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Logo The Cymru Cycles gyda draig goch a chroes Geltaidd.
Purple Mountain Sunset
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TUDOR CYMRU CYCLE

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The Welsh, Lords and Reformation of Tudor Cymru

The Tudor Cymru Cycle explores Wales during a period of profound social, political, and religious change.

 

Through the stories of the Welsh people, the nobility, and the Reformation, it examines how Wales adapted to life within the Tudor state while retaining a distinct cultural identity.

 

Building upon the medieval society shaped by kingdoms, castles, and conquest in the Medieval Cymru Cycle, it traces the transition from the medieval world to the early modern age.

 

The Industrial Cymru Cycle continues this story, exploring how the communities, culture, institutions, and resources of Tudor Wales helped lay the foundations for industrial transformation.

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From market towns and farming communities to bardic halls, manor houses, and growing centres of trade, Welsh of Cymru explores the everyday lives of the people of Wales during the Tudor age. Rather than focusing solely on monarchs and political events, the book examines how ordinary men and women lived, worked, travelled, worshipped, and maintained Welsh traditions within a rapidly changing world.

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From noble estates and county courts to royal offices and parliamentary chambers, Lords of Cymru explores the political and social elite who shaped Wales during the Tudor period. Following the integration of Wales into the English state, the book traces how power was exercised by noble families, gentry dynasties, royal officials, and influential local leaders across the country.

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From medieval parish churches and ancient pilgrimage sites to newly translated Bibles and reformed forms of worship, Reformation of Cymru explores the religious transformation of Wales during the Tudor age. The book traces how the Welsh church changed across the sixteenth century while examining the experiences of the communities who lived through these profound developments.

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Eryri Through Time

Following Edward I's conquest, Eryri entered a quieter age as the castles of the Welsh princes gradually fell into ruin. Mountain communities, however, continued much as before, with families farming the valleys, moving livestock to summer pastures and trading goods along ancient packhorse routes. Small slate quarries also began supplying local markets, laying the foundations for the industry that would later transform the landscape. Despite the Reformation, churches at Llanberis, Nant Peris and Beddgelert remained at the heart of community life, helping preserve the Welsh language and identity.

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Life in the Mountain Communities

1st July 2026

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Tywi Valley Through Time

From Castles to Country Estates

11th July 2026

After the conquest of Wales, the Tywi Valley gradually changed from a landscape of royal castles to one dominated by prosperous estates. Dinefwr, Dryslwyn and Carreg Cennen lost their military importance, while wealthy landowners invested in farming, gardens and grand country houses. At Dinefwr, Newton House replaced the medieval castle as the estate's centre, surrounded by landscaped parkland and carefully designed views. Across the valley, agricultural improvements, new roads and productive estates reshaped the countryside, creating the rural landscape that still characterises the Tywi Valley today.

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COMING SOON!

Journal highlighting the most recent research happening in Cymru

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Eryri (Snowdonia)

Explore tudor age features including hafod y llan.

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Tywi Valley

Explore tudor age features including newtohouse, dinefwr park and paxton tower.

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National Library of Wales

The National Library of Wales holds one of the world's most important collections relating to Welsh history. Its online collections include manuscripts, maps, books, estate records, paintings, photographs and many thousands of digitised documents, making it an essential starting point for anyone researching Tudor Wales.

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Rather than focusing on archaeological remains, the Library allows you to investigate the people, places and events recorded by those who lived during or shortly after the Tudor period.

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How to investigate Tudor Wales

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  1. Open the National Library of Wales website.

  2. Begin by using the main search function. Rather than searching broadly for "Tudor Wales", search for:

    • a place;

    • a family;

    • a monastery;

    • an individual;

    • or a specific historical event.

  3. Useful searches include:

    • Acts of Union;

    • Dissolution of the Monasteries;

    • Council of Wales and the Marches;

    • Herbert family;

    • Vaughan family;

    • Wynn family;

    • St Davids;

    • Denbigh;

    • Carmarthen;

    • Pembroke.

  4. Explore the different collection types. Depending on your search, you may discover:

    • manuscripts;

    • historic maps;

    • estate papers;

    • illustrations;

    • rare printed books;

    • letters;

    • family archives.

  5. Read the accompanying catalogue descriptions carefully. These often explain when a document was created, who produced it and why it is historically important.

  6. If you discover an unfamiliar person or place, make a note of it and investigate it further through Archives Wales or People's Collection Wales.

 

Understanding the results

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Many Tudor documents were not written for historians. They were created for practical purposes such as administering estates, recording legal disputes, collecting taxes or managing government.

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When reading a catalogue entry, ask yourself:

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  • Who created this document?

  • Why was it written?

  • Who was expected to read it?

  • What does it reveal about life in Tudor Wales?

 

Individual documents often tell only part of the story. Comparing several records from different collections usually provides a much broader understanding of the people and communities being studied.

Archives Wales

While the National Library preserves nationally significant collections, many original Tudor records remain within local archive services throughout Wales. Archives Wales provides a single search portal allowing visitors to explore the catalogues of county and regional archives from across the country.

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This makes it one of the best resources for investigating the history of a particular place, family or community.

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How to investigate local history

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  1. Open the Archives Wales website.

  2. Enter the name of the town, village or parish you wish to investigate.

  3. You can also search for:

    • family names;

    • churches;

    • manor houses;

    • estates;

    • monasteries;

    • local officials.

  4. Browse the catalogue results and note the different archive services holding relevant material.

  5. Look for collections such as:

    • estate papers;

    • parish records;

    • deeds;

    • wills;

    • court records;

    • manorial documents;

    • family collections.

  6. Read the catalogue descriptions carefully. Even if documents have not been digitised, the catalogue often explains their contents, dates and historical significance.

  7. If a collection is particularly relevant to your research, follow the link to the holding archive to learn how the material can be viewed or requested.

 

Understanding the results

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Unlike online articles, archive catalogues describe original historical documents rather than interpreting them.

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Many catalogue entries are brief, but they often contain valuable clues about the survival of local records. A single estate collection may include hundreds of years of correspondence, financial accounts, maps and legal papers relating to one part of Wales.

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Searching by place rather than historical period often produces the best results, as Tudor documents are usually catalogued within wider family or estate collections.

People's Collection Wales

People's Collection Wales brings together photographs, documents, memories, recordings and local history contributed by museums, archives, community organisations and members of the public. Although much of the material is later than the Tudor period, it provides valuable context for understanding how Tudor buildings, landscapes and traditions survived into more recent centuries.

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It is particularly useful for exploring the history of individual towns, villages and historic buildings.

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How to investigate local heritage

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  1. Open the People's Collection Wales website.

  2. Search using the name of a place rather than simply "Tudor".

  3. Useful searches include:

    • historic houses;

    • churches;

    • market towns;

    • castles;

    • bridges;

    • manor houses;

    • local families.

  4. Browse photographs, articles and community collections relating to your chosen location.

  5. Compare modern photographs with older images to see how buildings and landscapes have changed over time.

  6. Use the references provided within articles to identify additional sources, museums and local history organisations.

 

Understanding the results

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People's Collection Wales often tells the local stories that are absent from national histories.

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Rather than concentrating on kings or major political events, it highlights the history of individual communities, buildings and landscapes. Many Tudor buildings continued to evolve over later centuries, and these collections help trace that development through photographs, local research and community knowledge.

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When using the website, remember that the most rewarding approach is often to investigate a particular place. Searching for a town or village frequently reveals connections between historic buildings, local archives and surviving Tudor heritage that would be difficult to discover elsewhere.

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