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“My Relations Are Part of a Rich Tapestry of Welsh Heritage” — My Feature in Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
I’m delighted to share that my family history research has been featured in the latest issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine. The article, written by Claire Vaughan, explores my decades-long journey tracing my Welsh roots — from hill farmers and Calvinist ministers to a musical icon and a self-taught solicitor — all…
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Sir Philip Magnus-Allcroft: The Gentleman Who Inspired a Historian
When I trace the beginnings of my love of history, I always return to one figure — Sir Philip Magnus-Allcroft of Stokesay Court, the elderly baronet who, quite unknowingly, set a child on the path to becoming a historian. I met him in the great Shropshire house that dominated my early world. He would summon…
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William Halse Gatty Jones (1825 – 1897): From Gold-Rush Melbourne to the Hills of Merioneth
My first cousin four times removed, William Halse Gatty Jones, lived a life that stretched across two hemispheres and mirrored the restless energy of the nineteenth century. Born in London on 8 March 1825, he began as a City solicitor, made his fortune amid the Australian gold rush, and returned to Wales to become a…
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Teenage Years on the Doldowlod Hall Estate
The mid-1990s were years of transition in rural Wales. Farming incomes were under strain, country houses were redefining their purpose, and politics in Britain seemed poised between the certainties of Thatcherism and the coming landslide of New Labour. For me, those years were marked most vividly by the Doldowlod Hall estate on the upper reaches…
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When Firelight Forged a Nation: A Machynlleth Tribute to Owain Glyndŵr
On a Dark Winter’s Afternoon, Everything Changed On a wind-lashed winter’s afternoon, my Uncle Glyn beckoned me closer to the hearth. His eyes glowed like ember as he whispered, “Owain Glyndŵr was born from these hills—and he swore to shield every farmer, every family.” In that flickering glow, I felt my heartbeat echo Machynlleth’s ancient…
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How Childhood Environments Shape Intellectual Identity: A Historian’s Reflection
When we think about how people become who they are, we often turn to education, professional training, or moments of career opportunity. Yet the truth is that much of what defines our intellectual and professional identity is sown far earlier – in the unnoticed textures of childhood. My own journey as a historian was not…
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A Tribute to My Uncle Glyn Davies (1943–2025)
From my earliest childhood memories, Uncle Glyn was a steady and inspiring presence in my life. I remember the many visits to see him in Corris, where he lived with my nain — visits filled with warmth, conversation, and a quiet encouragement that would help shape who I became. As I grew into my teenage…
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John Davies of Erglodd (1821–1887): “Apostol y Plant” and the Quiet Power of Faithful Service
In the upland heart of north Cardiganshire, where the hills of Taliesin and Talybont cradle the Dyfi valley, the life of John Davies of Erglodd stands as a shining example of rural Welsh piety, service, and enduring influence. Known in his lifetime as “Apostol y Plant” – the Children’s Apostle – he was celebrated for…
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Tea and Waterfalls: John and Jane Waters of the Llyfnant Valley
In the remote folds of the Llyfnant Valley in north-west Montgomeryshire—where waterfalls crash through ancient woodland and time seems to move at the pace of a farm horse—a remarkable couple forged a life of quiet industry, community service, and understated innovation. Jane and John Waters, my grandmother’s aunt and uncle, were not landed gentry or…
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When the Last Prince Hid in Our Hills: A Family Legend That Still Haunts Wales
High in the forgotten uplands of Montgomeryshire, where bracken folds over ancient sheep paths and the hills roll unbroken into silence, there stands a farmhouse my family still speaks of in reverent tones. Its name is Esgair Llywelyn — Llywelyn’s Ridge. Even now, the place endures. Weathered, empty, but defiantly upright. Whitewashed stone walls streaked…
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Why Plaid Cymru is the Best Choice for Wales in the 2026 Senedd Elections
Although I now live in England, my roots run deep in Welsh soil. My elderly mother still resides in the quiet heartlands of rural mid-Wales, where I was raised on a tradition of civic responsibility, cultural pride, and community resilience. Every decision I make, from the words I write to the policies I support, is…
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Saving the soul of Wales: why we must act now to preserve our family and chapel records
It is hard to overstate just how close we are to losing the living memory of rural Wales. Across our hills and valleys — from the sheep farms of Montgomeryshire to the slate towns of Gwynedd and the quiet chapels of Ceredigion — traces of family and community life are disappearing at an alarming rate.…
Antony David Davies FRSA FRAS AFRHistS FIoL MCMI
History, Memory, and the Ethics of Power.
