North East Wales Archives launch new digital content

North East Wales Archives have recently launched a digital series named ‘Acid Free’, which explores some of the real life experiences and themes from their collections. In the series, archivists and featured guests take a closer look at the people and stories from the archived collections, bringing fascinating stories to life.

In their the second instalment of this series, the focus is on the recently acquired Welsh Bibles Collection, which have been added to the shelves of the Archives.

Back in 2023, the Archives catalogued a Welsh Bibles Collection and began to unravel some of the stories connected to items from this collection.

The collection is one of the largest outside of the National Library of Wales, and contains very rare volumes. These include the earliest translations by famous figure William Morgan, a William Salesbury New Testament of 1567 and the Bible Mari Jones used before famously walking 25 miles to purchase her own copy.

In the latest podcast episode, the Archives are joined by Hedd ap Emlyn and Bethan Hughes who discuss the origins of the collection, the different ways various bibles came to be collected and the significance of the collection for North East Wales.

Katie Gilliland, Community Engagement Officer said:

“We’re excited to share the latest episode of our podcast and digital stories series, ‘Acid Free’.

It showcases our newly catalogued Welsh Bibles Collection and we’re excited to see our users engage with the collection as a result of this episode.”

A digital story which provides a visual glimpse of the collection has also been produced. This is available to view on Youtube here:

English – https://youtu.be/rKy0zHWaNVA

Welsh – https://youtu.be/8KZEa08HitU

Hedd and Bethan’s discussion is in Welsh, but an English translation of the episode is available on the website.

Listen to the podcast episode here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/Ar0dmNgKfIb

The next instalment of ‘Acid Free’ will be focused on the Courtauld’s factories in North East Wales