Cymdeithas Cymry Caerodor (Bristol Welsh Society) Archive

The archive of Cymdeithas Cymry Caerodor (the Bristol Welsh Society), 1920-2019, including the records of the Society in its earlier form as Cymdeithas Cymrodorion Caerodor. The collection consists of papers, correspondence, and financial documents, all related to the establishment and running of the Society, including meeting minutes, 1920-2018 (with gaps); financial documents and account statements, 1944-2010, and secretary’s reports and correspondence, 1985-2017 (with gaps), along with other general administrative papers, 1986-2018 (with gaps); and papers, correspondence, photographs, and press cuttings relating to the Society’s events and activities, 1948-2019 (with gaps), including rallies, Eisteddfodau, St David’s Day celebrations, concerts, and other events including the Society’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 1994.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries Bristol was home to a large Welsh population and several chapels of Welsh denomination. The idea of a Bristol Welsh Society was first suggested following a meeting of a group of Welsh ministers, ‘Gweinidogion Cymreig Bryste’, on St David’s Day at Brunswick Chapel Hall, Bristol, 1920; following this, a further meeting was held on 29th March, 1920 where the idea was put forward to form a Welsh society in Bristol. A secretary, D. C. Harries, was elected and a committee was formed which included the Reverends R. Roberts, D. Williams, and G. N. Miles, to represent the congregations of three Welsh chapels in Bristol, on Maudlin St., Broadmead, and Castle St respectively. This committee met for the first time on the 22nd April, 1920, and included a representative of Bristol's Welsh choir, A. T. Jones. Following a further meeting at Broadmead Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Bristol, on the 27th May, 1920, this committee then decided to establish a permanent society of Welshmen in Bristol as ‘Cymdeithas Cymrodorion Caerodor’, with the aims of supporting Welsh causes and of electing a Chairman, Secretary, and Operational Committee to administer the Society. The Rev. G. Thomas was elected as its first president. In 1930, it was decided to create a badge of office for the Society’s President, and by the early 1930s numerous other sub-committees had been formed to facilitate the Society’s activities. Following the outbreak of war, in 1940 it was decided to halt the Society’s activities due to the increasing risk from enemy aircraft over Bristol and the Society's President's Badge was placed in Bristol City Archives for safekeeping. In 1944, ‘Cymdeithas Cymry Caerodor’ (Bristol Welsh Society) was formed, intended as a less formal version of 'Cymdeithas Cymrodorion Caerodor', which ceased in the early 1950s. The Bristol Welsh Society conducted a full programme of Welsh and Welsh-themed events and activities for its members, including Eisteddfodau, rallies, dinners, concerts, charity fundraising, and social evenings, and formed links with other Welsh societies in south-west England via the formation of an Inter-town Co-ordinating Committee, which included the Welsh societies of Taunton, Burnham-on-Sea, and Weston-Super-Mare. At its peak in the second half of the 20th century the Society had over 200 members. The Bristol Welsh Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1994, and continued to meet regularly until 2018, by which time the Society’s membership had declined and the decision was made to cease its activities.

Arranged into three groups in keeping with the order in which the archive was originally organized by the Bristol Welsh Society: Minutes, Administrative Papers, Events and Activities, and a photo album.

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions set out in information provided when applying for their Readers' Tickets, whereby the reader shall become responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 in relation to any processing by them of personal data obtained from modern records held at the Library.

Donation, Dr Gareth Rees, Bristol, August 2019.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries Bristol was home to a large Welsh population and several chapels of Welsh denomination. The idea of a Bristol Welsh Society was first suggested following a meeting of a group of Welsh ministers, ‘Gweinidogion Cymreig Bryste’, on St David’s Day at Brunswick Chapel Hall, Bristol, 1920; following this, a further meeting was held on 29th March, 1920 where the idea was put forward to form a Welsh society in Bristol. A secretary, D. C. Harries, was elected and a committee was formed which included the Reverends R. Roberts, D. Williams, and G. N. Miles, to represent the congregations of three Welsh chapels in Bristol, on Maudlin St., Broadmead, and Castle St respectively. This committee met for the first time on the 22nd April, 1920, and included a representative of Bristol's Welsh choir, A. T. Jones. Following a further meeting at Broadmead Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Bristol, on the 27th May, 1920, this committee then decided to establish a permanent society of Welshmen in Bristol as ‘Cymdeithas Cymrodorion Caerodor’, with the aims of supporting Welsh causes and of electing a Chairman, Secretary, and Operational Committee to administer the Society. The Rev. G. Thomas was elected as its first president. In 1930, it was decided to create a badge of office for the Society’s President, and by the early 1930s numerous other sub-committees had been formed to facilitate the Society’s activities. Following the outbreak of war, in 1940 it was decided to halt the Society’s activities due to the increasing risk from enemy aircraft over Bristol and the Society's President's Badge was placed in Bristol City Archives for safekeeping. In 1944, ‘Cymdeithas Cymry Caerodor’ (Bristol Welsh Society) was formed, intended as a less formal version of 'Cymdeithas Cymrodorion Caerodor', which ceased in the early 1950s. The Bristol Welsh Society conducted a full programme of Welsh and Welsh-themed events and activities for its members, including Eisteddfodau, rallies, dinners, concerts, charity fundraising, and social evenings, and formed links with other Welsh societies in south-west England via the formation of an Inter-town Co-ordinating Committee, which included the Welsh societies of Taunton, Burnham-on-Sea, and Weston-Super-Mare. At its peak in the second half of the 20th century the Society had over 200 members. The Bristol Welsh Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1994, and continued to meet regularly until 2018, by which time the Society’s membership had declined and the decision was made to cease its activities.

Title based on contents of archive.

Some papers containing sensitive personal information have been removed or redacted. Documents that have been removed or redacted are represented by pink pages. Access has been restricted to some further material in the collection to comply with Data Protection legislation; where this is the case, such restrictions are noted at the appropriate level.

A USB stick, labelled ‘Cymdeithas Cymry Caerodor Albwm Digidol (709 Tudalen)’ is currently uncatalogued.

April 2021.

Description compiled by Lucie Hobson. The following sources were used in the compilation of this record: contents of archive.

Usual copyright laws apply.

All records have been retained with the exception of some duplicate material which has been removed.

The archive was accumulated by, and in the possession of, the Bristol Welsh Society prior to its deposit at NLW in 2019.

Accruals are expected.

Details of published works are given at the appropriate level of description.

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Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales