Welsh Landed Estates: Architecture, Landscapes and their People

From the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, most landownership in Wales was divided between a handful of wealthy and influential families, ranging through the aristocracy, gentry, and the new middle-class industrialists. Using historical records students will analyse the relationships between some of these families and their surrounding communities. Students will explore the fates of these families, seeking to identify how marriages, deaths, political events, wars, the economy, etc. influenced the fortunes of these families, for good or for ill.
Additionally, students will view these houses from an architectural and landscape perspective, tracking changes in the architectural history of Wales alongside the social, political, and economic changes. Beginning with the dissolution of the monasteries during the turbulent history of the Reformation through to the grand gothic architecture and deep coal pits of industrial Wales, students will analyse changes in the history of Wales through the eyes of its buildings and landscapes.

Note

This module is at CQFW Level 4