Lockdown has been a great opportunity to revisit some of the old features on the Hisdoryan blog. While reviewing my old Historygram posts, I was shocked to discover I hadn’t written about the great Welsh history Instagram accounts out there.
So if you fancy touring historical Wales through the medium of social media during lockdown, follow these accounts now!
Louvain is a young Welsh historian specialising in social history and death in Wales. I’ve followed her on Instagram and Twitter for as long as I can remember, and really admire her work. At the moment she’s working on a book about the history of some of the patients of the Glamorgan County Lunatic Asylum. It’s so interesting to follow her research via social media.
Amgueddfa Cymru (@museumwales)
I couldn’t write a post about Welsh history and not include some sort of reference to National Museums Wales. We have seven amazing and diverse national museums here in Wales, and this is the Insta account to find out more about them and the amazing work that they do. Hopefully this account will inspire you to visit once lockdown is over!
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (@librarywales)
Much like the National Museums Wales account, I could not not include the National Library of Wales account (excuse the double negative). I was lucky I got to study my undergraduate degree in Aberystwyth, which meant I got to use this amazing library. As well as some amazing historic books and manuscripts, its also home to some great Welsh art and a sound archive. An underappreciated gem.
Wall Paintings in Wales (@wallpaintingswales)
If, like me, you like your church crawling then this is the account for you. It is devoted to the medieval wall paintings that can be found in some of our amazing Welsh churches. Its run by historian Steffani Wyn, who I recommend you follow on Twitter as well. Check out the map she has created charting all these paintings. Its definitely given me some inspiration for post-lockdown adventures!
Richard Ruby Harris (@richardrubyharris)
Another account I have been following since my early Instagram days, Richard is a keen history enthusiast from South-West Wales who uses Instagram to document his trips and discoveries. As well as the usual castles and churches, Richard is also great at sniffing out standing stones. These historical markers are often overlooked, and this account stands out for that reason.
Drudwen: Menywod Hanes Cymru (@prosiectdrudwen)
One of my fave accounts full stop on Instagram, Prosiect Drudwen was created by genius Welsh illustrator Efa Lois. An online project celebrating women from Welsh history, its a great way of discovering those lesser-known female figures that you don’t necessarily find in the history books. I especially loved the series on Welsh witches Efa did last year. Promise me you will check out her blog and online shop.
I first discovered Welsh historian Sara via Instagram, but you may recognise her from the S4C programme Waliau’n Siarad, which looked at the history and architecture of famous Welsh buildings. She works in archives, is co-director of the East End Women’s Museum, and is generally an interesting person to follow for all things Welsh history and culture.
The second artist in my Welsh history list, Building History Masters student Bethan researches, illustrates and writes about historic buildings in Wales. I’ve discovered so many new history sites in South Wales via her beautiful work. If you fancy owning one of these masterpieces, don’t forget to check out her online shop.
Tom Evans – Welsh Castles (@welshcastlesproject)
A relatively new Instagram account, but I’m excited to see it develop. The Welsh Castles Project is run by Tom Evans. His aim is to photograph every Welsh castle on 35mm film, thereby ‘captur[ing] the mystery these crumbling silent structures evoke as they’ve stood watch over the centuries‘. Wales is famous for its iconic castles so this will be an interesting project to follow.
I hope you enjoyed my roundup of my favourite Welsh history Instagram accounts. Are there any you would add to the list? Let us know in the comments below! In the meantime don’t forget to check out my other Welsh history posts.
Please note that – unless otherwise stated – the images featured belong to their respective accounts.