North East Wales Archives launch new podcast

North East Wales Archives are to explore digital storytelling with the launch of ‘Acid Free’, a brand new podcast and series of digital stories which will explore the real life experiences and themes from their archive collections.

The podcast will feature archivists and selected guests, who will be taking a closer look at the people and stories from the local archive collections from Denbighshire and Flintshire. The podcast and digital content were officially launched at the Hawarden branch of the North East Wales Archives on Friday 24th November.

The first episode of the podcast is named ‘A Rogue’s Gallery: Victorian Criminals in North East Wales’ and features guest speaker Richard Ireland who is an author and lecturer specialising in the history of crime and punishment. This episode delves into the lives of Victorian criminals, discussing photographs used by the police, types of punishment and prisons in the late nineteenth century.

The new series of digital content also includes digital stories which have been created in collaboration with volunteer researchers from Glyndwr University. The stories explore the lives and crimes David Francis and George Walters, whose photographs feature in two unassuming leather-bound volumes in held at North East Wales Archives in Ruthin.

Councillor Emrys Wynne, Lead Member for Welsh Language, Culture & Heritage said:

“It is great news that the archives service is launching this new podcast, and is producing new digital content about our county and beyond.

The archives hold really interesting information, and bringing these stories to life is a brilliant way for residents to learn about the rich history of where they live.”

You can listen to the podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2hADmL5xHhhrOKTjU6WUXD

You can view the new digital stories on the service’s YouTube pages at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCswWSPBe2jKjWb2f_hojByA