Lord Hennessy visit to the South Wales Miners’ Library and Richard Burton Archives

Swansea University, the South Wales Miners’ Library and the Richard Burton Archives were pleased to welcome Lord Hennessy, Lord Aberdare, Hywel Francis MP, Chris Evans MP and guests on Friday 9th May. After an afternoon visiting and inspecting collections held at the Miners’ Library and the Richard Burton Archives, Lord Hennessy, who is the Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University, gave a public talk on Secrecy, Openness and Writing the History of One’s Own Times.

This revealing, witty and thoroughly engaging talk covered many aspects of Lord Hennessy’s life as a journalist and historian, including his committment to open up access to records held by the UK Government for research and historical purposes.

Aberavon MP Dr Hywel Francis, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History and an Honorary Professor at Swansea University said, “This is the first time that the All Party Group has held an event outside Parliament, and I am pleased it will coincide with the 40th anniversary celebrations of the South Wales Miners’ Library. As a young journalist, Lord Hennessy wrote a very incisive article for the Times Higher Education Supplement about the major research project which established the South Wales Miners’ Library in 1973.”