Glamorgan History Society | Writing for the Morgannwg Journal

Morgannwg Journal - 1957.

In late 2018 I was approached by Lisa Tallis, the Assistant Librarian at Special Collections and Archives at Cardiff University and co-editor of the Morgannwg Journal to write a piece for their new section on online and digital resources. As someone who regularly uses the journal as a research source, I jumped at the chance to write for the journal.  

What is the Morgannwg Journal?

The Morgannwg is the journal of the Glamorgan History Society. Founded in 1950, the Society promotes an encourages the study of the history of the county of Glamorgan. The Society published the first volume of its journal 'Morgannwg' in 1957. The bi-lingual publication was funded by Society subscribers and a donation from the Welsh Church Act Fund of Glamorgan County Council.

Demented, happy, and useful | Who is Buried Here? - Thomas 'King' Rees

A view of the orginal Angelton Asylum Cemetery.

Following my posts about Dr Robert Sloss Stewart, Eleanor Davidson and Francis Hill, I have continued my research into the lives of the other seven gravestones that remain in the original Angelton Asylum Cemetery. Due to the amount of information, I have decided to share my research via a series of posts.

In this post, I will be writing about Thomas 'King' Rees. 

Out of the hundreds of men, women and children buried in the original Angelton Asylum Cemetery Thomas 'King' Rees is the only patient who has a gravestone. He is buried in the location where the staff of the asylum and their relatives are buried. It is clear that Thomas was a highly respected patient as his gravestone was paid for by the staff of Angelton Asylum. 

"Erected by the Asylum Staff in Recognition of his kind unselfish and obliging nature."

Death and Cake: Death at St. Fagans.

What is a Death Cafe?

In simple terms, a Death Cafe is an event where people meet, eat cake and discuss death. It is an informal get-together and an opportunity to talk about themes that are not often discussed, rather than a grief support or counselling session.

"to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives."

The Death Cafe movement was founded in 2011 by Jon Underwood. The first Death Cafe (in the UK) was held at Jon Underwood's home in Hackney. It was facilitated by Sue Barsky Reid, Jon's mother.

"As of today, we have offered 7333 Death Cafes in 61 countries since September 2011. If 10 people came to each one that would be 73330 participants. We've established both that there are people who are keen to talk about death and that many are passionate enough to organise their own Death Cafe."

You can read more about Death Cafe and its history on their website: https://deathcafe.com/what/

I was invited to host the first ever Death Cafe Inspired Event at St Fagans National Museum of History. 

The focus of this Death Cafe inspired event was to explore mourning practices and how people are remembered in different cultures. A huge thank you to Curator Elen Phillips and Youth Engagement Officer Sarah Younan for facilitating this event and letting ramble about death! 

'Life Is...' - Death

We visited the Death section of the new 'Life Is...' gallery. 'Life Is...' is one of three new galleries at

St. Fagans National Museum. This particular gallery showcases every day objects and the history behind them.

The Death section lets visitors discover people across time have dealt with death and remembered their loved ones. It houses many objects including a stone coffin, burial remains, mourning clothing, a horse-drawn hearse and a children's glassette.