Brecon Women’s History Group – Project Outline
16th January 2024
Brecon enjoys a rich history, going back to the mid-5th century. While women have played key roles in that history, their stories have not been well researched or celebrated. The Brecon Women’s History Group, an association of women who live in and around Brecon, would like to correct this. Our goal is to ensure that future generations of women in the area can learn and enjoy the stories of the accomplished and pioneering women of Brecknock through highlighting those stories in talks, events and actions, as well as commemorative items such as plaques, sculpture, video and portraits.
The Brecon Women’s History Group is a committee of the Brecon Story Network which was founded in 2018 to provide a cohesive and coordinated approach to increasing the awareness of Brecon’s rich heritage and the vibrancy of its cultural and artistic life through a website, publications and events.
Our first project is aimed at celebrating the life of Brecon local Gwenllian Morgan (1852-1939), Wales’ first female mayor and a nationally recognised figure. Following her term as Mayor, 910 women contributed to a subscription to commission a life-sized oil portrait of her. This painting now resides in Brecon’s Guild Hall and the Subscription book is on display at y Gaer, Brecon’s Art Gallery and Museum.
We currently have the support of a wide variety of groups to raise the project of Gwenllian, including the curatorial team at y Gaer, Women’s Archive Wales, the Brecknock Arts Trust, Brecon Cathedral, Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon U3A Aberhonddu, the Brecon Local and Family History Society, Found Gallery, The Muse, Brecon Council, the Neath Port Talbot Community College and the Brecknock Society and Museum Friends.
Our initial focus will be:
- Commissioning the creation of a bust of Gwenllian for y Gaer’s historic Courtroom as well as a video of her life.
- Setting up a local history project to research the women who signed the 1912 Subscription Book.
- Scoping out a methodology for a contemporary subscription to fund the Bust, video and education materials about Gwenllian for local schools.
- Identifying more partner organisations to support these initiatives, including funding bodies.
The co-founders Carla Rapoport and Elizabeth Jeffreys have both written and given talks on local women’s history topics ranging from Sarah Siddons and y Gaer’s statue of Boudica and have extension background in both the arts and community initiatives, as well as bringing projects of this scale to life.
The Brecon Women’s History Group will be staffed and run by volunteers but there is scope to seek funding for a part-time administrator in due course. We also see our activities as scalable, with other Welsh towns benefitting from our experience and launching similar initiatives in their area.