Hidden Histories

reviewed by Lise Brekmoe

A.P. Wakelin and R.A. Griffiths(eds), Hidden Histories (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Aberystwyth, 2008), colour, 328pp, 500 illus. ISBN: 978-1-871184-35-8 (Engish). Welsh edition published as Trysorau Cudd, ISBN: 978-1-871184-36-5. £24.95

Order online at http://www.rcahmw.gov.uk

In 2008-9 the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales celebrates 100 years of investigations into Wales’ heritage. To mark the centenary, the commission has launched Hidden Histories – Discovering the Heritage of Wales, a collection of 100 picture essays which draws together some of the highlights in the Royal Commission’s extensive archive. The book also provides insight into the work of the Royal Commission over the past 100 years; how current projects are increasing our knowledge of our heritage; and the challenges the Royal Commissionfaces in the future.

As many will be aware, the book is accompanied by the BBC 2 Wales television series with the same name. Aired in November 2008, the five part series followed staff at the Royal Commission for a year and covered some of the sites and projects described in the book. If you enjoyed the series, the book will provide even more, offering essays on topics and sites from prehistory through to post-War Wales. The essays expand on images made or collected by the Royal Commission and are supported by introductions to each era.

Covering Wales’ heritage from prehistory through to post-war times in one publication is a formidable task, but it is very well done indeed. The format means that readers will be able to dip in and out of the book without losing the plot, and I am confident that many will discover new sites and places to visit that they had not heard about before. To me, the attractions of the book are in the images, consisting of photographs, reconstructions, architect drawings, aerial photographs and plans. More than being mere illustrations, many tell their own stories of change and continuity; historic photographs of fieldwork or buildings make you appreciate the presence of these sites and monuments through changing times, but a number of images show the changes these places have gone through themselves, from past glory to disrepair to restoration.

I am pleased to see the inclusion of sites representing the everyday life of past generations and more modern heritage through the essays on Early Twentieth-Century and Post-war Wales. Many of these sites are under threat from development, but are an important part of our history and heritage for the future. As such, this book may very well encourage a wider interpretation of the term heritage and an appreciation of what to us may seem ordinary and unimportant.

An extended version of this review will appear in About Wales

Information about the sites featured in the book and on TV can be found online via the RCAHMW and BBC websites. The latter features clips from the programmes.