Dr Harriett Webster secures Learned Society of Wales grant for innovative medieval Wales project
Dr Harriett Webster, Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, has been awarded a grant from the Learned Society of Wales to support the development of a new interdisciplinary research project exploring Wales’s medieval monastic networks.
The Research Workshop Grant Scheme funding will support a series of three workshops at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea early this year, bringing together historians, digital researchers, heritage professionals and educators as part of the MonkNet project.
MonkNet will use advanced digital methods including Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map and analyse the historical and international connections of Wales’s post-1066 monastic houses. By visualising how monasteries in Wales were linked socially, politically and culturally to institutions across Britain and Europe, the project will reveal their influence in new and accessible ways.
The workshops will bring together partners from across Wales, including colleagues from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Whitland Abbey Volunteers Trust, Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust, and the Strata Florida Trust, alongside researchers and educators from CAWCS and UWTSD’s PGCE and Education programmes. Together, they will co-design the framework for a large collaborative research grant application to be submitted in summer 2026.
Dr Harriett Webster welcomed the award, saying:
“I am delighted that the Learned Society of Wales has chosen to support MonkNet at this crucial early stage. This funding will allow us to bring together an exciting mix of historians, digital specialists, heritage practitioners and educators to shape a project that puts Wales’s medieval past into a truly international context.
These workshops will be a vital step in building a strong, collaborative network that can deliver innovative research, meaningful public engagement and long-term impact for Wales’s historic environment.”
The project aims not only to advance academic understanding of medieval Wales but also to strengthen Wales’s digital heritage network and promote inclusive, sustainable engagement with the nation’s past. It is intended to form the basis of a future Impact Case Study for the next Research Excellence Framework (REF).
The Learned Society of Wales grants scheme supports original research across Wales and in 2025 awarded funding to 21 new projects across the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences.
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