Hidden Lives Revealed in Special Collections Open Day at UWTSD Lampeter

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is hosting a Special Collections Open Day on Wednesday 28 January and Thursday 29 January in the Roderic Bowen Library and Archives on its Lampeter campus, inviting the public to uncover the often-overlooked stories of the people who kept the college running behind the scenes.

Titled Hidden Lives: The Servants of St David’s College, the event revisits an exhibition first shown at the end of 2024 focussing on the servants who were employed by St David’s College between 1890 and 1979 and brings their personal histories to light through archival research.

At the heart of the exhibition is a remarkable photograph taken in 1909, showing the College servants together and, unusually, recording their names. Using this photograph as a starting point, Special Collections staff undertook detailed research to discover as much as possible about the individuals pictured; their lives, work, and connections to the College.

The Open Day will give visitors insight not only into the lives of the servants themselves, but also into the research process behind the exhibition, exploring how archival material can be used to recover hidden histories.

The day is split into two parts:

• Morning drop-in session (10.00am–12.00pm)
  Visitors are welcome to drop in and view the original archive materials used during the research.
• Afternoon talk and display (2.00pm)
  A more in-depth talk outlining the research journey and key discoveries, accompanied by a display.
  Advance booking is required for this session.

This event offers a rare opportunity to engage directly with historical records and to reflect on the lives of those whose contributions to the College have long remained in the background.

Nicky Hammond, UWTSD’s Special Collections Archivist said: 

“The first of the Special Collections archive events will display a range of archive materials revealing the lives of the servants who worked at St David’s College. The items on show will include minute books, balance sheets, photographs and a hand written job description from the 1890s. 

“This was a fascinating exhibition to research, and we were delighted with just how much we were able to discover from our archive collections.”

For further details, including booking information for the afternoon talk, please contact Ruth Gooding at r.gooding@uwtsd.ac.uk

Further Information

Lowri Thomas

Principal Communications and PR Officer     
Corporate Communications and PR     
Email: lowri.thomas@uwtsd.ac.uk     
Phone: 07449 998476