the Podcast
Podlediad Penrhyn is a gripping journey following Kayla Jones, a PhD candidate working with the Institute for the Studies of Welsh Estates at Bangor University, as she sits down with members of the local community and academics who specialise in Welsh history to explore the past, present, and future of this complex Welsh estate. With a balance between the early estate history, local Welsh narratives, an examination of the estate’s effect on the global slate industry, and the role of slavery in the estate’s development, Kayla Jones will take you on a journey through all aspects of the estate and its impact on north Wales today.
About the Research
This PhD is an interdisciplinary project looking at multi-layered narratives of a north Wales heritage site, the Penrhyn estate. Looking at areas across history, media, heritage and tourism, this project aims to interpret Penrhyn’s influence both locally and globally, utlising different voices across academia and the local area.
Using a two-part mixed methods approach, firstly in the form of textual analysis of the Penrhyn Castle guidebooks, the podcast will then be adopted from the format of the guidebooks, and redesigned to suit the layered nature of the Estate’s history and the uses of new technology in the heritage industry. Ultimately, this project will be a digital resource that conveys the varied narratives and perspectives of the Penrhyn estate whilst establishing a best practice model for practitioners or the heritage industry.
Research has shown that digital tools such as podcasts can be an effective method of storytelling in the digital age, especially in tourism as the format is far more convenient and versatile than a traditional guidebook. As a not a widely utilized tool in the heritage sector, exploring the ways podcasting can be created for visitors will be a beneficial contribution to research in both heritage and tourism.
The primary aim of the project is to create a digital artefact, a podcast, which will be used as a tool in promoting the Penrhyn estate to potential tourists to the north Wales area, as well as a local-centric platform for narratives to be shared by voices in the local community and academics knowledgeable of the Estate’s diverse history. The three end goals of this project will be to convey Penrhyn Estate’s global and local influence, increase heritage tourism to the area and present community narratives of the estate.
The host
Kayla Jones is a doctoral researcher with the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) at Bangor University. Originally from the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Jones comes from a culture rich in historical folkart, music, oral storytelling and skilled craftsmanship. Since moving to north Wales in 2012, she has enjoyed discovering about north Wales’ unique history and traditions and feels lucky to have lived in the area for almost 10 years.
Jones graduated in 2015 with a BA (Hons) in Creative & Professional Writing and again in 2017 with a Master’s in Research in Creative Practice at Bangor University. During that time Jones has developed a deep love for the heritage of her new home, and a keen interest in promoting tourism to the area.
Acting as an inquisitive interviewer, Kayla’s role within the podcast is as an external facilitator, eager to listen to the stories and expertise of those whose lives are intricately woven into the fabric of the history of the Penrhyn Estate.
Through this project, Kayla hopes that Podlediad Penrhyn can tell the multi-layered narrative of Penrhyn’s story, sharing key aspects of the Estate’s past, present and future in an engaging and exploratory way to both locals familiar with Penrhyn’s history and those who will encounter the area’s vast history for the first time on a popular and easy to access platform.
Episode Show Notes
Episodes
Listen
In this eye-opening episode, host Kayla Jones explores Penrhyn’s connection with the slave trade in the 18th-19th century. Recorded during the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2020, this episode highlights one of many heritage sites across the UK that have been looking a bit closer into their colonial connections, Penrhyn Castle, which is a National Trust property in northwest Wales.