Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; Welsh: Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales, based in Aberystwyth. It was established in August 1908, shortly after the equivalent Royal Commission for Scotland (February 1908), and before that for England (October 1908).

Activities

The RCAHMW maintains and curates the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) holding the national collection of information about the archaeological, architectural and historical heritage of Wales and provides a public information service, drawing on both archival and published sources and benefiting from specialist advice from RCAHMW staff. The National Monuments Record includes drawings, photographs, maps, plans and descriptions for a total of over 80,000 sites, buildings and maritime remains. With 1.5 million photographs, it is the largest photographic archive in Wales.

Coflein is the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW). The name is derived from the Welsh cof (memory) and lein (line). Coflein contains details of many thousands of archaeological sites, monuments, buildings and maritime sites in Wales, together with an index to the drawings, manuscripts and photographs held in the NMRW archive collections.

The Commission has published over a hundred books developing and promoting understanding of aspects of the historic environment, including its centenary volume in 2008, Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, which includes a brief account of the organisation's development and discussions of the history of Wales seen in the light of its first century of discoveries.

RCAHMW Mission Statement

The Royal Commission has a national role in the management of the archaeological, built and maritime heritage of Wales as the originator, curator and supplier of authoritative information for individual, corporate and governmental decision-makers, researchers and the general public. To this end it;

• Surveys, Interprets and Records the man-made environment of Wales;
• Compiles, Maintains and Curates the National Monuments Record of Wales;
• Promotes an understanding of this information by all appropriate means.

Merger

In May 2012, the Welsh Government announced that it wished "to create a process whereby the core functions of the Royal Commission could be merged with other organizations, including Cadw". The merger would be similar to that undertaken in England in 1999, when the English Royal Commission was absorbed into English Heritage. Proposals for the merger are likely to be included in a Welsh Heritage Bill scheduled to be presented to the Welsh Assembly in 2014–15.

Hidden Histories

A five-episode BBC television series following the field investigations of the Commission, Hidden Histories, was broadcast in 2008 on BBC2 Wales and in 2009 on BBC4. A second series was in production in summer 2009. Both series were made by Element Productions Ltd and presented by Huw Edwards.

External links

• Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in English and Welsh
• National Monuments Record of Wales
• COFLEIN the online interactive mapping and database for the National Monuments Record of Wales