 - The Turning Century
The last decade of the nineteenth century was a period of immense change across Wales. It was a decade shaped by industry, migration, global tensions, political transformation, and cultural shifts. To contemporaries, the time felt restless…
- Roman Britain Episode 4 – Victoria Paratur
This episode we are going to talk about the structures and configuration of the Roman Army that was about to invade Britain in 43 CE. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook…
- Episode 254 - Waves in and out of Wales
In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, Wales was a nation on the move. Between 1880 and 1900, hundreds of thousands of people either left Welsh shores for opportunities abroad or arrived to seek work in the booming industrial va…
- Freeform Episode 21 - Holidaze
Rambling around the later half of the year and the holidays that surround it. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please consider becoming a supp…
- Episode 253 - The Saxon Marcher Town
In this episode we discuss Wrexham and how it was established and how as an industrial town grew from a small market village. Thumbnail: Turner, Joseph Mallord William, 'Wrexham, Denbighshire', watercolour, ca.1780s. - http://collections.v…
- Roman Britain Episode 3 – Festina Lente
He came, he saw, he left... but what did Caesars arrival and departure actually influence iron age Britain. Did the Britons actually know about them and how much would this change their lives over the 90 years before Claudius. Follow us on…
- Episode 252 - The Moral Conflict of Colonialism
From the mid-19th century to the eve of the Boer War, colonial scramble of colonial expansion created a con. And at the heart of it, we’ll find Welsh men as soldiers, politicians, missionaries, and emigrants, celebrating, shaping and quest…
- Freeform Episode 20 - Travel Time
Two weeks ago I travelled to England, as a preliminary visit before moving over in the next few months. Find out my time as a visitor. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.faceboo…
- Episode 251 - Cathedral City
Sitting at the edge of the Menai Strait, with Snowdonia rising behind it, Bangor has one of the longest continuous histories of any settlement in Britain. Photo of the Bangor Cathedral by Denis Egan from Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales - 002_…
- Roman Britain Episode 2 - Alea Iacta Est
In the late summer of 55 BCE, Julius Caesar stood on the northern shores of Gaul, watching the restless waters of the Channel. Beyond those shifting waves rose the pale chalk cliffs of Britain, gleaming like a frontier to another world. Fo…
- Episode 250 - Welsh Women Imagery and Reality
The story of Women in Wales in the later part of the 19th century was a fight for social status and recognition of their contributions. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebo…
- Roman Britain Episode 01 - Dum Spiro, Spero
The British tribes lived their Iron Age lifestyle watching with growing concern what was happening across the water and they hoped to keep out of the coming conflict with the new force in their world Rome. It did not work out. Follow us on…
- Episode 249 - Trade Unions Growing Power
Between 1850 and 1900, Wales witnessed the birth and consolidation of organised labour. Trade unions, once fragile and easily suppressed, grew into powerful movements that reshaped politics and industry. Follow us on social media: Instagra…
- Freeform Episode 19 - Talking About Wales with Greg Thomas
This week we talk to Greg Thomas Creator and host of Welsh American Channel [Americanwyr Cymreig]. www.youtube.com/@WelshAmericanChannel Celebrating the significant contributions of Welsh immigrants to the Americas. This channel is intende…
- Episode 247 - The Long Climb to Welsh Universities
In the later half of the 1800s, Wales saw the birth of a modern higher education system. The universities that emerged during this period weren’t just academic institutions, rather they were symbols of national pride, engines of social mob…
- Episode 248 - Resistance Rekindled
Wales has been a part of some form of the now United Kingdom since 1284, over its history there have been spasms of discontent, and out right rebellion. It had been a while since a truly national movement but the flames were igniting as th…
- Freeform Episode 18 - Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Recently I had an opportunity to travel via a few methods and it got me thinking. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please consider becoming a…
- Roman Britain - The Intro
On the Ocean West of Gaul lied the secretive land of the Britons. And this is the story of how new conquerors brought the Island to heel. Before leaving it all 350 years later. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Wel…
- Episode 246 - Dragons, Bluebirds, and Swans
From muddy fields, makeshift goalposts, and a sport just beginning to take root in the valleys and towns of Wales. This is the story of how football — or soccer, as some call it — made its first strides in Welsh life during the Victorian p…
- Freeform Episode 17 - A Canadian's Guide to Welsh History
This week I walk you through some suggestions for Welsh History reading and content that got me started on this path. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistor…
- Episode 245 - Travel Expansion and Leisure
With the arrival of Victorian railways and new labour legislation came the opportunity for everyday people to experience leisure and travel for the first time. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Face…
- Freeform Episode 16 - How It Gets Made
Today I talk about how the podcast gets made from scripts to editing and all the in between stuff. Follow us on social media:Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: @Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please con…
- Episode 244 - Settlement, Colony or Pyramid Scheme
150 people were convinced to leave all they knew to move to a new land many thousands of miles away only to find out that Patagonia in Argentina was not as it had been described. Along the way we address the treatment of local indigenous g…
- Ancient Wales Episode 10 - New Finds, New Stories
In the final episode of the series we talk about the changes in archeology of ancient Iron Age Britain. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Pleas…
- Episode 243 - Early Nationalism Cymru Fydd
How did modern nationalism arrive in Wales and why did it influence Europe post Napoleonic Wars. And how was a towering figure from the Next century a driver of the movement. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welsh…
- Freeform Episode 15 - How We Got Here
How did I get to doing a history podcast and why did I start podcasting in the first place. Come find out. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Pl…
- Episode 242 - Dragons, Mud, and Glory
Today we are talking about the establishment of Rugby and its influence on Wales including some of the teams and their stars of the 1870s and 1880s. Follow me on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https…
- Ancient Wales Episode 9 - Through Foreign Eyes
People from the Mediterranean gives a glimpse of what is going on in Iron Age Britain just before the major invasion of the Romans. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.c…
- Episode 241 - Newport State of Mind
We return our focus on the communities of Wales, today we are talking about the industrialization of Newport and how it grew from a sleepy village to bustling city. Photo of Bridge Street viewed from near the London City & Midland Bank pre…
- Freeform Episode 14 - How We Enjoy Sport
So I start out saying this isn't particularly Welsh but actually, this ends up pretty Welsh. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please consider…
- Episode 240 - The British Army Reforms
After the disaster that was the Crimean War the British government finally takes on the reforms of the army and Wales was an important part of those reforms. Photo from the collection of the UK National Army Museum - Transvaal War, South A…
- Ancient Wales Episode 8 - Crafting Iron Age Lives
Turning to more common everyday items we discuss pottery and textiles and how they defined Iron Age Britain. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast…
- Episode 239 - A Viking Name for Copperopolis
Swansea’s origins stretch back over a thousand years. But in the Victorian industrial boom it becomes the centre of copper production across the world. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: ht…
- Freeform Episode 13 - The Elephant and the Mouse
When you share a bed with an elephant, no matter how nice, you are going to notice when they move. Follow us on social media: Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter: Welshhistorypod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welshhistorypodcast Please con…